posted 14 years ago by mkatz11
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Sammy Smith was the actor that played Mr. Twimble (Company Way) and Wally Womper (Brotherhood Of Man) in both the original broadway cast and the 1967 movie. I was watching All that Jazz the other night and spotted Sammy in the scene where the producers announce to the cast that the musical they are working on is being postponed. He's shown in close-up twice, the second time he says the word *beep* Bob Fosse, who wrote/directed "All that Jazz" choreographed "How To Succeed" on broadway so maybe he was hooking up an old pal...
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How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying - The Company Way: Mr. Twimble (Sammy Smith) sings about his quarter century experience as a company man wit...
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967) - The Company Way Scene (2/10) | Movieclips - YouTube
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967) - The Company Way Scene (2/10) | Movieclips - YouTube
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2022
I managed to purchase a Blu-ray version of "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying". While it wasn't exactly clear from the product description that the product I was ordering was in Blu-ray format, the provided image appeared to be in Blu-ray packaging, so I took a chance and it worked out.
So... assuming that you are able to obtain a Blu-ray version of this movie, I found it to be far superior to the DVD that I had purchased many, many years ago which had been letter-boxed for a 4:3 format screen. When playing that old DVD on modern equipment, it shows black bars above, below, and on each side of the movie. Using some players, it is possible to scale the image to remove at least some of the black bars, but the resolution and image quality is pretty awful. In comparison, the Blu-ray version of this movie looks pretty good when played on modern equipment. It's not as sharp as some recent movies released in Blu-ray format, but for the age of the movie, it's quite acceptable.
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2022
The acting and humor is first rate in this movie adapted from a successful stage play. I even enjoyed the musical numbers because they were seamlessly part of the story and didn’t detract from its humor but rather were part of it.
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2022
Idea and plot of the movie still fun today, great costumes, good songs, super funny and entertaining movie. Highly recommended!
Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2022
Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2014
I watched the season finale of "Mad Men" and suddenly remembered Robert Morse's films. I won't give away the "Mad Men" ending if you haven't seen it, but you will thoroughly enjoy it.
I saw the movie "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying" many years ago, and have seen the play performed live on stage. It's a perfect parody of big business, still relevant despite the 47 years of corporate re-engineering and "right-sizing."
Window Washer J. Pierpont Finch buys a book called ""How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying" which predates the tsunami of business and "success" books we have today and it wasn't called "for Dummies." This simple book guides the aspiring executive to climb the ladder or success from starting at the bottom and using every opportunity to seize the next promotion. Climbing into a window in the World Wide Wickets tower in Manhattan, "Ponty" as he comes to be known, takes advantage of chance encounters through a combination of serendipity and applying the lessons from his book. He accidentally bumps into the Corporate President played by Rudy Vallee, himself a popular singer and actor from the 1920s.
Despite making a bad impression on Mr. Biggley, Ponty makes an instant friend in Rosemary who guides him through the big company. Meeting the Personnel Manager, Mr. Finch starts humbly in the mail room, encountering Bud Frump, the not-so bright aspiring nephew of the Corporate President. Through the selfless act of turning down the promotion to mail room manager in favor of Mr. Frump, Ponty is there at the right time and place to get promoted to Junior Executive. You'll enjoy the bright musical numbers throughout Ponty's ascent to the top.
Only Robert Morse with his infectious gap-tooth grin and wide-eyed excitement could pull off this tremendous musical parody. His incredible voice, quicksilver dance moves, and rubber face will bring a smile to your face. Robert Morse has gone on to a number of other stage and screen roles, most recently as the delightfully gruff advertising Agency President in "Mad Men." Mr. Morse recently turned 83, but he still has it!
If you would like some pure entertainment without the physically impossible special effects, screeching car chases, graphic violence, four-letter dialog, and graphic sex in so many of today's films, this movie is for you. Definitely a 10!!!
Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2022
Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2022
Stereotypes which reflect the time period were a bit prejudicial but the well-woven script and catchy music was wonderful. Especially liked Ms. Jones booming out the harmony during the Brotherhood of Man piece. It's a bit ironic that she was -- for me -- the star of that particular song. Bravo!
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2021
I love this movie but the DVD I own has the image as a small square in the middle of my TV. So I bought the video here on Amazon for $10 since it said it's in HD. It's not. It's still a small SD square on my TV just like the DVD. So just be aware of that if you're thinking about a purchase
Top reviews from other countries
5.0 out of 5 stars a favourite movie
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 29, 2012
I bought this in August 2012 and the quality is great and much better than my region 1 version of this film from several years ago. The transfer is 2.35:1 anamorphic (unlike my old region 1 version). The title sequence is window boxed with borders on
all sides, but this is normal (to avoid parts of the titles being lost due to overscan on some people's TV's) and only applies to the title sequence.
Transfer really nice although I would love a blu-ray version of this film. It's great to see Robert Morse here since he's in Mad Men as well and both films have a similar theme.
5.0 out of 5 stars Simply media DVD
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 22, 2020
I've been after this for a long while. Have it as region 1, and have been looking for region 2 for a long time.
The DVD is in widescreen, although the main titles are
boxed. Picture quality is good and sound in 2 channel. This is bare bones DVD.
All in all really pleased with it.
5.0 out of 5 stars Great musical
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 11, 2012
If you haven't seen this film, you should! It's an absolute gem of a musical, and it's not shown nearly enough on TV, in my humble opinion. The choreography is brilliant (arranged by the great Bob Fosse), and Robert Morse is wonderful in the lead role. Look out for the fab 60's fashions!
5.0 out of 5 stars Outshines Guts and Dolls
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 21, 2015
This is an underrated gem that outshines the better-known Guys and Dolls. This has subtlety and irony, it is better cast and the songs are better. but it and enjoy!
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 8, 2018