Who's Minding the Mint? (1967) User Reviews

Lots of laughs.

[Hey_Sweden · 8/10 · 7 August 2018]

"Who's Minding the Mint?" is a hysterical comedy-"heist" movie in the classic tradition, as U.S. Mint worker Harry Lucas (Jim Hutton) accidentally destroys $50,000, and endeavours to sneak back into the place and reprint the money so the books will balance. Things start to snowball when he gets his old friend "Pop" (a delightful Walter Brennan) to help out, and more and more individuals get involved in the complicated scheme. Naturally, they want to get something out of this, so the amount of bills to be printed escalates in number.... Harry also gets the co-worker (Dorothy Provine) who is sweet on him to do the job of cutting the bills.

Sadly neglected at the time of its release, "Who's Minding the Mint?" is quite an engaging comedy over 50 years later, benefitting a lot from the efforts of a large cast: Milton Berle, Joey Bishop, Bob Denver, Jamie Farr, David J. Stewart, Jackie Joseph, Mickey Deems, etc. Hutton is wonderful as he mostly does "straight" acting, reacting with increasing weariness to the avarice and bungling of his compatriots. But the ones who tend to steal the show are Jack Gilford as the veteran safe cracker who happens to be hard-of-hearing, and a hilarious Victor Buono as the pompous ex-skipper who's drafted to build the participants a boat. (They need a boat, of course, to navigate the sewers.) There are some truly priceless farcical moments, all brought breathlessly to life by these fine performers and the director, Howard Morris, himself a comic character actor whom you may recognize from his work with Mel Brooks.

It's gratifying to see that the movie does have its admirers, which has presented it from being totally forgotten. It's extremely well paced, pushes some buttons in an endearing manner (Pop actually brings along his female pet beagle, who's about to give birth), and leads to a classic manic finale.

We root for our unlikely heroes all the way, even though we expect, and chortle at, those moments when it seems that everything is going to go up in smoke.

Paul Winfield has an uncredited bit near the end as a garbage man.

Eight out of 10.

Gem of a comedy, sadly overlooked

[epic-4 · 7/10 · 15 August 1999]

A staple of the 4:30 Movie I haven't seen this film for many years until I came across a long out of print Columbia Video copy in my local video store. And what a find! Here is a sweet fast paced comedy that really works. US Mint worker Jim Hutton accidently destroys a fortune and must replace it in a short time or else! With the help of some friends Hutton must break into the Mint and print the missing millions. This film owes a lot to ITS A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD but has enough clever plot twists and antics to call its own. Definetly worth a look at and hopefully Columbia will rerelease it on VHS or even put it on DVD.

Funny and a lesson about the value of paper money

[theowinthrop · 7/10 · 19 March 2005]

This film and "The Busy Body" are the two forgotten comic gems of the 1960s in that genre of films where all the prominent comedians appeared together. We recall "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", "The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming?", "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines", "Monte Carlo, or Bust?", and "The Wrong Box". But these two films not recalled, probably because the settings are not as colorful as the other films. Several of them are period pictures, one is set on Nantucket Island, and one is a type of cross-country chase based on greed. Greed plays a part in "Who's Minding the Mint?" and "The Busy Body", but the settings (while unusual in both films - here with a government building at night, and a sewer transversed by row boats, the other one dealing with a barbecue on a skyscraper's terrace and a corpse set up on a bench with a woman trying to vamp it)are not quite as colorful.

I like both movies, and this one is funny for reasons starting with it's cast and going through the routines and shticks they throw up. Victor Buono normally played villains or neurotics in films (even in comedies like "Four For Texas", but also "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, where he wasn't the actual villain). Here he is a sea captain, who has dreamed of building a great sailing boat. Unfortunately he captains the little boats on a kiddie ride in the park. Milton Berle is a successful pawn shop owner, who lets his greed get the better of him - and neatly expands the complications of plotting in the film. Bob Denver, nominally an ice cream truck driver, turns into a sex idol. Jack Gilford is a great safe cracker, but he has gone deaf in prison (don't ask), and now needs a good hearing aide to hear the tumblers fall into place. So it goes on and on. Even Joey Bishop finally had a decent comic turn here as a man with a serious gambling problem. The Rat Pack films never served him as well. Jim Hutton and Dorothy Provine make a nice, appealing couple, with Walter Brennan as a type of fairy "godfather" to them.

But there is a cute lesson about the true value of paper money. Supposedly the level of paper currency is watched to prevent inflation like that type which Weimer Germany had in 1922-23. But the plot involves reprinting much paper money to cover an error, and then some. As this would be included in the official records of the printing plant, it would be subsumed into the normal level of money printed each year. Nobody would ever notice the additional greenbacks that have been printed illegally. So if the record conforms perfectly, there is no actual counterfeiting. So much for the value of paper money...at least in this movie's point of view.

My Number One "Guilty Pleasure"

[johnsoro · 1 October 2001]

It's a smaller-scale "Mad Mad Mad etc World" with some crafty veteran gagsters (Gilford, Berle, Buono, Brennan, Bishop et al) doing their shtick. Small improbabilities build and build until you end up with a string of boats with wildly-costumed characters sailing in an improbable location from an impossible caper. Total on-screen madness, yet it made sense at every small plot step along the way. Tightly-constructed and very much a late-60s comedy. It's one of those favorites you're slightly ashamed of.

Fun Cast Highlights Lightweight Comedy

[ccthemovieman-1 · 6/10 · 12 September 2006]

This low-key comedy features a wonderful cast which is generally fun to watch. There are not a lot of laugh-out-scenes and definitely not as funny as adversed, but still enjoyable. Although mostly greedy, most of the characters are still likable enough. I particularly enjoyed Jack Gilford and Milton Berle's roles, the latter when he played George Washington!

The rest of the cast includes such names as Dortohy Provine (there's a '60s actress that seemed to disappear quickly), Walter Brennan, Bob Denver, Victor Buono, Joey Bishop and Jamie Farr.

In all, a pleasant lightweight comedy which probably deserves to be better known.

Mad World lite

[JasparLamarCrabb · 6/10 · 2 May 2007]

As bubbly as a movie can be without being a Disney film...and it's a lot of fun. Jim Hutton stars as an employee of the US Mint who plots to "un-rob" the place with a rag-tag assortment of helpers. Hutton is terrific as always. Nobody played light comedy like him in the sixties...he's clearly a lot more comfortable at it than counterparts like James Garner and Rock Hudson. It's directed by Howard Morris so it has an almost burlesque quality to it. Morris has a comic touch that's like a less edgy Mel Brooks. The supporting cast could have easily made up a late 60s episode of "Hollywood Squares": Bob Denver, Joey Bishop, Jack Gilford, Milton Berle, Walter Brennan. The love interest is played by the effervescent Dorothy Provine. Harmless entertainment to be sure.

A Delight

[vox-sane · 10/10 · 17 April 2000]

A fast-paced heist comedy, so innocent that nothing is even "stolen". When Jim Hutton, harrassed employee of the Bureau of Engraving, already on the outs with his boss, inadvertently takes 50,000 dollars and shreds them in his garbage disposal, he breaks back in to reprint the money. However, one thing leads to another and he eventually ends up with a gang of misfits, each of whom needs something and jumps at the opportunity to print their own money. Jack Gilford and Victor Buono grab their roles by the throat and they provide a great balance, each singlehandedly preventing the other from stealing the movie altogether out from under the others' noses. Everyone does a good job. The script is solid and plot-driven. Some of the laughs are diluted by appearing in so many other places in movies or tv in the last three decades, but the movie still remains fresh and funny, and makes a good diversion for a dull afternoon. It's too bad movies like this aren't made any more.

It May Not Grow On Trees

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 30 January 2011]

Who's Minding The Mint as a film proves that while money may not grow on trees, access to the presses can give you an unlimited supply. Director Howard Morris assembled a really bright group of scene stealing players that pretty much overwhelm the leads of Jim Hutton and Dorothy Provine.

Hutton and Provine work at the US Mint in Washington, DC which with its many national monuments provides an interesting backdrop for the caper that unfolds. Some fudge that Provine brought to work gets spilled on $50,000.00 of new bills. That's a loss Hutton is going to find hard to make up on his salary. What to do?

When Walter Brennan a former printer at the Mint asks Hutton to intercede on his behalf to get his job back, Hutton hits on the brilliant idea to break in the Mint after hours and print up the loss. But the task proves daunting and Hutton has to put more and more members on his team and of course after the first $50,000.00 they can print some additionals for their own use.

This is not a team you can keep up with in scene stealing. The rest of the members of the gang consist of Milton Berle, Victor Buono, Bob Denver, Joey Bishop, Jamie Farr, and Jack Gilford. What chance did Hutton and Provine have against this whole group and Walter Brennan although they do get some innings in with the comedy.

There is one constant sight gag throughout the caper. Due to some security changes the gang has the caper moved up a day as Hutton tells his team they have to drop all plans and work that night. They all show up in these ridiculous costumes with Denver in his ice cream man uniform, Buono decked out like the captain of the HMS Pinafore, Berle as George Washington, and Joey Bishop as a Boy Scout troop leader. And the idea was to be inconspicuous.

It's all bright and amusing and if you want to know what the ending is, let's just say there's a possibility it might work out all around.

A billion laughs

[Marta · 10/10 · 6 June 1999]

A film that is sadly overlooked, but I can't figure out why. It's a fantastic heist yarn, with Jim Hutton leading a bunch of losers as they sneak into the US Mint in DC to help him replace $50,000 that accidentally got sent through the garbage disposal. Everyone in this film is great; Jim Hutton had a real screen presence and I really miss him in films. Dorothy Provine is the girl who loves him secretly, and she finally gets the chance to tell him. She's also a pretty good comedienne. Milton Berle, Victor Buono, Jack Gilford, Joey Bishop and Walter Brennan are the rest of the gang, and they are all wonderful. Milton's turn as George Washington is a gem. And Victor Buono as an amusement park ride operator with visions of being a sea captain is just wonderful. It's a well plotted film, and moves along briskly with no lags. Perfect for a movie night with the kids. This just came out in 2012 at Warner Archive on DVD, so grab it before it's gone.

Throwing Money Down the Drain

[wes-connors · 6/10 · 1 February 2011]

Enterprising United States Mint worker Jim Hutton (as Harry Lucas) accidentally shreds $50,000 of freshly minted cash down his sink's garbage disposal, thinking it's the awful homemade fudge given to him by pretty co-worker Dorothy Provine (as Verna Baxter). Big oops! With restless and retired Walter Brennan (as "Pop" Gillis) itching to print money again, Mr. Hutton decides to sneak into the U.S. Mint, and round up $50,000 to replace the missing money…

They enlist help from deaf safe-cracker Jack Gifford (as Avery Dugan), pawn shop owner Milton Berle (as Luther Burton), gambling sewer worker Joey Bishop (as Ralph Randazzo), portly boatman Victor Buono (as "The Captain"), and ice cream truck salesman Bob Denver (as Willie Owens). Mr. Denver is fresh off "Gilligan's Island". An expert at cutting sheets of bills, Ms. Provine agrees to help Hutton, who is the man she loves. Things get greedy and out-of-hand...

On the night of the heist, talky Mr. Bishop arrives with his non-English speaking cousin Jamie Farr (as Mario), a long way from "M*A*S*H" and needing a job; and, Mr. Brennan must take along his expectant dog "Inky", who is about to deliver her pups. Director Howard Morris gives the comedy some good suspense, and lets his comedians peddle their wares. It's a slow-starter, but builds nicely. Yet, nothing approaches the comedy crescendo anticipated.

****** Who's Minding the Mint? (9/26/67) Howard Morris ~ Jim Hutton, Dorothy Provine, Walter Brennan, Milton Berle

Mediocre comedy saved somewhat by nice support

[funkyfry · 5/10 · 2 June 2014]

This is the kind of comedy that basically disappeared after the 60s... a kind of lower wattage version of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", with a pair of "appealing" young stars (Jim Hutton and Dorothy Provine) backed by mostly aging but still beloved comic support. The plot concerns a treasury employee who accidentally steals and destroys $50,000, and who decides to break into the mint to print it up again so nobody will notice.

The first friend he enlists is a retired printer, played by Walter Brennan. It's always fun to see Brennan in films, but he isn't given as much to do here as he should be. Eventually the two end up enlisting a huge gang to help them, and everybody wants some more of the money. Milton Berle provides some good humorous moments as a selfish pawn shop owner. Joey Bishop is largely forgettable as, I guess, an expert on sewers. Bob Denver provides his usual clowning as an ice cream truck driver (trying to figure out why he is essential to the heist is beyond ordinary reason... but at least it provides a nice small role for the wonderful Jackie Joseph from the original "Little Shop of Horrors"). Victor Buono gives the film's strangest performance, as a psychotic would-be sea captain who must pilot them through the sewers. Jack Gilford is, of course, the funniest of all the support as a deaf safecracker.

I found Jim Hutton totally unappealing and not funny. Provine is a very talented woman, and had a few good scenes, but her character was under-developed and certainly not given enough laugh lines. This is the kind of movie that certain people will feel nostalgic about, and try to justify as some kind of great comedy, but there's very little in the script to laugh at. The great supporting actors (OK, great with the exception of Bob Denver) do their best to give it some life.

One of the funniest movies that no one's heard of

[sj_elliott · 9/10 · 26 February 2006]

I saw this movie in the movies as a kid. When it came out on VHS I bought it and my kids became fans. I still have it on VHS and wish I had it on DVD. Everyone is superb and all the gags are great. I love the end where they're in the van with the church music playing.

Jim Hutton was a great actor and this is one of the funniest things he did. He is surrounded by an absolutely hilarious supporting cast. It's a well-made farce and the premise is so ridiculous that everything becomes even funnier as the movie goes on.

I've asked countless people in my life if they've ever seen this movie and they say they haven't even heard of it. It's a pity because it's really a delightful movie. I loved it, my kids loved it and I hope my grandkids love it. I just wish it would come out on DVD!!!

"Your other friends are all helping. I will too."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 28 February 2015]

Notwithstanding all the positive comments for this movie by other reviewers, nobody else mentioned all those stacks and stacks of money during the early tour at the Bureau of Engraving. I went on one of those tours once and seeing all those sheets piled up and ready to be cut into bills is a mind blowing experience.

Well this is a farcical comedy that's as implausible as one can imagine but it's a fun romp with a fine cast of comedians from the Sixties. Attempting to replace a fifty thousand dollar bundle of hundred dollar bills he accidentally took home and destroyed, Harry Lucas (Jim Hutton) hits upon a plan to replace the money before it's missed. Problem is, each character he brings into his scheme comes up with a reason he'll need another 'partner'. On top of that, their participation in the caper comes with a gradually increasing fee until the initially reluctant Harry tops it out at a million bucks apiece!

If you're paying attention you'll wind up wondering why Harry's crew winds up completely dry right after they all get soaked in the sewer system on the way to the engraving vault. Speaking of which, no one mentioned the odor down there seeing as how Washington, D.C. produces it's fair share of you know what with all the politicians working there. You know, I think the producers for the film missed a casting opportunity by not hiring Art Carney for his 'Honeymooners' experience as an underground sewer worker. He would have fit right in with Berle, Gilford, Brennan and all the rest.

One more goof - when Captain Victor Buono comes to the rescue with his fleet of kiddie boats, he's seen arriving in a miniature tugboat pulling five additional small boats for the rest of his 'crew'. However upon leaving, there are seven boats, one each for Harry, Verna, Luther, Dugan, Ralph, Pop Gillis and beagle Inky with her newborn pups. I guess no one made a head count on the way in.

You know what really got my attention though? When Harry tries to rationalize printing seven million dollars to admirer Verna (Dorothy Provine) and she balks at the idea, he actually uses what would come to be known as the Hillary Clinton defense four decades later - 'What difference does it make'?

Well if you like to take in a mindless comedy every now and then this can be an enjoyable flick. The unintended consequences unleashed by the printing scheme multiply like falling dominoes and when it's over, the players have to endure their own 'Treasure of the Sierra Madre' moment when all their cash goes bye-bye. The hardy troopers didn't even seem all that upset about it.

One last thing - if you stayed to the closing credits, you'll note that Inky the beagle was played by Peanuts. Why not just let the poor dog use it's own name?

Asinine outrageousness opens promisingly before turning its cast into bungling sillies...

[moonspinner55 · 4/10 · 31 January 2011]

Screenwriters R.S. Allen and Harvey Bullock have an original, potentially-great comic idea here--wily accountant at the U.S. Mint in Washington, D.C. has to break in after-hours and replace money he accidentally destroyed--but debuting director Howard Morris gives it a numbskull treatment, with the plot advanced on the proviso that every outrageous character on-screen act as stupidly as possibly. Jim Hutton is supposed to be playing a mild-mannered swinger skilled in the art of getting what he wants without paying for it, but there's nothing in this soft-edged, colorless actor that even begins to suggest these attributes. His cohorts in crime (played to the hilt by comedic veterans, mainstays, and newcomers) are a useless, selfish bunch who keep increasing their share of the action for personal gain--and is there anything less funny on the screen than greed? *1/2 from ****

A Truly Great Farce

[Sargebri · 16 April 2003]

This is one of the most underrated caper films of all time. Jim Hutton was perfect in his role as a Harry, a mint worker who somehow sinks $100,000 down his garbage disposal. Also, the cast of characters he has surrounding him from Milton Berle as the weasle of a pawn shop owner to Walter Brennan as the former mint worker who felt he was put out to pasture. Dorothy Provine is also great as Verna, the girl who truly loves Harry. Too bad this film isn't out on video or D.V.D. because it is truly a lost classic.

Zany comedy

[byron-116 · 6/10 · 10 June 2019]

Who's minding the Mint is a zany comedy and quite entertaining for the most part. This film somehow reminds me of the zaniest in It's a mad mad mad world

Another Review, I know ANOTHER PARTNER!

[thejcowboy22 · 7/10 · 19 May 2016]

Washington D.C. late 60's, No rallies , no protest just a flock of losers riding the D.C. sewer system fishing for cash. Harry Lucas played by Jim Elery Queen Hutton US Mint examiner accidentally mistakes wannabe girlfriend Verna's home made fudge for a bag of unchecked cash. Harry clocks out at the U.S. mint meets old co-worker/presser Pop Gillis played by veteran actor Walter Brennan and takes off in a limousine to his swanky penthouse. While making out with neighboring vixen, Harry drops the contents into his state of the art garbage disposal. Even the drain couldn't handle the richness of the loot as Harry looks in horror as the shredded bills spit out. Harry goes back to the mint and see's the amount lost and has to replenish the difference in a couple of days or it's off to Leavenworth prison for him. Harry notices that an adjacent storage room has a trapped door leading to the D.C. sewer system and a light bulb goes off in his brain. Pop Gillis and Harry would come inside the mint via the sewer door and print the destroyed money during the wee hours. His over zealous irascible boss is some how convinced Harry is secretly absconding funds from the mint as he follows Harry during his off-hours to his lavish apartments and limo rides around town. In truth Harry uses the free leases/trial periods from each establishment or car. Moreover the boss has Harry audited and the examiner claims that all his records are perfectly sound and he loves the way Harry makes his 4's. This time Harry has his back to the wall. Meanwhile recently retired Pop Gillis feels he was let out to pasture way to soon and claims if I could only get my hands on those presses.Pop Gillis gets his wish. Harry in hot water from the destroyed greenbacks suggests to Pops to help him reprint fresh bills during the evening hours when the security guards take a break from the assembly area. Pop tells Harry that he can't print a single bill without the plates because there locked in safe. Enter deaf safe cracker Jack Gilford. Since the safe cracker is deaf enter tight wad pawn broker Milton Berle who will provide the hearing aid but must print him extra money in return. The problem is that the sewer has water and they need a boat. Enter Victor Buono Master ship builder, they also realize they need a sewer expert, Enter Joey Bishop, you see where I'm going here ANOTHER PARTNER!!! Finally Pop Needs a cutter enter Verna. Harry lies to her telling her that he mistook the money for her fudge but what he didn't mention was all those partners are promised a Million a piece. Verna thinks there just helping Harry out of the kindness of their hearts.Ice cream man Bob Denver and Jamie Farr round out the rest of the potential millionaires. Watching our troupe pull off this ridiculous, improbable next to impossible task is something to behold with many waves in the sewer. So grab your Popcorn and favorite beverage for a late shift of printing and mayhem. Howard Morris's direction is superb as he must of had a time directs all those egos as the chemistry between the character"s shine. Good clean comedy. Just wipe off the excess ink from your fingernails.

Overlooked classic ratifies Murphy's Law

[monk-18 · 9/10 · 2 August 2004]

Why doesn't this get more respect? Each time I see this (now going on #8) it gets better as surrealism in commercial 1960s America. The cast is stellar and performances are memorable. The plot is sufficiently twisted to make this late-night TV movie a classic of one error that leads to many more errors at ridiculous lengths.

I have too many favorite scenes here to claim one as a favorite. The straight man Jim Hutton is more patient than required by the role of the straight man. His attempt to rescue cash lost in a garbage disposal leads to an unlikely but ever-growing payroll of a deaf safe-cracker (Jack Gilford),pompous toy boat captain Victor "My only aversion to vice is the price" Buono, Bob Denver, Milton Berle with a face of green ink mistaken for George Washington by a drunk staring down a sewer, and a pregnant dog in scuba gear.

Whatever can go wrong will, including the place of this farce amongst other American farces.

galaxy of stars! film is okay..

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 27 October 2023]

TOOOO many huge, hilarious, hollywood names to describe them all, but check out that cast list on imdb! When a u.s. Mint worker accidentally ruins a batch of bills, he comes up with a plan to make it right. But of course, he gets caught up in a bigger, very illegal caper. And it snowballs out of control. The mint will be installing new machines, so now it's a rush job. Can they fix all this before they all end up in jail?? Lots of talking and planning...for first half of the film. Ocean's eleven had come out in 1960, and this has some similarities to that. It's a heist film. Some funny bits now and then, but not the funniest film ever made. Directed by howard morris, who you probably know so well from the andy griffith show (otis the town drunk), or maybe high anxiety (professor liloman). It's pretty good! But the fun part for me was just seeing all the actors in oddball roles in one film. Currently showing on cinevault channel. Runs about two hours!

Great Movie

[ellery99 · 10/10 · 13 June 1999]

If you are a true Jim Hutton fan as I am, you will really love this movie. I did. One can see what a great actor Jim Hutton really was. Sad that he was taken from us so soon. And one can also see where his son Timothy gets his talent.....and good looks I might add! The casting in the movie was also great! Walter Brennan, Joey Bishop, Milton Berle....a classic!

Wasted talent

[Phillim212 · 2/10 · 13 January 2022]

Annoying mess of a "comedy" about printing and stealing currency from the US Bureau of Engraving. You stay with it for skilled performers so good in other things, hoping for a moment or two -- but they are completely done in by an unfunny, repetitive script, and a novice director who seems overwhelmed. The general silly tone is not sufficiently engaging to obscure the completely implausible story. And it looks cheap, like a 1960s made-for-tv movie -- all minimal stock sets and flat lighting.

it's like printing your own money

[myriamlenys · 8/10 · 6 October 2018]

A young male employee of the US Mint has destroyed a serious bundle of money, through a moment of carelessness. After some thinking he finds a solution : sneaking into the building unnoticed and printing (or re-printing) the same amount. However, the scheme starts to snowball, with ever more angles, accomplices and spoils to be considered...

A pleasant comedy that feels somewhat like a more innocent and family-friendly cousin of "It's a mad, mad (etc) world". The movie starts in a slow, deliberate, somewhat plodding fashion but gains speed and traction in the second half, when the jokes announced or prepared in the first half begin to pay off. For instance, one of the perpetrators arrives at the US Mint building dressed like a Founding Father ; it seems like a redundant piece of whimsy but it lays the foundation for some good jokes, one of them consisting of a successful pastiche of the "Washington Crossing the Delaware" painting by Leutze.

It's a comedy without violence or obscenity, which can safely be watched by anyone between the ages of 8 and 88. Even the ending is good-natured, with the crime itself getting punished, in a fashion, but with the gang members taking their losses in good humor. And yes, the young male employee has finally discovered that his female co-worker is both beautiful and kind, which is exactly the kind of sweet, happy conclusion the viewer expected/predicted some 50 to 60 minutes earlier.

Who's Minding the Bureau of Engraving and Printing?

[jbacks3 · 3/10 · 18 October 2004]

I've got a slight bone to pick. I remember seeing this. back in '67 in a Saturday afternoon matinée. Twenty-eight years later I began working for the Treasury Dept. There is no Mint in Washington D.C. Jim Hutton works for the Bureau of Engraving & Printing which ain't the Mint. The Mint produces coins, but I suppose having the ever-scheming Hutton walk out of the Mint with a 52 lb bag of quarters wrapped in fudge would suspend disbelief a little too far. The under-rated director, Howard (Ernest T. Bass) Morris did a pretty decent job with the material and it sort of plays like a somewhat less frenetic It's a Mad, Mad, Mad (etc.) World. 3 out of *****.

A shameful admission; I love this film

[Arjay-2 · 4 August 1999]

Most of us who love serious films have a Dark Side, in which we shamefully adore some really non-serious work of cinema. I shamefully admit it; I love Who's Minding The Mint. At every turn in the preposterous plot, a new (old) face appears and each of these characters really runs with his tiny part. The plot deals with breaking into the U.S. Mint and printing up sheets of money, but plot is secondary to the moment-by-moment antics of this assembled comedic multitude.

Watching the ensemble work of veteran comics (such as Milton Berle, Jack Gilford, Joey Bishop, and a young Jamie Farr) I was reminded of the much-more-honored MadMadMad World. Besides ya gotta love Bob Denver (Gilligan) playing a sex symbol.

even more than I derived from Bob Denver's website (and let me tell you, Dorothy Provine is REALLY hot!)

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 17 December 2006]

On one level, "Who's Minding the Mint?" is one of those zany comedies that they cranked out in the '60s. But I will assert that it is a real laugh riot. Portraying a nervous employee (Jim Hutton) of the US Mint accidentally losing $50,000 and having to hire a gaggle of people - all of whom want to get paid - to help him reprint it, I get the feeling that they had a lot of fun filming the movie. It would certainly look funny to have the police wonder why an employee, plus George Washington (Milton Berle), a sea captain (Victor Buono), a boy scout (Joey Bishop), a ballerina (Dorothy Provine) and a deaf man (Jack Gilford) have broken into the Mint. Not to mention Bob Denver as an ice cream man having to occupy a nosy woman (his character has a slight tinge of Gilligan).

So, the movie is more than just silly fun. Like Milton Berle and Dorothy Provine's previous cooperation ("It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"), it shows greed taking over in what was supposed to be something simple. Speaking of Dorothy Provine, I would like to assert that we have not given her the credit that she deserves. True, she retired from the screen years ago, but with "WMTM?" and "IAMMMMW" and "The Great Race" to her resume, she has earned her recognition.

So, I definitely recommend the movie. Knowing how Dorothy Provine looked in that ballerina outfit, I wonder how she felt (or what she looked like underneath).