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IMDbPro

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

  • 19661966
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 39m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
9.5K
YOUR RATING
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
Trailer for A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
Play trailer1:18
1 Video
73 Photos
ComedyMusical
A wily Roman slave schemes to earn his freedom by romantically uniting his master with a courtesan. But matters get complicated and he ends up dragging in his neighbors around him, leading t... Read allA wily Roman slave schemes to earn his freedom by romantically uniting his master with a courtesan. But matters get complicated and he ends up dragging in his neighbors around him, leading to chaos.A wily Roman slave schemes to earn his freedom by romantically uniting his master with a courtesan. But matters get complicated and he ends up dragging in his neighbors around him, leading to chaos.
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
9.5K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Richard Lester
  • Writers
    • Melvin Frank(screenplay)
    • Michael Pertwee(screenplay)
    • Burt Shevelove(book)
  • Stars
    • Zero Mostel
    • Phil Silvers
    • Buster Keaton
  • Director
    • Richard Lester
  • Writers
    • Melvin Frank(screenplay)
    • Michael Pertwee(screenplay)
    • Burt Shevelove(book)
  • Stars
    • Zero Mostel
    • Phil Silvers
    • Buster Keaton
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 96User reviews
    • 34Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 1 win & 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
    Trailer 1:18
    Watch A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

    Photos73

    Jack Gilford, Michael Hordern, Zero Mostel, and Phil Silvers in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
    Jack Gilford and Zero Mostel in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
    Jack Gilford and Zero Mostel in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
    A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
    Peter Butterworth in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
    Myrna White in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
    Zero Mostel and Myrna White in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
    Zero Mostel and Myrna White in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
    Lucienne Bridou in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
    Zero Mostel in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
    Zero Mostel, Inga Neilsen, and Phil Silvers in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
    Jennifer Baker, Susan Baker, Lucienne Bridou, Michael Crawford, Helen Funai, and Myrna White in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Zero Mostel
    Zero Mostel
    • Pseudolus
    Phil Silvers
    Phil Silvers
    • Marcus Lycus
    Buster Keaton
    Buster Keaton
    • Erronius
    Michael Crawford
    Michael Crawford
    • Hero
    Jack Gilford
    Jack Gilford
    • Hysterium
    Annette Andre
    Annette Andre
    • Philia
    Michael Hordern
    Michael Hordern
    • Senex
    Leon Greene
    Leon Greene
    • Captain Miles Gloriosus
    Roy Kinnear
    Roy Kinnear
    • Gladiator Instructor
    Alfie Bass
    Alfie Bass
    • Gatekeeper
    John Bluthal
    John Bluthal
    • Roman Chief Guard
    Pamela Brown
    Pamela Brown
    • High Priestess
    Patricia Jessel
    Patricia Jessel
    • Domina
    Beatrix Lehmann
    Beatrix Lehmann
    • Domina's Mother
    Frank Thornton
    Frank Thornton
    • Roman Sentry
    Peter Butterworth
    Peter Butterworth
    • Roman Sentry
    John Bennett
    John Bennett
    Andrew Faulds
    Andrew Faulds
    • Director
      • Richard Lester
    • Writers
      • Melvin Frank(screenplay)
      • Michael Pertwee(screenplay)
      • Burt Shevelove(book)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      While Buster Keaton often used a stunt double due to his illness, he improvised running into a tree branch and falling backwards onto the ground, much to the horror of director Richard Lester and crew.
    • Goofs
      Lycus disguised himself as a woman in a yellow gown, but the gown changes to white during the chase scene and remains white for the remainder of the film.
    • Quotes

      Miles Gloriosus: Arrange food, drink, entertainment, and a sit-down orgy for fourteen.

    • Crazy credits
      One fresco in the closing titles depicts a Roman orgy, but one character raises the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) seal in protest. The MPAA was in charge of deciding whether the content of a feature was too obscene.
    • Connections
      Featured in Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter (1982)
    • Soundtracks
      Comedy Tonight
      Written by Stephen Sondheim

      Performed by Zero Mostel and ensemble

    User reviews96

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Mostel, Silvers, Gilford, and Michael Crawford!
    Very funny film version of the smash Broadway musical, but minus most of the music. Sort of a bawdy tribute to slapstick comedy and vaudeville, the film is uniformly wonderful, the pace fast, and the jokes funny. This show was a major success on Broadway for Zero Mostel and decades later for Nathan Lane.

    The plot is zany and convoluted and the style of comedy is similar to 60s slapstick used in everything from Tom Jones to Lock Up Your Daughters. Director Richard Lester uses film technique to keep the few musical numbers from stopping the pace of the film, and it works surprisingly well. And the fond look at slapstick (speeded up film, drag, pratfalls, etc.) is especially apt here considering the great Buster Keaton is in the cast.

    Mostel reprises here as the wily slave who drives the manic action. He wants to be free. Mostel is just wonderful and gets to use his full bag of tricks as a comedian as well as sing "Comedy Tonight." Equally good is Phil Silvers, who sells slave girls next door to the snooty matron (Patricia Jessel) her husband (Michael Hordern), and their innocent son Hero (Michael Crawford---yes THAT Michael Crawford).

    The great Buster Keaton (in his final film) plays Erronius, an old man seeking his long-lost children. Jack Gilford plays a fellow slave, Leon Greene plays the pompous Roman general looking for his bride. Then there are all those slave girls — Annette Andre as the virgin; Inga Neilsen as the mute. Michael Hordern is a surprise as the old lecher and gets to sing, "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid." Jessel is a scream as the hag wife. Lots of scantily clad girls and horny old men.

    Hilarious jokes (Mostel as the soothsayer) and sight gags abound. Mostel, Silvers, and Gilford are masters of this sort of broad comedy, and Silvers and Gilford make truly ugly women. Crawford (decades later The Phantom of the Opera) is really funny as the dopey Hero and does most of his own stunts. Greene is also very funny as the overblown general.

    Lots of other good performances in small parts: Beatrix Lehman as the 104- year-old with no working organs, Peter Butterworth as the Roman soldier, Frank Thornton (Are You Being Served?) as a Roman citizen, the grunting Janet Webb as Fertilla, Roy Kinnear as the trainer, Alfie Bass as the sentry, Ronnie Brody as the short soldier.

    There's so much action here you have to watch this several times to catch all the background jokes. The final madcap chariot race is hilarious. Great fun. And flies everywhere!
    helpful•40
    5
    • drednm
    • Aug 23, 2005

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 16, 1966 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Toll trieben es die alten Römer
    • Filming locations
      • Samuel Bronston Studios, Madrid, Spain(as Bronston Studios, Madrid)
    • Production company
      • Melvin Frank Production
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $2,000,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 39 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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