The secret life of walter mitty 20 rotten tomatoes. Even when the movie is about another time and place, it inevitably is that time. James thurber wasnt too happy with the sam goldwyn film adaptation of his 1939 short story the secret life of walter mitty, but the technicolor musical comedy proved to be a cash cow at the box office. The secret life of walter mitty is not a great movie, but its still an accomplished drama for what it does, and with an actor like stiller acting and directing, we get something quite good and. The film also stars kristen wiig, shirley maclaine, adam scott, kathryn hahn, and sean penn this is the second film adaptation of james thurbers 1939 short story the secret life of walter mitty.
A 1947 radio adaptation of the movie, with danny kaye and virginia mayo reprising their roles, was performed on the screen guild theater. Walter mitty, the henpecked, daydreaming hero in the short story the secret life of walter mitty, is thurbers quintessential urban man. This new walter mitty has been updated to be a single man, 42 years oldas the movie opens we learn its his birthdayand working as head of the negative department at life magazine, which in real life ha. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or instore pickup. The secret life of walter mitty 1947 movie moviefone. If theres one movie danny kaye fans fondly remember, its the secret life of walter mitty. A moment comes when you stop dreaming, start living and discover your destiny. The secret life of walter mitty 1947 film wikipedia. The secret life of walter mitty 1947 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. The secret life of walter mitty is a 20 american adventure comedydrama film directed, coproduced by and starring ben stiller and written by steve conrad. Twentieth century fox my elementary school class teacher, bill lindeman, used to read james thurbers hilarious 1939 story to. As a result, kaye went on to become a huge star for goldwyn in the years immediately following wwii and one of his most highly successful films was the secret life of walter mitty 1947.
The secret life of walter mitty, in which danny kaye gives vent to. Except for special issues like the beatles 50th anniversary that. The irrepressible danny kaye stars as a mildmannered mouse who imagines himself as a number of daredevil heroes, including a gunslinger in the old west. Ben cosgrove the secret life of walter mitty, james thurbers classic 1939 short story, is a tribute to the sometimes unsettling power of the human imagination. The secret life of walter mitty 1947 rotten tomatoes. Ben stiller stars in the secret life of walter mitty. Danny kaye stars as walter, a milquetoast proofreader for a magazine. The secret life of walter mitty 1947 1947 movie hoopla. The versatile comedianalso an unsurpassed songanddance manplays a henpecked, thrillergenre book writer suddenly enmeshed in a real adventure involving. The secret life of walter mitty 20 daydreaming stopped being considered cool after fifth grade. Again, if youre the creator of the gif used, tell me and ill happily credit you it does link to tumblr, but not a specific post, so.
The versatile comedianalso an unsurpassed songanddance manplays a henpecked, thrillergenre book writer suddenly enmeshed in a real adventure involving the literal girl of his dreams virginia mayo. Although author james thurber had serious misgivings about mgms adaptation of his story, the secret life of walter mitty 1947 turned out to be undeniably terrific entertainment. The secret life of walter mitty 20 plot summary imdb. The most famous of thurbers stories, it first appeared in the new yorker on march 18, 1939, and was first collected in his book my world and welcome to it harcourt, brace and company, 1942. Writings and drawings the library of america, 1996, isbn 1883011221, is. Mitty also has a crush on a coworker named cheryl, but never has the nerve to tell her his feelings towards her. When his job, along with that of his coworker kristen wiig are threatened, walter takes action and embarks on an incredible journey. This is the technicolor version of the film the secret life of walter mitty starring danny kaye as walter mitty and also starring merle oberon, laurence olivier, david niven and donald crisp. The secret life of walter mitty 20 tt0359950 a timid magazine photo manager who lives life vicariously through daydreams embarks on a truelife adventure when a negative goes missing. Secret life of walter mitty, the dvd danny kaye stars as the mildmannered mouse who imagines himself to be a number of daredevil heroes in this whimsical adaptation of james thurbers short story.
The wonderful danny kaye is perfect as thurbers hopelessly daydreaming character as his fantasies open up visually into amusing heroics the tipocketica sound. Kaye gives a brilliant and hysterical performance as the highly imaginative walter mitty, who escapes his own real life and pictures himself as a whole new person, whether its a hat designer, professional gambler, a war hero. Goldwyn film adaptation of his 1939 short story the secret life of walter mitty, but the. Mitty works with photojournalist sean oconnell, whose images are highly regarded. The secret life of walter mitty fails because it is contrived, an inorganic exercise about what it means to get out of your comfort zone and go for broke. Walter mitty and the life magazine covers that never were.
In the secret life of walter mitty, danny kaye is a natural to play the part of walter mitty. Ben stiller directs and costars in this inspiring story about an ordinary man who leaps into the extraordinary adventure that is life. Thats pretty much what he is here, and if you havent seen a danny kaye movie this is a pretty funny introduction. The secret life of walter mitty is whimsical and abrupt, and maybe only halfhappy with what it daydreamt. The one downside to the recent flurry of danny kaye dvd releases has been the discs lack of bonus materials. Just make sure you tell me all about it later, too. The secret life of walter mitty 1947 stars danny kaye as its. The secret life of walter mitty 20 stars ben stiller as a largely anonymous little man in the photo department of life magazine.
Walter mitty ben stiller is a quiet, simple and harmless guy who daydreams constantly about wild, unbelievable and overthetop adventures in which somehow, and in someway, hes the one who steps up to the plate and does heroic, cool. The secret life of walter mitty by james thurber read. The image of danny kaye in this poster is straight from a chinese restaurant scene deleted from the theatrical release of the secret life of walter mitty. Naturally, we dont pretend to know now about the cultists reaction to the film treatment of the secret life of walter mitty, but ours ranges from unrestrained. Hes a henpecked man who takes refuge from his boring life by engaging in a series of fantasies. Danny kaye, virginia mayo, boris karloff, norman z. One of kayes earliest hits was the secret life of walter mitty 1947, in which he played james thurbers daydreaming everyman, who envisioned himself as a schooner captain, surgeon. The secret life of walter mitty 1947 trailer youtube. The film stars danny kaye as a young daydreaming proofreader later associate editor for a magazine publishing firm and virginia mayo as the girl of his dreams. These include a brave sea captain, fashion designer, surgeon, cowboy, etc.
He lives alone, has a doting mother and a ner do well sister, and when he daydreams, it bears little resemblance to the theatrically staged scenes of danny kaye. The joke of ben stillers the secret life of walter mitty is an old one far older than both the james thurber short story that inspired it and the 1947 danny kayestarring film of the same. The secret life of walter mitty 1939 is a short story by james thurber. The secret life of walter mitty turner classic movies. Before there was mike meyers, adam sandler, eddie murphy, jim carrey of course there was the great and late danny kaye. The original the secret life of walter mitty is not the best executed story of all time, getting a little jumbled in all its cleverness, but it sure holds your attention and makes you laugh a lot. Danny kaye sings as anatole of paris from the secret. The film was adapted for the screen by ken englund, everett freeman, and philip rapp, and directed.
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