The Secret Life of Walter Mitty [Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo]

Product Description

Walter Mitty, a daydreaming accountant with an overprotective mother, likes to imagine himself as a hero experiencing great adventures. His dream becomes true when he accidently meets a mysterious woman who hands him a little black book. According to her it contains the loca- tions of the Dutch crown jewels hidden since World War II. Soon Mitty finds himself in the middle of a confusing conspiracy and has to admit that being a hero in real life isn't that easy.

Customer Reviews:

Hilarious Comedy -- Danny Kaye is Perfect.......2007-05-25

I have been in love with this film since I first saw it on TV when I was a child. It is one of those classic Hollywood comedies that just makes you happy. It's got so much going for it: the incomparable Danny Kaye, a hilarious premise involving dangerous jewel thieves, lovely Virginia Mayo, wonderful fantasy/daydream sequences, and the sinister Boris Karloff.

Danny Kaye is completely in his element here, playing a nervous wimp who escapes his dull life (controlling mother, and tedious job at the paperback publishing company) through daydreams of romance and adventure.

Until I saw this movie I had no idea how very gifted Kaye was. He can make a reaction to toast popping up seem hysterically funny. His timing and acting are brilliant, and his physical comedy is formidable.
I just wish that he had made more comedy films in the 40's and 50's. But I suppose it's better to have done a few brilliant gems than a whole bunch of decent movies.
I also recommend his films "Wonder Man", "The Court Jester", "The Inspector General", and also "Knock on Wood" (that last one is basically impossible to find anymore, so I wish they'd do a box set of his dvd movies!)...

The Dreamer in Us All .......2006-05-03

Need someone to save the girl from a vicious blackmailer in a western? Walter Mitty is here. Need a highly skilled doctor to perform a nerve-racking surgery while up against the clock? Walter Mitty is the man. Need an expertly skilled air pilot to fly in World War 2, or a comedian/entertainer to help all the boys forget about the war with his little musical number? Yes, you guessed it: Walter Mitty.

This is by far one of my favorite stories to read and best loved films. Based on James Thurber's story, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty stretches this story into a 100 minute feature film. Reportedly Thurber didn't like the movie too much, but, honestly, I believe there is little not to love in this movie. It does a superb job projecting the character Walter Mitty Thurber seemed to want to create. There is quite a deal more depth given to this character in the movie, and this is a good thing. Instead of just being a simple-minded man who dreams away from his uneventful life and wife to bigger and better things, this Walter Mitty leads two lives-the real, and the dream-which seemingly interconnect during the film.

There are subtle differences from the short story. For instance, Walter's wife (in the story) is replaced with his nagging mother in the film. He is going to be married, and is not only nagged by his mother but also his fianc?. However, after he witnesses a murder, he begins to question what is real and what illusion is, including the girl of his dreams (Virginia Mayo).

Another superb aspect of the film is simply the performance by Danny Kaye. Kaye embodies the very essence of Walter Mitty so well-there are the goofy moments when he nervously struggles to get away from danger, the entertaining parts where he is singing about musical devices, or showing the latest fashion, and the adventurous scenes where he is trying to help his damsel-in-distress escape countless villains (one of which is played by none other than villain legend Boris Karloff).

Another great thing about the film is its quality. The DVD is in excellent quality, sound, transfer and color are fantastic. I'm so glad they brought this classic to DVD.

This is an exceptional movie for the family to enjoy, or just a movie to cheer you up. It definitely has the comedic flavor that we expect from Danny Kaye films.

I think we can all associate with the dreamer in Walter Mitty, because we all want to be heroic in some way.

Average customer rating:

Pure Entertainment
Slightly faded
Fearless Dreamer
Danny Kaye Shines as Thurber Gets The Goldwyn Treatment
Sweet Victory!

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Starring: Danny Kaye , Virginia Mayo , Boris Karloff , Fay Bainter , and Ann Rutherford
Director: Norman Z. McLeod
Manufacturer: Hbo Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Classic Comedies | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: 6305047529
Release Date: 1998-08-25

Amazon.com

If there's one movie Danny Kaye fans fondly remember, it's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. The versatile comedian--also an unsurpassed song-and-dance man--plays a henpecked, thriller-genre book writer suddenly enmeshed in a real adventure involving the (literal) girl of his dreams (Virginia Mayo). Initially criticized for not staying true to the more melancholic sensibility of author James Thurber's original story (Thurber allegedly offered producer Samuel Goldwyn $10,000 to not make the film), it not only works as an independent story, but remains highly entertaining and wears well upon repeated viewing. Kaye's milquetoast Walter fantasizes distractedly about being heroic, whether a gunslinger, an Air Force pilot, or a riverboat gambler. His "Anatole of Paris" number, in which Walter fancies himself a French hat designer who, in the end, declares he hates women, is nothing short of brilliant. That number, like many of Kaye's trademark patter deliveries, was penned by his wife, Sylvia Fine. Kaye benefits from a wonderful supporting cast: Mayo; Boris Karloff as maniacal Dr. Hugo Hollingshead; Faye Bainter as Walter's repressive but lively mother; Ann Rutherford as his suspicious fiancée Gertrude; and Gordon Jones as Tubby, who not only has designs on Gertrude, but provides the villain in Walter's fantasies. --N.F. Mendoza

Customer Reviews:

Pure Entertainment.......2006-06-06

For you Danny Kaye fans, well you know all about this anyway. For those looking for a good family movie, this is it. Perhaps not Kayes best work, but near the top. Great screen adaptation of Thurbers short story. Movie stands alone and is easily identified with by us "dreamers" out here. Do recommend a read of the original short story for a more complete understanding of where this character came from and how well Kaye protrays this mild mannered man and brings him to life.

Slightly faded.......2005-08-31

When I saw this in 1947 or '48 I thought it was more hilarious than anything I'd ever seen before. I thought the same of Up in Arms, Knock on Wood, The Court Jester, and all Kaye vehicles. I must have been more innocent in those far-off days, and, sadly, it is now not quite as good as I then thought it; in fact, memory had enhanced the classic scenes and the dream sequences had got even better over time, so that when I saw them again they were faintly disappointing. Still, anyone viewing the film for the first time should find it hugely enjoyable; and it is famous enough for the Walter Mitty Syndrome to have entered the language. The Thurber story is a greater work of art, and it is unsurprising that he disliked the way his wistful and ironic little invention had become distorted. The most memorable parts of the film were the "I'm taking her through: my arm is broken, but it's nothing", "Ach, Himmel, it is Valter der Mitty: I'm done for", Walter "Slim" Mitty --- the Mitty Kid --- "I wouldn't do that if I were you"; but none of them quite matched up to the way I remembered them. Too bad --- it's still a classic, and I won't be garnering too many votes in agreement.

Fearless Dreamer.......2005-03-20

Danny kaye was a gifted physical comedian and Walter Mitty is one of his best roles. He dreams because his life is not too exciting. I think lots of people can relate to this. Walter is brave when in his real life he is not. Then he meets Virginia Mayo (a beautiful blonde) who just happens to be his dream girl come alive. The story is universal and makes the viewer laugh 90% of the time. For all ages. Terrific!

Danny Kaye Shines as Thurber Gets The Goldwyn Treatment.......2004-11-25

While WONDER MAN and THE COURT JESTER might be more consistently wacky, I thought THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY (TSLoWM) brought out the vulnerable side of Danny Kaye, one of my faves since childhood (I never missed any of Kaye's movies on WPIX when I was growing up). It usually gets on my nerves when I see movie characters allowing themselves to be as put-upon and henpecked as Kaye's Walter is here, but there was a sweetness about him that made me root for him instead of merely growling, "Oh, tell 'em all to go to hell already" -- and as a result, it's that much more satisfying when Walter finally does tell off his obnoxious so-called friends and loved ones (unlike such "comedies of cruelty" as MADHOUSE, where the last 10 minutes of Revenge Against The Oppressors are the only entertaining parts of the movie)! Although James Thurber, another of my faves, reportedly tried to buy off producer Samuel Goldwyn to keep the film from being made and hated the finished product, I think perhaps Thurber wasn't being quite fair. First off, books and film have different storytelling requirements, and second, the first 10 minutes are almost straight from Thurber's story (except it's Walter and his nagging mom instead of a nagging wife), and it seemed to me that the characters and performances had very Thurberesque qualities about them. Boris Karloff and Konstantin Shayne are delightfully unctuous villains (Fun Fact: their henchman, Henry Corden, later became the voice of Fred Flintstone!). As Walter's literal and figurative dream girl Rosalind van Hoorn, frequent Kaye co-star Virginia Mayo was thoroughly beguiling and never looked lovelier (and hey, the radiant Mayo was a size 12 and nobody considered *her* a "plus size," thank you very much! :-). TSLoWM also contains two of my favorite Kaye/Sylvia Fine musical numbers: "Symphony for Unstrung Tongue" (am I the only one who finds the line "He gets so excited that he has a solo passage" to be subtly salacious? :-) and "Anatole of Paris." To top it all off, it takes place primarily in my hometown and favorite city, New York City, and is set in one of my favorite milieus, pulp magazine publishing! My hubby and I like to think that Uncle Peter's grand home must be located in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, where we used to live, since it looks like the kind of houses we used to see while walking around in the Fieldston area and it didn't seem to take horrifically long for Walter and Rosalind to drive there from the Flatiron district of Manhattan! :-) (Interestingly, the interior of the van Hoorn home looks a lot like the interior of evil Bruno Anthony's home in STRANGERS ON A TRAIN; anybody know if these scenes might have been shot in the same house/set?) I wish the DVD extras had included deleted scenes (there's a bit in the trailer with Karloff and Corden in a pub that I definitely don't recall seeing in the finished film), but it was nice to see Virginia Mayo still alive and well (and bigger than "size 12," but on her it's pleasant plumpness, in my opinion! :-) in the intro and outro, even though she only had time to say one line about most of her co-stars ("Ann Rutherford was delightful...Fay Bainter was a consummate actress...").

Sweet Victory!.......2004-09-05

It's about time they put this on DVD. It's one of the best Danny Kaye movies ever! I definitely recommend it to both Danny newcomers and old viewers. This ones for keeps!

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