It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is the poster child for the word zany. In addition to being a hysterical comedy about a group of stranded motorists who collectively catch treasure-fever, the 1963 film gave birth to a new genre – the all-star cast epic adventure, spawning successors from The Great Race (1965) through Cannonball Run (1981) all the way to Ocean’s Eleven (2001) and its sequels. The cast alone would take more space to list than this blurb could contain, but what an amazing list of early to mid-20th century comedians and actors it was. To name a few: Phil Silvers, Mickey Rooney, Spencer Tracy, Ethel Merman, Edie Adams, Buster Keaton, Jonathan Winters, Sid Caesar, Jim Backus, Milton Berle. Whew. Nominated for six academy awards (one win) and two Golden Globes. Crazy, man. — Craig Holden

Rated: G