
It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
All of us at Trailers from Hell mourn the untimely passing of TFH Guru Par Excellence Michael Schlesinger, a devout film aficionado devoted to extolling the virtues of the movies we all love, and who helped rescue a number of them from obscurity and/or decomposition.
Michael left us with several unaired TFH commentaries, which we’ll program during the upcoming months, but for this memorial week we’re running one classic commentary from Mike each day, including a number of his favorites. We’re beginning the week with what was probably his most beloved film, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World.
About Michael Schlesinger
Michael Schlesinger was widely acknowledged as the dean of classic film distributors, having worked for more than 25 years at MGM, Paramount and Sony, keeping hundreds of vintage movies in theatrical release (and later DVD), and instigating the restoration of many more, including the completion of Orson Welles' 1942 documentary It's All True some 50 years later. Behind the camera, he wrote and produced the American version of Godzilla 2000, co-produced such Larry Blamire parodies as The Lost Skeleton Returns Again and Dark and Stormy Night, and has written, produced and directed several short films featuring the faux-1930s comedy team of Biffle and Shooster. No power on Earth would have ever convinced him that It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World was not the Greatest. Movie. Ever. Sadly, Michael passed away on the morning of January 9, 2025.
My favorite movie of all time.
Was Dorothy Provine a babe or what?