How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967)

Awesome Movie

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Plot: The ultimate self-help book success story, with a little song and dance tossed in. Drive-in Rating: Yield right of way. Odd musical but one that's clearly got legs since it's enjoyed Broadway revivals. My first choice for movie remake lead is Jonah Hill as J. Pierpont Finch, the scruffy, slightly dopey, enjoyably conniving, and unconventional lead played in the movie by Robert Morse. Costumes and set decoration are ultra 60's for those who are retro fans. The movie was best when you could chart Morse's ladder-climbing by the hour or day, but toward the end you lose sight of the timer and it becomes a little less amusing. Still a worthy commentary on modern-day business.

Entertaining musical where it is again proved that brains aren't the only prerequisite to success up the corporate ladder. That is shown so beautifully by Robert Morse's energetic performance as the success climbing oriented person. While Morse won a Tony on Broadway for his performance, when the show was turned into a movie, he was denied an Oscar nomination. The bigotry that the Academy has shown towards musicals through the years!Rudy Vallee is on par as the dimwitted boss who everyone respects in order to get ahead.Another joy here is Maureen Arthur, who does a fabulous imitation of the late Jean Hagen in 1952's "Singin' in the Rain." Arthur gives new meaning as the dumb redhead who also knows how to get what she wants.The picture is lots of fun as it shows how to climb up the corporate ladder through sheer luck, deceit, treachery and ambition. Furthermore, it's done in a wonderful musical way. Besides I Believe in You, let's all hear it for The Company Way.

Finch (Robert Morse) is a greenhorn, just arrived in Manhattan. However, on the shelves of the corner refreshment stand is a small book. Entitled How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, it puts forth a step by step plan to rise quickly to the top of a major corporation. What a discovery! And, soon, Finch puts the book into action as he arrives at the threshold of a big firm. Before long, he has a job in the mailroom, although the company is "not really hiring at this time" and he is not there long. In the wink of an eye, he is a junior exec! That book knows its stuff. However, because Finch is working his way up by flattering the head honcho's (Rudy Vallee) secretary and devoting himself to knowing the personal likes of the other important bigwigs, he is really an exec with feet of clay. How long before they give him the boot? Also, although Finch doesn't want any romantic attachments at the moment, he can't help but notice the lovely secretarial worker, Rosemary (Michelle Lee) who, likewise, has eyes for him. Will there be an office romance, too? This is a nice film version of the classic musical with songs like "A Secretary is not a Toy" and other sly digs at the corporate environment. The cast is nice and can truly sing. What a treat to see Vallee, who was entertaining folks before the second World War! Lee does a fine job, too, and Morse is enjoyable as the astute "faker", with a demeanor and hairstyle that recalls Jerry Lewis. All students of the sixties will savor the sets, costumes, and amenities as a quick trip back in time and the direction is lively and sure. As for the songs, they are definitely hummable. Since musicals are truly a rare animal in the 21st century, why not look for this one on the next trip to the store, all you fans of showtunes? How to have fun in the home theater is this flick's credo.

A few notes of full disclosure here: 1) I love musical theatre 2) I'm old enough to remember this show when it was on Broadway.OK, now: This isn't really a movie. It's a film of a stage show. With the exception of a couple location shots of New York City 40 years ago, it's almost exactly the Bob Fosse staged production that swept the Tony Awards in 1962 and is one of only seven musicals in 90 years to win the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Robert Morse, Rudy Vallee, Ruth Kobart and Sammy Smith reprise their stage roles as the ambitious corporate ladder climber, the pompous executive, his dictatorial secretary and the middle manager who "plays it the company way". Michelle Lee is Morse's love interest, and Maureen Arthur channels Judy Holiday as Vallee's ditzy paramour. The musical numbers are transferred almost verbatim from stage to screen, and if you're not familiar with the show, you won't be disappointed that a few of them were left out.In sum, you have to be ready to accept this as more a stage play than a cinematic experience; but if you are in the mood for a true period piece that truly reflects the American musical theatre of the past century and is unlikely to be replicated or even approximated on the screen in the foreseeable future, you could do a lot worse than watching this on a commercial free channel or grabbing the DVD for an afternoon with your teens, especially if any of them have thoughts of a career on the stage.