Toll trieben es die alten Römer

"Forum" is one film adaptation of a Broadway musical that is a half-glass of water. On the half-full side we get to see Zero Mostel and Jack Gilford reprising their Broadway roles, and they're joined by a fine supporting cast including Phil Silvers as Lycus (ironically, he would star as Pseudolus in the 1972 Broadway revival) and Buster Keaton in his last film. But even though the film delivers the laughs and opens itself up well from its stage origins (let's face it. That climactic chase in the Broadway version is wonderful but it just wouldn't work on film at all). But what I can't forgive is how nearly three-quarters of Sondheim's outstanding score (his best I think) has been jettisoned to give us a too short running time of barely an hour and a half. And on top of that, why do *both* of Milos Gloriosus's numbers get kept, while Mostel's two best numbers from Broadway, "Pretty Little Picture" and "Free" (which is supposed to be the heart of the show) are gone (along with Gilford's "I'm Calm")? That, I do not understand at all. It's gotten to a point where I purposefully stop the film after Psuedolus falls out of the tree so I can then play Mostel's version of "Free" from the Broadway cast CD (which is where it would have belonged in the film). And it's too bad this wasn't a roadshow movie with an intermission because Mostel's funny Act One closer would have worked great there as well.

All in all it's worth having, but be prepared for your mood to shift from seeing the film as a half-full glass or a half-empty one.

Recently re-released on DVD, this film is a revelation for anyone who has only seen the pan-and-scan version. So many of the film's visual jokes are lost when you can't see the whole picture, and if there's one thing Richard Lester knows how to do, it's pack in visual jokes. Some people complain that Lester altered the original show too much, cutting songs and dialogue alike, but this is the only way people can see Zero Mostel's fantastic -- and frenetic -- performance, so count your blessings. Michael Hordern is also a hoot as the whipped Senex. Other members of Lester's stock company put in appearances, from Frank Thornton and John Bluthal to the always-welcome Roy Kinnear (as a matter-of-fact gladiator trainer). And Michael Crawford never had it better than when he was in front of Lester's camera.

I never saw this in the 60's though I was of an age to...just saw it the other night on television and only watched it for Buster Keaton, whom I have recently developed a great joy in seeing. I enjoyed the whole thing...silly, (sexest,yes, a movie of the 60's), funny stuff. My kids aged 10 and 12 really enjoyed it, too.

This movie really does have something for everyone. Beautiful singing for the girls, erotically dancing half-naked prostitutes for the guys, and a lot of laughs for both. The late Zero Mostel was fabulous in this movie. For great music, great laughs, and great-looking women, rent "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum."

When I was in High School I had a role in a production of this musical. The film actually stays pretty close to the plotting of the Broadway show, but the truth is that it's story lines are tried and true ancient Roman comic lines from the plays of Plautus and Terence. As such, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM is a useful film - it is one of the few movies that are based on ancient drama. Of Greek tragedy only Sophocles OEDIPUS THE KING and Euripides THE TROJAN WOMEN made it onto the screen. None of Aristophanes' comedies did, although a "western" version of LYSISTRATA (heavily bowdlerized) called THE SECOND GREATEST SEX was produced. Menander has not popped up yet (with only THE GROUCH extant, there is little chance of that). But this Sondheim musical is the sole example of Roman Comedy - specifically the play MILES GLORIOUSUS ("THE BOASTFUL SOLDIER"). When Aristophanes created "Old Comedy" he created a phantasy comedy of kingdoms of birds or dead playwrites holding contests for supremacy. Political satire was also quite important. After the end of Athenian's Golden Age, even Aristophanes had to tone down his plays. Menander introduced a comedy of character and situation. THe Romans followed Menander's example. So A FUNNY THING HAPPENED is actually a comedy of daily regular life in Rome - it is not a realistic view of Roman society, but it is a type of distorted mirror of that society.

It is also important for another reason: Zero Mostel. There is no doubt that Mostel was one of the great Broadway performers of his generation, but his movie record on this is spotty. Mostel was best recalled for his Leopold Bloom in ULYSSES IN NIGHTTOWN, Pseudolus in A FUNNY THING HAPPENED, the lead role in RHINOCEROS (by Ionesco), and (most of all) the original Tevye the Dairy Man in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. But only two of these performances got filmed - Pseudolus in this Richard Lester movie, and (in the 1970s)RHINOCEROS (with his co-star from THE PRODUCERS, Gene Wilder). The real loss for his fans was that Tevye was played by Topol in the Norman Jewison film version of FIDDLER. Topol was very good in the film (and was nominated for an Oscar for his performance), but one wishes Jewison could have used Mostel. It would have been an interesting film record of a major Broadway performance.

Mostel's filmography is an odd one. He first crops up in the early 1950s, most notably in two of Humphrey Bogart's last films, THE ENFORCER and SIROCCO. He (like his friend, and fellow FUNNY THING performer, Jack Gilford) was blacklisted in the McCarthy period, so that Mostel turned to working in nightclubs and developed his interest in painting (his painting always showed great promise). The slow resurrection of his carreer in the late 1950s led to some movie roles of interest, such as THE HOT ROCK, GREAT CATHERINE, THE ANGEL LEVINE, but the films were mostly flops. Only twice, when he starred in THE PRODUCERS and FUNNY THING HAPPENED did a glimmer of the manic power of the actor show up on celuloid, preserving an idea of what he was at his best. For that reason alone A FUNNY THING HAPPENED is worth watching and enjoying.

The supporting cast is great too, including Buster Keaton in one of his last roles as a befuddled old man, Gilford as Hysterium (Mostel's foil in the household where they are both slaves), Phil Silvers as Lycus the procurer (one of Silver's best performances on screen), and the two Michaels (Hordern and Crawford) as Senex and Hero - father and son (and rivals for the same girl). One particular added joy is the ill-fated Roy Kinnear, here playing a gladiatorial trainer who treats the use of a mace as though it were a golf club. A few numbers of the score are cut (FREE, IMPOSSIBLE) but they keep in COMEDY TONIGHT, EVERYBODY OUGHT TO HAVE A MAID, and one of Sondheim's few good love ballads, LOVELY. All this and a look at the power of mare sweat (don't ask - you have to be there). I found this film a great joy.