How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

This was one of the rare Broadway musicals whose book is actually more interesting than its score. So while roughly a half-dozen Frank Loesser songs from the stage version are deleted, they're not really missed. What survives is a witty skewering of office politics, featuring much of the Broadway cast. And while such '60s business staples as rampant sexism and smoking now look quaintly offensive, the gleeful satirizing of backstabbing and skulduggery in business will always be relevant. David Swift, whose training was in TV, doesn't do much with the widescreen format (except for the ingenious ballet-mechanique in "A Secretary Is Not a Toy"), but he cuts cleverly away from the production numbers just as the musical-comedy silliness is on the verge of becoming embarrassing, and he splices in some delectable location shots of '60s New York. The color scheme is bright, the pacing brisk, the cast friendly, the production values refreshingly modest. At a time in movie history when so many adaptations of stage hits were overbudgeted and overlong, what a pleasure to see something to faithful to its source material -- and so unpretentious.

What a great musical! Too bad only one song made the hit parade( I Believe in You) Michelle Lee's singing voice has the depth and range of Barbara Striesand....wish we could have heard more of it. Rudy Vallee was a gem...topped off a remarkable career --the Elvis of the 1920s! Get the DVD....it's a beautiful transfer!

One of the great satirical, musical comedies of the 60s. Robert Morse in the lead role is not unlike a sophisticated version of one of the Jerry Lewis characters of the same era - with the exception that he sings. And, he sings some wonderfully witty songs that must be very close to the bone in companies that take themselves too seriously. Sammy Smith is superb in his dual roles as the quarter of a century mail room head who "plays it the company way" and then later as Chairman Wally, the ex window washer. The lyrics will never date, along with the hammy caricatures of the self serving executives and staff. Not all stage musicals have translated well to the screen but How to Succeed is a noteworthy exception - highly recommended.

Except for four songs being dropped and a slight altering of the original story's pacing, this is a flawless translation of a Broadway classic to the big screen, making great use of New York locations and retaining Robert Morse in the best role of his entire career as the ambitious window washer J. Pierrepoint Finch who climbs his way up the corporate ladder by every little trick in a book that the musical takes it's title from. Morse's timing and delivery is perfect and everyone who's played the part of Finch since on Broadway (most notably Matthew Broderick a few years back) have had to emulate his basic approach to the part.

Michele Lee is also perfect as the secretary Rosemary who is madly in love with Finch. Her sexy solo of "I Believe In You" (a vast improvement over the stage's "Happy To Keep His Dinner Warm") makes you wish she hadn't given up Broadway for TV success because she has one of the best singing voices you'll ever hear.

HOW TO Succeed IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING is the 1967 film version of the Pulitzer Prize winning 1960 Broadway musical that broke Broadway box office records and made a star out of Robert Morse. Morse was thankfully allowed to recreate his Broadway role in this exuberant film version as J. Pierpont Finch, an ambitious young window washer who, through the aid of the title book, cleverly manages to work his way up the corporate ladder at World Wide Wickets, Inc. Morse lights up the screen in the best role of his career. He sadly never really got a role of this caliber again and I've never been able to figure out why. He gives a smart and brassy performance and is well-supported by 20's crooner Rudy Vallee, also reprising his Broadway role as company president JB Biggley and Michele Lee as devoted secretary/girlfriend Rosemary Pilkington. There is also standout work by Anthony Teague as company brown-noser Bud Frump and Maureen Arthur as Miss La Rue, Biggley's outspoken mistress whose physicals assets clearly outweigh her secretarial skills. David Swift's fast-paced direction is a plus as is Bob Fosse's inventive choreography. Sadly, the original score has been severely tampered with and several great songs from the stage show have been cut, but we still have "How to", "The Company Way", "A Secretary is not a Toy", "It's been a long day", and the show's most famous song, "I Believe in You." A clever and entertaining screen adaptation of a classic Broadway musical.