The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

One of Danny Kaye's peculiarities as a comedic actor is that the more menacing the thugs who are after him, the funnier he is. In this case the thug is Boris Karloff, so as you might imagine Kaye is very funny. I find Virginia Mayo neither very talented nor very attractive, and as with most Old Hollywood actresses, she is perpetualy confined to the same accursed role of a romantic interest. However, she is always inexplicably amiable.

I love stupidity. That's partly why I love myself. And Danny Kaye movies. Like the colorful The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947). High on effort, low on IQ. Creepy villains and ridiculous dream sequences. A lot to love and frustrate yourself about!

Sure, this just seems like a vehicle for Kaye to sing and dance in daydream world, which he does very well, but he is also very convincing and likeable in everything in between. The man can act. The villains are scary enough - it's Boris Karlof after all - and Mayo is a very suitable damsel in distress.

Kaye is ok when he's reigned in, but he's unbearable when let loose, and this film lets him loose way too much. The main plot line with Mayo is a fun mystery with a few good turns, but I don't know that it's worth sitting through everything else to watch it.

Eh. Seems less like a sincere fantasy than a colourful vehicle for Danny Kaye. There are a couple moments where he completely drops character (a significant feat in a film where he daydreams himself as a bunch of different characters) and performs silly vaudeville routines, which come across as self-indulgence rather than fun, musical-style digressions. It's a pleasant enough romp, but it's insubstantial.

Danny Kaye me dá nos nervos. Desde sempre.

Samuel Goldwyn took the Thurber short story and spent too much money (though it looks great in Technicolor) and gave Danny Kaye either too much free reign (he has a couple of comic routines that are really excruciating to watch) or not enough (because he isn't all that funny). There's an added story about art thieves which just gets in the way. Some of the daydream sequences are nice little sendups of various tropes (Westerns, war films, medical dramas, etc.), but it's all too long and lavish.

While Thurber always professed to hate Kaye's characterization and the movie, it scored at the boxoffice and today stands as a comedic romp for Kaye.

To be fair this really isn't my type of film, as I'm not a Danny Kaye fan nor a musical fan, so my rating has to be taken with that grain of salt. And the musical numbers really did seem forced--it's understandable why Thurber hated this adaptation of his story. Still, I found myself enjoying portions of the film. If you're a fan of 40's comedy, the scene-stealing Boris Karloff, or the gorgeous Virginia Mayo then by all means partake of this offering.

Very nicely done. Danny Kaye's musical numbers are unique, and it is such a treat to see Boris Karloff in one of his few A-picture supporting roles. An unpretentious and thoroughly entertaining movie, and there's never been too many movies like that