Zero Mostel, Jack Gilford, Phil Silvers, and Buster Keaton in Richard Lester’s A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM (1966).

Diana Dors and Phil Silvers, 1959.

Rita Hayworth, Gene Kelly, and Phil Silvers during production of the Columbia Pictures/Charles Vidor musical romantic comedy Cover Girl, 1944.

Audrey Hepburn and Phil Silvers at the Ice Capades, 1954.

It’s a simple idea; a group of people learn a secret about where a bunch of money is hidden “underneath a big W” and they all scramble to get there first. Hella hijinx ensue. The story fractures and splits more and more until people are involved who don’t even know what they’re looking for. Columbo is in it. The Three Stooges appear in a silent cameo for less than five seconds in one of the best jokes in the film. It’s ultra-wide screen and shot in super technicolor, it’s as rich as eating a whole wedding cake by yourself. It’s perfect for new years day or any lazy decadent day off. A young Johnathan Winters destroys an entire gas station using Phil Silvers as a weapon. Everyone is competing to see whose character can be the most foolish, venal, arrogant idiot, and there is so much mugging and scene stealing it’s almost too much. There have been attempts to remake it but it’s impossible to match the original. I don’t watch it often, I save it as kind of a special treat and today is a perfect time to watch it. Highly recommended

Comedian Mickey Freeman on Sam Levenson's Celebrity Talent Scouts (1960)