Episode
The Comedy to End All Comedies: The Making of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" w/ Scott Alexander and James Curtis
- Published
- Jul 7, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 6033
- Processing state
not_requested
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/fun-for-all-ages-with-frank-santopadre-7402373/episodes/the-comedy-to-end-all-comedies-the-making-of-it-s-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world-w-scott-alexander-and-james-curtis/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/fun-for-all-ages-with-frank-santopadre-7402373/the-comedy-to-end-all-comedies-the-making-of-it-s-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world-w-scott-alexander-and-james-curtis.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
Frank takes a loving look behind the scenes of Stanley Kramer's ambitious, audacious, all-star epic "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" with the help of producer and Emmy-winning screenwriter Scott Alexander and film historian and author James Curtis ("Comedy is a Grim Business: The Making of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.") In this episode, the boys break down the film's casting, audience reactions and enduring legacy, James dispels long-held rumors and myths, Scott marvels at the film's chaotic production and James and Scott share happy memories of seeing the movie at the famed Cinerama Dome. Also: Stan Laurel turns down a cameo, Marvin Kaplan babysits Jonathan Winters, Uncle Miltie brings his own writer on set (!) and Edie Adams warns Stanley Kramer about working with comedians. PLUS: The inventiveness of William (and Tania) Rose! Buster Keaton (almost) plays Smiler Grogan! Jim Backus disses Buddy Hackett! James pens a bio of Spencer Tracy! And Scott has a (very) strange encounter with one of the film's stars! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices