It is generally known that this, the best known film made from a purely James Thurber story (THE MALE ANIMAL was a collaborated play) was not liked by Thurber. One can understand why. The actual short story is not at all like the film, except that the central figure (Mr. Mitty) keeps having extremely odd day dreams where he does all kinds of heroic things that are totally at odd with his humdrum life. He is married, and obviously is hen-pecked. Every incident of the story sets off one of his day dreams, and (in the conclusion) he is heroically facing a firing squad. A sort of perfect conclusion as his fantasy life mirrors the deadly control of his real life by his wife.
The movie's Walter Mitty (Danny Kaye) is not married, but he lives with his bossy mother, works for an overbearing boss who steals his ideas (Thurston Hall - he publishes Mitty's dime store adventure stories), has an overbearing girlfriend with an overbearing mother, and has a male "friend" (Gordon Jones - "Mike the Cop" on Abbott& Costello's television show) who is a loud mouth and overbearing. Mitty tunes them all out to make his life bearable. He sees himself as a great surgeon, a captain of a ship rounding Cape Horn in a typhoon (and steering with a broken arm), as a Mississippi gambler, and as the great Parisian couturier "Anatol of Paris".
Then one day he runs into a blonde woman (Virginia Mayo) who is trying to flee from a gang of desperate men, including Boris Karloff (as the head of an asylum). They are trying to get her to reveal a valuable secret that will net them all millions. Mitty is dragged into this, and finds himself being pursued by the gang, and trying to fend off the interference or criticism of his mother, boss, girl friend, etc.
One can understand Thurber's anguish, as the Goldwyn film mangles the mood conciseness of the original story. It is really a comic mood piece, commenting on the living hell Mitty has that only his imagination can free him from. The movie altered this into an adventure film dealing with a milquetoast who finds his level of real bravery. As a real artist, Thurber could only regret the changes in the story. But the film was first rate entertainment, and is among the best movies in Kaye's comedy career.
To find out how Walter finds his guts at the end, and what the "poketa, poketa" machine and sound is all about, watch this delightful comedy. Then reach for the Library of America volume on Thurber, and read the original, to see how the material was originally put down on paper.
The movie's Walter Mitty (Danny Kaye) is not married, but he lives with his bossy mother, works for an overbearing boss who steals his ideas (Thurston Hall - he publishes Mitty's dime store adventure stories), has an overbearing girlfriend with an overbearing mother, and has a male "friend" (Gordon Jones - "Mike the Cop" on Abbott& Costello's television show) who is a loud mouth and overbearing. Mitty tunes them all out to make his life bearable. He sees himself as a great surgeon, a captain of a ship rounding Cape Horn in a typhoon (and steering with a broken arm), as a Mississippi gambler, and as the great Parisian couturier "Anatol of Paris".
Then one day he runs into a blonde woman (Virginia Mayo) who is trying to flee from a gang of desperate men, including Boris Karloff (as the head of an asylum). They are trying to get her to reveal a valuable secret that will net them all millions. Mitty is dragged into this, and finds himself being pursued by the gang, and trying to fend off the interference or criticism of his mother, boss, girl friend, etc.
One can understand Thurber's anguish, as the Goldwyn film mangles the mood conciseness of the original story. It is really a comic mood piece, commenting on the living hell Mitty has that only his imagination can free him from. The movie altered this into an adventure film dealing with a milquetoast who finds his level of real bravery. As a real artist, Thurber could only regret the changes in the story. But the film was first rate entertainment, and is among the best movies in Kaye's comedy career.
To find out how Walter finds his guts at the end, and what the "poketa, poketa" machine and sound is all about, watch this delightful comedy. Then reach for the Library of America volume on Thurber, and read the original, to see how the material was originally put down on paper.