AKA...
How To BS Your Way to the Top!
How did I not know this was a movie?
The first time I saw How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying was at a humble community theater production as a kid. It was fun, the music was great, and that elevator song was an instant favorite. I've seen a couple stage productions of it since, but had no idea it was a movie until it popped up while browsing Amazon.
For those unaware, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, quite a mouthful, is a 1967 movie directed by David Swift (who also did The Parent Trap and Pollyanna), starring Robert Morse, based on the 1961 stage musical (which won both a Pulitzer and a few Tony's) and originally staged by Bob Fosse (also starring Robert Morse), which is based on the 1952 book.
The story is about "Ponty" Finch, a sky-rise window washer who stumbles upon the book How to Succeed in Business (etc) at a newspaper stand, and immediately begins to read and follow its advice. He joins a large corporation as a mail room worker, and soon enough the book's advice gives Finch (That's F-I-N-C-H) an incredible edge, and he literally begins climbing the corporate ladder within days.
It's strange watching this movie as an adult with no clear memory of the changes from stage to screen, or even if the theater may have "softened" some things. How to Succeed (etc) is PG-13. It's definitely more adult. It's not the family friendly My Fair Lady or Sound of Music of my youth. This movie is a little edgy, playing up on corporate 1960 stereotypes, full of satire. I kept thinking that there's no way this movie would be made today, as it's a product of it's time.
This is the sort of movie that shouldn't be remade, simply because it's perfect as it is. A 1960's satire made in the 60's. Perfectly cast with fun songs that are well performed. The colors bright and costuming fun. It just works.
So, the movie was fun, I laughed, and now I've got "Been a Long Day" stuck in my head.
Sarah
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