20th Century Fox
Not part of a collection.
What a Way to Go!
What A Cast!... What A Past!... What A Show!...
A four-time widow discusses her four marriages, in which all of her husbands became incredibly rich and died prematurely because of their drive to be rich.
- Original title
- What a Way to Go!
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- $20,000,000
- Revenue
- $13,298,000
CinemaSerf
Dec 2, 2024 · via TMDB
I recall a time when I saw Joan Collins in "Dynasty" (c. 1983) and her character was called "Alexis Carrington Colby Dexter"... I had never known a lady to keep the names of all of her husbands one after the other. Well, Shirley MacLaine beat her to it - by about 20 years - as her portrayal of "Louisa May Foster Hopper Flint Anderson Benson". The film begins as an elegantly dressed woman tries to give the IRS a cheque for a couple of hundred million dollars. They think she is bonkers and refer her to a shrink to whom she reminisces about her hitherto marital relationships. Dean Martin in the first local bigwig to take a shine to her, but she falls for local shopkeeper Dick Van Dyke who manages to turn his tiny shop into a thriving business emporium before disaster strikes. Next she meets struggling artist Paul Neman in Paris; then Millionaire Robert Mitchum as she leaves Paris, then Gene Kelly in a cheap and cheerful diner in which she tries to get away from it all - she even proposes to her shrink - before, well it sort of goes full circle. This is a fun exposé of MacLaine's skills - singer, dancer, bon viveur, - and the male stars are very much in her orbit. Newman is particularly good (and handsome) as her painter who uses automated painting techniques to create his masterpieces, and poor old Bob Mitchum who seems to offer title more than a private plane and an arm for her to hold as she parades a line of elegant line of couture that would rival any Milan or Paris catwalk. There's a decent, if maybe too long, song and dance routine with Kelly too! The comedy is a bit predictable, and the sound-stage look of the thing is a bit too static at times, but the compendium nature of the storytelling is engaging, as is the star, and it flew by. Not great, but good.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Shirley MacLaine
Louisa May Foster
Paul Newman
Larry Flint
Robert Mitchum
Rod Anderson Jr.
Dean Martin
Leonard Crawley
Gene Kelly
Pinky Benson
Robert Cummings
Victor Stephanson
Dick Van Dyke
Edgar Hopper
Reginald Gardiner
Painter
Margaret Dumont
Mrs. Foster
Fifi D'Orsay
Baroness
Maurice Marsac
Rene
Wally Vernon
Agent
Lenny Kent
Hollywood Lawyer
Fred Aldrich
Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
Don Anderson
Awards Ceremony Guest (uncredited)
Army Archerd
TV Announcer (uncredited)
Phil Arnold
Publicity and Press Agent (uncredited)
Al Bain
Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
Marjorie Bennett
Mrs. Freeman (uncredited)
Nesdon Booth
Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
Eugene Borden
Man (uncredited)
Lynn Borden
Woman (uncredited)
Barbara Bouchet
Girl on Plane (uncredited)
John Cliff
Waiter (uncredited)
Christopher Connelly
Ned (uncredited)
Tom Conway
Lord Kensington (uncredited)
William Corcoran
Seven-Year-Old Leonard Jr. (uncredited)
Peter Duchin
Cocktail Party Pianist (uncredited)
Anthony Eustrel
Willard (uncredited)
Pamelyn Ferdin
Four-Year-Old Geraldine (uncredited)
Milton Frome
Lawyer (uncredited)
Teri Garr
Shipboard Number Dancer (uncredited)
Roy Gordon
Minister (uncredited)
Sid Gould
Movie Executive (uncredited)
Paula Lane
Movie Executive's Girl (uncredited)
Joel Grey
Patron (uncredited)
Leon Shamroy
Director of Photography
Edith Head
Costume Design
Sydney Guilaroff
Hair Designer
Gene Kelly
Choreographer
Leon Charles
Dialogue Coach
J. Lee Thompson
Director
Arthur P. Jacobs
Producer
Nelson Riddle
Original Music Composer
Jule Styne
Songs
Elmer Raguse
Sound
Adolph Green
Lyricist
Adolph Green
Screenplay
Gums and Noses
Channel Chaos
Talk Back
Cyclops, Baby
OK/NOTOK
Cyprus Avenue
Pulp Fiction
Life Is Beautiful
Like Animals
The Nail
Santa Secreto
El Infierno
It's Such a Beautiful Day
To Be or Not to Be
The Hustler
Sticker
Shaun of the Dead
Adam's Apples
Mahjong
In China They Eat Dogs
Heathers
Ghost
Yellow Submarine
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Carnage
A Shot in the Dark
Grave Decisions
Gara-Gara Warisan
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Wild at Heart
Floater
Pieces
M*A*S*H
Death at a Funeral
Nobody 2
Dogma
Demolition
Sister Act
Dead or Alive 2: Birds
The Naked Truth
O Lucky Man!
Steptoe & Son Ride Again
The 'Burbs
Cul-de-sac
A Serious Man
Second to None
Repo Man
Ruthless People
Kendra and Beth
Rotting in the Sun
The Whole Nine Yards
Pee-wee's Big Adventure
The Last Supper
The Wrong Box
The Smile
Visitor Q
There's No Place Like Home
Eat the Rich
Aaltra
Tre giorni dopo
Living Among Us
Fierce Creatures
Torrente for President
Where’s Poppa?
Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny & Girly
License & Registration
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
3000 Miles to Graceland
9 Dead Gay Guys
Summer Holiday
The Last New Year's Eve
Zora la vampira
The Swedish Moment
The Night They Raided Minsky's
Drunk Bus
Up!
The New Age
The Cars That Ate Paris
Let's Kill Ward's Wife
Outcome
Easy Sex
Testosterone
Miss Nobody
48 Minutes
Neutrals
Tiny Dancers
Three Day Millionaire
The Classical Catalog With Psycho Salesman
Trio
Great Great Great
Babezilla vs The Zombie Whorde
After School Lunch Special
Door to Door
Beta
Timothy
Insect Inside
El Tigre escondido
A Man Departed
Interview With The Devil
The Man Who Surfed The World
Arranged Marriage
Dancing on the Grave
Nepotism, Baby!
Mislabeled
Date Night
Murder, But Epic!
End of History
ADA-Dance
Rock & Roll
The Masque of the Red Death
Dream-Spy
Chameleon
FINED
Wraith
Hand Job
Untitled "Grim Reaper Film"
Plucked
Untitled
Louis C.K.: Hilarious
The Kissing Booth 2
Cactus Flower
I Love You Again
The Thrill of It All
Desk Set
Aziz Ansari: Buried Alive
Silk Stockings
How to Marry a Millionaire
Much Ado About Nothing
You've Got Mail
Return to Me
Fun with Dick and Jane
Easy Virtue
Let's Make Love
Watching the Detectives
Wedding Season
Love Is in the Air
Falling for Christmas
Phffft
Relative Values
This Little Love of Mine
The Prince & Me 4: The Elephant Adventure
Boot Camp
Champagne Problems
What's Love Got to Do with It?
A Hollywood Christmas
Love, Weddings & Other Disasters
Good Advice
Girl on a Bicycle
The Fighting Temptations
Christmas with You
May 13, 1964
New York City, New York
