How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying
by Claire J Rottenberg
"How to Succeed in Business" was a huge success on
Broadway, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in
1962. It opened on Broadway in 1961 and it ran for
1,417 performances. The play won 7 Tony awards,
including the awards for Best Musical, Best Author of
a Musical (Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and Willie
Gilbert), Best Composer (Frank Loesser), and Best
Direction of a Musical (Abe Burrows).
In 1967, a film version of "How to Succeed" was made
and it should have been a success, but it wasn't
nominated for any Academy Awards and it has become,
unfortunately, a forgotten film. The movie starred
several members of the original Broadway cast,
including Robert Morse in his Tony winning
performance as Pierpont Finch andRudy
Vallee.
Other cast members of the film who also appeared
in the stage version were Michelle
Lee as
the female lead, Rosemary, Sammy Smith as Twimble
and Ruth Kobart as Miss Jones.
The movie version of "How to Succeed in Business
without Really Trying" is a delight. Robert Morse is
absolutely perfect in what has become his signature
role and the supporting cast, comprised of primarily
stage performers, is excellent. The movie eliminated
six songs from the original Broadway production, most
of which were sung by the female lead. It's a shame
they weren't included in the movie since Michelle Lee
has a lovely singing voice. Unlike so many other
films of the 1960s, "How to Succeed" did not dub, or
need to dub, the singing voices of any members of the
cast.
"How to Succeed" is a wonderful spoof of the business
world and it is filled with good songs, including "I
Believe in You," great dancing (Bob Fosse was the
choreographer) and some very funny scenes. Although
it's not a great film, it certainly deserved more
recognition than it received. If you haven't seen it,
now might be the perfect time to buy or rent a copy
and relax and enjoy yourself for a couple of hours
with a good musical with great performances and
plenty of fun.
Learn more about
How to
Succeed in Business Without Really
Trying