Marketic It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Noutions Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Alana Fu The first hour of this movie is frightfully boring, up till the big ending there really isn't much to see. Now I was expecting a lot since Dick Van Dyke was in it, but honestly NONE of his great comic talents were showcased in this movie! No slapstick or funny face or anything, it's like watching Donald O'Connor playing a John Garfield role! What's the point of having Dick Van Dyke?? Fred Macmurray would have been plenty for this role. Dick does look smashing in a tux but that's about it.I was also excited because he's partnering with the lovely Barbara Feldon, however their romance makes no sense to me, neither was there any funny scenes between them. Even though it has a great premise, as a comedy it is barely funny at all, and it's also too long. As for organized crime it's not really clever enough, more "hanky panky" than "Grand Budapest". I could picture a way better version of this story, starring Cary Grant probably..

Irie212 A butler so competent he puts Marmaduke Ruggles to shame, Claude "Fitzwilly" Fitzwilliam is also a crook and con man who robs from the poor to fill the coffers of his dowager employer, Miss Vicky. It's hard to even begin to calculate the ethical problems in this movie, or to untangle the motivations.Fitzwilly is played by the multi-talented Dick van Dyke at the height of his powers, which are in evidence here, but even his talent can't carry this mess of a movie. Fitzwilly's white-collar crimes are intended to be both comical and admirable, but they are neither. Nor are they victimless. They include: (1) Conning dutiful and/or dim employees, sales clerks and middle managers and etc., out of goods and cash-- people who will probably be fired as a result. (2) Reneging on donations to charities by stealing back the checks that Miss V. issued. (3) Setting up his own fake charity, "Serenity through the Word," which sends lachrymose letters of condolence to mourners and receives donations in return. (4) Spending his ill-got loot on maintaining Miss Vicky's household-- which includes the whole staff (his gang) "living well." Champagne is the most common libation downstairs.None of the characters could be called admirable, let alone consistent. Barbara Feldon, playing an intellectual hired by Miss Vicky to help research her "Dictionary for Dopes," starts by idealistically defending servants, butlers, and secretaries against charges of inferiority. But when she takes a liking to Fitzwilly, she harasses and then dumps him because he isn't ambitious enough to rise above the status of a butler. Then of course, this being a putative romantic comedy, she reverses herself again to marry him, "I don't care if you're a butler or a chiropodist." As for the wonderful John McGiver, I won't detail his character, but trust me, his motivations twist into a Gordian knot that Hercules couldn't untangle.There is one redeeming feature in this Christmas casualty: Miss Vicky is played by the magnificent Dame Edith Evans. Her too few scenes are too, too fabulous. I offer a sampling of her best lines, but reading them without her pungent aristocratic delivery is like reading lyrics of "I Got Rhythm" without the music: "A psychiatrist is a doctor to whom you tell things you wouldn't tell your mother, and if you did she would have the common decency not to believe you.""He thought I needed a new interest in life after father died, because hating father had been my chief interest up to then, and I was lost without it."Here's to you, Dame Edith. Would that I'd seen you on the London stage...

Vinny37 I was surprised by one review deeming it unethical. The butler was in the wrong though for unselfish reasons. The story both had romance (& like another reviewer I too had a crush on Barbara Feldon in my preteen 1960's years) and rebuke: she saw the butler's heart and insisted that he end his life of crime and help the old lady only through honest ways. Good heart & bad action was changed to good heart & good action, wasn't it. And it was great fun too. This is a film that I'm looking to get my hands on. Dick van Dyke has had some good films (eg Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), and this is one of his best.

Pfunn When people ask me my favorite Christmas movies, I include "White Christmas," the George C. Scott "Christmas Carol" and "Fitzwilly." The latter film usually brings a perplexed response. In fact, much of the film takes place during the holidays, and the climax (if I remember correctly), occurs on Christmas Eve. This film has been a favorite since my childhood, and I'm disappointed that it doesn't get more TV airings during the holiday season.