Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

MartinHafer The only reason I saw this film is because Edward G. Robinson was in it. However, had I known that it was actually a dopey Disney film, I probably would have skipped it. While the studio today is well-respected, in the late 60s and 70s their output was, to put it charitably, crap.The film begins with Dick Van Dyke playing a character actor who has played, among other things, a lot of gangster roles in movies and TV. However, he's not a particularly famous actor, so when he's mistaken as a REAL gangster he's stuck. They expect him to kill security guards and help them in an art heist--and he just wants to run away and save himself. Can he somehow get out of this alive? While the premise is pretty cute, the execution of the film was pretty bad. Too many broadly acted scenes (like Van Dyke's VERY exaggerated drunk act) really brought the film to a grinding halt--as did the terribly slapsticky and ridiculous ending. Even the kids must have groaned at this one! A total waste of talent and a film I had a hard time finishing.

zannalee02 I came across this one while organizing videos my family had taped-I was about to take it out when this started playing. I figured I'd watch a few minutes, see what it was all about, and finish labeling the tapes. Long story short, the project was set aside for another day, and "Never a Dull Moment" became a family favorite! This is a Disney movie from the '60's, and as such represents some of Disney's best, before the days of formulaic family movies. It's not really aimed at children; the story is dialogue-driven, and the lead character's predicament is presented through dramatic irony. Younger viewers may not get it. That all makes it sound heavy, but it's actually incredibly funny. Three major aspects of comedy: physical/slapstick, situational, and verbal. All three are present and woven together in a way that certainly held my attention. I can't speak for everyone, but the title rings true for me, over and over! The acting is solid all around. Dick Van Dyke steals the show as Jack Albany, an actor mistaken for renowned hit man Ace Williams (played by Jack Elam). Van Dyke is at his comedic best. Presumptious Florian (Tony Bill), having never seen Ace, makes the mistake, forcing Jack into a situation where his survival depends on his acting. On some level this movie pokes fun at the typical mob story. You have the boss, the tough guy, the inept guy, the pro pickpocket, the driver, the dumb broad, and the kid. The actors play their stereotyped parts well, highlights being Tony Bill and Joanna Moore. This may be the best role Tony Bill ever played-his other roles just seem flat in comparison to this punk, who changes from a creepy armed henchman to a whining, flinching doormat depending on how much trouble he's in. Bill has, however, become a successful producer/director. Edward G. Robinson seems to relish playing Joe Smooth, a powerful, art-loving mob boss who may be losing it a bit mentally. Dorothy Provine is good, also, as Smooth's art teacher, but my biggest beef with the movie is the part of the script where she explains her connection to the boss. It works, but it could have been better.Overall I recommend this movie. It's no cinematic triumph, but it is good, clean fun, and it is very funny! Most parents are probably aware, but for those that aren't, the ratings system has changed since the '60's. This one was G in that time period, when smoking was commonplace and violence in the movies wasn't the issue that it is in the 21st century. Not that one era is better than another (I honestly can't fathom why Ice Age and Over the Hedge are PG movies), but this one has some PG material by today's standards. An engaging story with lots of laughs!

bkoganbing Never A Dull Moment provided Hollywood icon Edward G. Robinson with the opportunity to do things. Add a Walt Disney movie to his list of screen credits and allow him to do a film about his passionate avocation, that of art collector.Robinson combines it with the last of gangster roles, that of Leo Joseph Smooth, both gangster and art collector. Robinson is pretty much retired from the day to day business of running a criminal enterprise, kind of like Vito Corleone only he's pulling himself back in for one last go.He has it mind to own a large mural that is being shipped to the United States for exhibit so he's going to steal it. With that in mind he hires a whole lot of his old gang back plus a couple of extra hands.Which is where Dick Van Dyke comes in. For reasons I cannot fathom, Tony Bill mistakes actor Dick Van Dyke with hoodlum Jack Elam. To save his life Van Dyke goes along with the mistake for almost the entire run of the film as he's taken to Robinson's well guarded home. Van Dyke calls on all his acting skills to convince Robinson and his whole gang he's really a hoodlum.Fortunately for him he meets up with Dorothy Provine who's an art teacher that Robinson hired to improve him culturally. The two of them have a whale of a time trying to get out before the caper comes off.Never A Dull Moment has a few good laughs and also in Disney studio's tradition at that time, employs a nice range of film character actors who were finding less and less work as the studios were putting out less and less product for the big screen.It does rest however on the weak premise that Dick Van Dyke could possibly be mistaken for Jack Elam. In that it's weak indeed.

BobLib After several years of phenomenal TV success counterbalanced with a movie career that ranged from good ("Bye Bye Birdie" "Mary Poppins") to so-so ("Fitzwilly") to Gawd-awful ("Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N."), Dick Van Dyke went back to Disney for the third time on four years for "Never a Dull Moment," with results that could best be described as mixed.Now, whenever Hollywood decides to use this all-purpose title, as it had at least four times before, beware, as the film is generally duller that usual. "Never a Dull Moment," lives up to its title, thanks primarily to Van Dyke and a solid supporting cast. Edward G. Robinson, Dorothy Provine (just before her simultaneous retirement and marriage), Henry Silva, Tony Bill, Jack Elam, and Slim Pickens all do as well in their roles as the script permits.And there's the rub. A.J. Crothers, although the Disney people used him several times, was never one of the more inspired writers of comedy, and his films with Disney suffer for it. The cast and director Jerry Paris, a Van Dyke Show veteran on both sides of the camera, give it their best, but a limp script keeps undoing all their efforts.In short, you, and Van Dyke, could worse than "Never a Dull Moment," but you could do a whole lot better, too.