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A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966 film)

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a 1966 musical comedy film directed by Richard Lester, adapted from the 1962 Broadway musical of the same name with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. It stars Zero Mostel as Pseudolus, a Roman slave who schemes to win his freedom by helping his young master Hero win the courtesan Philia, and it was produced in Spain by Quadrangle Films for release by United Artists.1 • 2

Key factDetail
ReleaseTheatrical release October 16, 1966, through United Artists and Melvin Frank Productions2
Director / producer / writersRichard Lester; produced by Melvin Frank; screenplay by Melvin Frank and Michael Pertwee1
SourceStage musical opened at the Alvin Theatre May 8, 1962, ran 964 performances, and won six Tony Awards including Best Musical3
Lead castZero Mostel (Pseudolus), Phil Silvers (Marcus Lycus), Buster Keaton (Erronius), Jack Gilford (Hysterium), Michael Crawford (Hero)1
Key crewCinematographer Nicolas Roeg, editor John Victor Smith, production designer Tony Walton1
Runtime99 minutes per the AFI Catalog; 1h 37min per JustWatch1 • 4
Reception83% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 23 reviews; 6.8/10 on IMDb from about 11,000 votes5 • 4

Spoilers

Plot and cast

The story is a farce set in ancient Rome, drawn from the plays of the second-century B.C. playwright Plautus. Pseudolus, slave to the household of Senex, promises to procure the virgin courtesan Philia for his master's son Hero in exchange for his freedom. The complications that follow involve blackmail, disguises, and long-lost children, while Pseudolus struggles to keep up his end of the bargain.5

Zero Mostel repeats the stage role of Pseudolus, the fast-talking slave he played on Broadway. Phil Silvers plays the courtesan dealer Marcus Lycus, Buster Keaton plays the elderly Erronius, Jack Gilford plays the fellow slave Hysterium, Michael Crawford plays Hero, Michael Hordern plays Senex, Annette Andre plays Philia, and Leon Greene plays the warrior Miles Gloriosus.1 • 4 • 6

From stage to screen

The source musical opened at the Alvin Theatre on May 8, 1962, and was the first Broadway production for which Sondheim wrote both music and lyrics. Directed by George Abbott with choreography by Jack Cole and uncredited staging by Jerome Robbins, it played 8 previews and 964 performances before closing on August 29, 1964, and won six Tony Awards for the 1962/63 season, including Best Musical, Best Actor for Mostel, and Best Supporting Actor for David Burns.3 • 7

Adaptation choices. The film keeps the score's most durable number, "Comedy Tonight," which opens the movie as Mostel introduces the toga-clad cast, and cuts other songs; the Cleveland Press reviewer wrote that as a musical the show was improved by eliminating some of the songs, "they weren't all that good." The film also adds a staged chariot race absent from the stage version. Musical direction and incidental music were by Ken Thorne, with Sondheim credited for the songs.6 • 8 • 5

Lester's treatment is fast and visual rather than theatrical. The AFI Catalog records Nicolas Roeg as cinematographer and John Victor Smith as editor, with Tony Walton, who had designed the Broadway production's sets and costumes, serving as production designer.1 • 3 Richard Williams contributed the animated credits sequences.5

Reception

Contemporary and later critical opinion divides over Lester's approach. The Cleveland Press review of February 16, 1967 called the film "a vast improvement over the original," turning an expensively mounted stage burlesque into "a rollicking, hilarious slapstick show."6 Pauline Kael, writing in The New Republic, took the opposite view, arguing that Lester's camera work keeps cutting into and away from the comedians, who "never get a chance to develop a routine or to bring off a number."5 A Variety review described the film as "flip, glib and sophisticated, yet rump-slappingly bawdy and fast-paced."

Aggregated scores reflect the split: the film holds 83% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer and 77% on the audience Popcornmeter, with an IMDb rating of 6.8 from about 11,000 votes.5 • 4

Availability

The film streams in the United States on fuboTV, MGM+, Philo, and free ad-supported services including YouTube and Tubi, and can be rented or bought on Apple TV, Amazon Video, and Fandango At Home.4

References

  1. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966), AFI Catalog
  2. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966), Moviefone
  3. Look Back at the Original Production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Playbill
  4. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum streaming, JustWatch
  5. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Rotten Tomatoes
  6. Film "Funny Thing" Tops Stage, Cleveland Press, February 16, 1967, Cleveland Memory Project
  7. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Theatre Heritage Australia
  8. Sondheim Guide / A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026

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