Product Details

• Actors: Tony Curtis, Suzanne Pleshette, Larry Storch, Howard Morris, Edward Andrews
• Directors: Norman Jewison
• Producers: 40 Pounds of Trouble ( Forty Pounds of Trouble ), 40 Pounds of Trouble, Forty Pounds of Trouble
• Format: Import, PAL, Widescreen
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 2 (Read more about DVD formats.)
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Universal
• Run Time: 102 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002QD9ROE
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #171,909 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Spain released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: English ( Mono ), Spanish ( Mono ), English ( Subtitles ), Spanish ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Damon Runyon's story "Little Miss Marker" gets a mid-'60s update in this comedy. Steve McCluskey (Tony Curtis) is the manager of a nightspot in Lake Tahoe owned by Bernie Friedman (Phil Silvers). Steve is the kind of guy who has heard every sob story in the book and is not easily impressed, but his hard heart begins to soften a bit when he meets Penny Piper (Claire Wilcox), a young orphan girl with no one to turn to and nowhere to go. Steve grudgingly takes her in and soon grows fond of the tyke. Penny thinks that Steve needs to get married and settle down, so she starts playing Cupid, trying to set him up with pretty Chris Lockwood (Suzanne Pleshette). However, Steve is still reeling from his failed first marriage and isn't so sure that another trip to the altar would be good for him. The film's finale sends Steve on a wild chase through Disneyland. Forty Pounds of Trouble marked the feature directorial debut of Norman Jewison, who would go on to make In the Heat of the Night, Fiddler on the Roof, and Jesus Christ Superstar. ...40 Pounds of Trouble ( Forty Pounds of Trouble )

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Absolute Delight!, June 14, 2001

By 

Glenn M. Schoditsch (Richmond, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 40 Pounds of Trouble [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a wonderful family flick for all ages and boasts a "who's who" list of very funny character actors from the 1960's. Tony Curtis is outrageously funny and charming as Steve McClusky, a Nevada casino manager who winds up caring for Penny, a 5 year old orphan with amusing results. Suzanne Pleshette as a romantic endeavor never looked better. And Phil Silvers' portrayal as the loveable tough guy Uncle Bernie can't be topped. The "chase" scene thru vintage Disneyland is pure fun. This movie truly is a family classic!

This is a great movie, director Norman Jewison's first film, and this is shameful disrespect by Universal Studios with a DVD-R release. This film is deserving a Blu-ray treatment.

But we take as we get them......

UPDATE: 02.21.10 - a little viewing 411

Despite the claim that this disc may play only in "Play Only" players, I've found my copy plays fine in my Panasonic DVD burner AND in all of my optical drives on three computers.

42 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Welcome to the DVD-R revolution..., February 13, 2010

By 

Alec Howe "buffguy" (Movieworld, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 40 Pounds of Trouble (DVD)

Like the airline industry, home video seems to be veering toward the cutting of corners in order to stay afloat at a profit.Is it nice to finally see FORTY POUNDS OF TROUBLE in it original 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio? Yes. Is it nice to see the entire film, minus commercial interruptions and at its original length? Yes. Is the print good? Not really -- there's no crispness and a fuzz that dims the Panavision perspective, especially on an LCD TV. Do I like having no idea how long this DVD-R disc will last? No. Was it worth the $14.99 I paid for it? Yes, as it would cost nearly this much to see it once in a NY revival house theater.

Here's the point: I'm collecting these Universal Vault Series titles, but with caution. Whereas the sky would be the limit if the discs were pressed, it means I'm holding back. For starters, I'd rather get a Region 2 PAL edition from the UK if it's a standard pressed DVD (I strongly advocate getting a region free DVD player -- you would be amazed how cheap titles are on Amazon's UK site, and how many U.S. films are being released there rather than here). Additionally, the way Amazon is vacillating its prices, I won't touch one of these Universal Vault discs until it hits the $14.99 mark. It changes by the hour, with the same title vaulting between $14.99 and $17.99 (it's like day trading for film buffs).

Again, it's nice to see this film in widescreen, but I would have bought it sooner from the UK had it been available. That's where I found GAMBIT, THE BLACK SHIELD OF FALWORTH and some others in the DVD-R series, some of them even on all-region Blu-ray. Branch out, movie collectors -- there are so many more options out there than we're aware of. Meantime, we have to be careful. The Warner Archive series is notorious for shipping out defective discs (HAYWIRE is impossible to find unscathed), and when you try to warn other buyers about specific titles, they censor your reviews. Amazon's THE LIST OF ADRIAN MESSENGER had digital break-up on my player, and when I rewound to play it back, the break-up was gone, which leads one to believe that these discs will never play the same way twice.

If this is the future of home video, I'm concerned...

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 40 pounds of F U N !!!!!, September 27, 2005

By 

James D. Ewing - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 40 Pounds of Trouble [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This film reminds me of my first trip to Disneyland (1963) on my way to Viet-Nam. I'm a retired G.I. and this movie says so much about a time in the past. Tony, Suzanne, Phil, & Larry (Storch) should all have received Oscars for their performance in this hilarious romp thru this most appealing fun center (Disneyland). It's with a very sad feeling of regret that the Casino where this film was shot is now gone. (Stateline) My Wife and I visited the spot a couple of years ago. I have an old VHS copy of this funny, funny film and I watch it with much happiness, but I'm afraid it is getting worn out. They (producers) should make this film available on D V D !!!!! Nuf Said.