Product Details

• Actors: Jackie Gleason, Carol Channing, Groucho Marx, George Raft, Mickey Rooney
• Directors: Otto Preminger
• Writers: Doran William Cannon
• Producers: Otto Preminger
• Format: Widescreen, Anamorphic, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Olive Films
• DVD Release Date: July 19, 2011
• Run Time: 98 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B004WJV70W
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #68,723 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Otto Preminger (Anatomy of a Murder) directs this psychedelic-comedy classic starring Jackie Gleason as Tough Tony Banks, a retired gangster who reluctantly comes out of retirement to silence his old friend and squealer (Mickey Rooney). Tony's suburban haven comes crashing down as his daughter (Alexandra Hay) takes up with a hippie (John Phillip Law) and his wife (Carol Channing) gives them permission to move into their house with their hippy friends. The all-star cast includes Batman villains (Cesar Romero, Burgess Meredith, Frank Gorshin), with Frankie Avalon, Peter Lawford, George Raft, Slim Pickens, Fred Clark, Richard Kiel, Harry Nilsson and Graucho Marx in his final role as the mob boss names God. Music and lyrics by Nilsson.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars JAW-DROPPING June 22, 2011

By JennMars

I've read many reviews of Skidoo but finally having seen it, all I can say is--

It's so insane, it makes YOU insane.

It makes no sense. Sometimes it seems like an adult comedy about the middle aged establishment vs the counterculture. Sometimes it seems like home movies of a Friar's Club meeting. Sometimes it's a live-action cartoon. Absolutely nothing funny ever happens. It features Groucho, Ceaser Romero, Burgess Meredith, Frank Gorshin, Arnold Stang, John Philip Law, Slim Pickens, and naked hippie chicks in body paint. And a sweaty-faced Jackie Gleason taking an "acid trip."

Watching a middle-aged Carol Channing in her underwear and thinking, "Hey, she's not half bad!"?????

THAT's what SKIDOO will DO to YOU.

29 of 34 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Outrageous Milestone May 7, 2011

By V. Risoli

Otto Preminger was roughly 63 when he made 1968's "Skidoo," a youth-bent comedy written by Doran William Cannon, the guy responsible for the script of Robert Altman's "Brewster McCloud" (1972). Otto even experimented taking acid along with Groucho Marx, whom he had cast as "God" (the head of "The Tree," the protection racket or the Mob). The film also starred Jackie Gleason, Carol Channing, John Phillip Law, Frankie Avalon, George Raft, Cesar Romero, Mickey Rooney, Burgess Meredith, Frank Gorshin, Peter Lawford. At the premiere in 1968, Gleason walked out fuming it was reported. It was considered an abysmal flop by the critics. Even though it was definitely a traditional Preminger picture, the whole choice of it was the result of his desire to understand the youth revolution at the time. As with his next picture, "Tell Me that You Love Me, Junie Moon" Preminger wanted to understand what the culture was saying about love as he was always a great humanist. The film has beforeto been shown on television rarely from the vault at the Preminger estate mostly in embarassment and a great notoriety sprung up about it. It has been available for quite some time at a high quality DVD-R outlet called thevideobeat.com which specializes in great copies of a youth-based catalog. They have come to my rescue in finding obscure oddities years before and sometimes as the only miraculous provider of access to these films. I watch "Skidoo" and think the mechanics behind it are entertaining.... I mean so many staples of Preminger's career are skewered, the casting of Burgess Meredith (he turns up in many Preminger films (even in a nude scene in "Such Good Friends" (1972)), Doro Merande, Arnold Stang (from "The Man with the Golden Arm"), clips from "In Harm's Way" in a witty segment skewering the lawsuit Preminger won against television cutting his films for commercials. Harry Nilsson did the music. Olive Films, whose product in the recent past have been excellent, high quality transfers, has added "Skidoo" for a new era in film. In May, they took on "Hurry Sundown" and "Such Good Friends." I thank them sincerely for their efforts and wish them continued success. It is terribly important that these films are available to get seen and to treat them respectfully deserves due credit. Read more ›

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Between the one and three there is a two! July 22, 2011

By John Tajirisan

As far as I'm concerned, "Skidoo" is the funniest movie of all time. Where else can you see Jackie Gleason, Peter Lawford, Fred Clark, Slim Pickens, Richard Kiel, Burgess Meredith, and Frank Gorshin tripping on acid? Where else can Frankie Avalon with an awesome caterpillar 'stache? Where else can you see Groucho Marx as a mob boss named God? Where else can you see Carol Channing in her underpants? Nowhere, that's where.

Besides all these insane goings on, there is an amazing soundtrack by the great Harry Nilsson, who also plays the tower guard and sings the ENTIRE end credits. Yes, this film is that awesome.

"Skidoo" may not be the greatest film of all time, as evidenced by the critics reviews, but it is thoroughly entertaining, colorful, and downright hilarious.

Sadly, the long awaited DVD doesn't have any special features (or good cover art, for that matter) but the transfer is BEAUTIFUL and flawless.

As someone who believes every film should be released on DVD, no matter how "bad" they are claimed to be, this is a huge step in the right direction by the film studios. I hope that Olive Films is able to release more of the almost-forgotten classic 60s Paramount comedies on DVD in the near future.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Marginal *** November 11, 2011

By Phil S.

Amazon Verified Purchase

In the tradition of Grand Hotel, Tales of Manhattan, Around The World In 80 Days, The Story of mankind, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, Myra Breckingridge [two years later], etc., we have a chance to watch an "all Star Cast" do it's individual and collective thing. We have Groucho Marx in his first big part in 16 years, and............. just like Mae West in the 1970 movie mentioned above, we have a singular reason to watch something which cries out for multitudinous reasons - it works hard to present a light-hearted clash of cultures, even if one is organized crime and the other is hippiedom. Actually, this Reviewer found the screenplay occasionally brilliant. But with all these Hollywood Legends, something was definitely missing, throughout.

Jackie Gleason is JG, and despite his obvious lack of enthusiasm, manages some cool Gleasonisms, as the semi-retired hood. (Honeymooners fans will enjoy alot of familiar mugging and off-kilter utterances. George Raft has some pleasing moments as The Skipper of the schooner owned by "God", Groucho Marx [he's the head of the "organization"]).

Carol Channing gets the most out of the largely humourless script - she sings and dances and gets the benefit of voyeuristic direction, particularly in a wild seduction scene with Frankie Avalon, another actor who seems to find a way through the confused proceedings. Don't know why this famous singer did not get a chance to warble, especially when the rock-era Harry Nillson did the music.

Tasteless story aside, what really could have sold this venture would be a funny script...imagine a comedy with Groucho Marx and no memorable (or unmemorable) one-liners?...

The Gleason - Marx connection is there for the researchers: About one year before this movie mess, the two great ones got together on The Jackie Gleason Show. Both sang and danced together...one of those true time-capsule moments. Perhaps the fans should first check out the long clip on the ever-dependable youtube.com. Interesting that Frankie also appeared on The Jackie Gleason Show around 1953, as a trumpeteer!

(Another Reviewer adroitly pointed out that "real" 1968 hippies were used successfully - worth 1/2 *!). Read more ›