The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Dir: Norman Z. McLeod
1947
***
Danny Kaye is a childhood favorite of mine. I don't quite love his films as much as I did when I was younger I'm afraid to say but there is a certain unique something about him that I still cherish. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty has actually turned me into something of a Walter Mitty myself and while watching it as a child (repeatedly) I would slip into daydream and think up other directions I would have had the film go, had I been in charge (I'm guessing Ben Stiller felt the same way as he remade the film in 2013 - see The Secret Life of Walter Mitty 2013). In many respects I have a lot the film to thank for. However, I just didn't like much of the physical comedy. Danny Kaye was an all round entertainer. He could play it straight, goof off, sing beautifully, dance, tell jokes...the works. I just felt that he often tried to do too much in one go and never really excelled at any one thing. The daydreams are far too long in some cases that it is hard to remember what was going on before they happened. At times it feels like a three hour film but the heart of the plot probably only lasts for ten minutes. I wonder if this is why I watched it so many times as a child. I don't like to knock the great Danny Kaye as I love him very much, his performance in Hans Christian Anderson is one of my favorite of all time, I just don't understand why this is what he is remembered for over that. It's an amazing idea, it's just not explored as well as it could have been. In that sense, the 2013 really is an improvement.