I am quite happy to try films from any decade and do not subscribe to the opinion that old films should be revered or modern films are better because of high-tech effects. This film is brilliantly directed and the acting is side-splittingly funny. It just shows that good humour is timeless. A pretty star studded cast, a recommended oldie.
I chose this because it was described as one of the funniest films ever made, it followed a tried and tested formula, and included some big names in American comedy. It may well have been viewed very differently in 1963, although the Oscar nominations were for sound, music, editing, and cinematography, not for the writers, director, or actors. The dialogue is not funny, or if it is meant to be, its humour relies on sexism and characters being rude to each other. They don't seem to be able to have a conversation without poking, slapping, and pushing each other with every phrase. Destruction and demolition feature heavily. When an African-American couple strayed into the path of the protagonists, I was bracing myself for offensive racial stereotypes. Mercifully that scene didn't go as badly as it might have done, but it does not redeem a film that is not funny and badly dated.