Retired gangster Tony (Jackie Gleason) who's married to Flo (Carol Channing!!) is brought out of retirement by God (Groucho Marx--yes THAT Groucho Marx) to rub out Packard (Mickey Rooney). Problem is Packard is in prison. They're going to sneak Tony in so he can do the job.

The plot is pretty straightforward but this movie gives some characters astonishing names, throws in VERY 60s designs and clothes, tons of unfunny lines and plot twists to show how "with it" the directors and such were. This was made when old Hollywood was at a loss at what attracted teenagers to movies like "Easy Rider". So they got all these old directors and actors and wrote scripts that were totally abysmal and made zero sense (old Hollywood thought "Easy Rider" was pointless--it isn't). This is one of those movies. What's wrong with it? Where to start? It's impossible to list everything that happens in this train wreck (worse than Britney Spears) but here are a few high and low lights: Carol Channing trying to seduce Frankie Avalon; God trying to seduce young teenage Darlene; tons of dated dialogue showing how peaceful and loving hippies are (sigh); John Phillip Law playing a hippie named Stash--he deserves credit for keeping a straight face while giving out the most nonsensical dialogue ever heard in a movie; the great George Raft reduced to playing a skipper on a boat; Gleason having an LSD trip which is a true jaw dropper; Richard Kiel as a prison guard; Law giving a code message over the phone (OK--THAT scene is great!); an entire prison spaced out on LSD; Burgess Meredith as a warden; Peter Lawford as a senator (figures--he was married to a Kennedy) and a Garbage Pail number which will have you questioning your sanity. There's more but those hit me.

The acting--well who can tell? The movie is all over the place. Still Gleason is actually pretty good and Channing chews the scenery. Marx (in his last theatrical role) was, sadly, pretty terrible as God. He doesn't even get any jokes to crack! The movie goes barreling over the edge at the end with Channing singing the title song (which is admittedly pretty catchy) and ALL the closing credits are sung! This is a one of a kind motion picture. Yeah it's terrible--a bunch of older actors/producers/directors trying (in vain) to prove how "hip" they are. Still, you can't stop watching and I was never bored for one minute. I just sat there in amazement watching the movie unfold. Truly a camp classic and a 10 all the way! This NEEDS a DVD transfer! Paramount is probably ashamed of it--they let TCM show it but they gave them a full frame print and it played early in the morning. Look--if we can get jaw-droppers like the 1980 musical "The Apple" out there we can get this! See it if you get the chance. Trust me--you'll be amazed!

Following his weird "Hurry Sundown", Otto Preminger directed the cornball "Skidoo" in an attempt to appeal the people coming of age in the '60s. Total mistake! Jackie Gleason (the very embodiment of old school) and Frankie Avalon (of the Beach movies) were totally the wrong people to cast in this movie. In fact, just like "Hurry Sundown", "Skidoo" appears to be an excuse to have a giant cast*. This time, it includes three "Batman" villains (Burgess Meredith aka Penguin, Frank Gorshin aka Riddler, Cesar Romero aka Joker). The best scene is when the prison gets stoned; THAT would have been fun to experience! Anyway, "Skidoo" is not a terrible movie. It's just that Otto Preminger didn't know what the '60s were all about. Worth seeing for pure entertainment value. Also starring Carol Channing, Mickey Rooney, Slim Pickens, George Raft, Groucho Marx, Michael Constantine (the dad in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"),John Philip Law (the angel in "Barbarella"),Arnold Stang and Richard Kiel.

*The courtroom scene in "Hurry Sundown" featured four cast members from different TV shows: Burgess Meredith (the Penguin on "Batman"),Madeleine Sherwood (Reverend Mother on "The Flying Nun"),Jim Backus (Mr. Howell on "Gilligan's Island") and Robert Reed (the "Brady Bunch" dad).

Otto Preminger, that classic director of such classics as "Laura" and "Anatomy of a Murder", adds another masterpiece to his resume. Oh, wait a minute, that's "Advise and Consent" and "The Cardinal", not this marijuana induced nightmare of a comedy. If anybody ever questions your claim that Carol Channing and Jackie Gleason played a married couple, tell them about this film, a disaster that Ms. Channing has refused to acknowledge. Smart lady. Looking like Big Bird in a yellow dress with matching boots and feathered hat, Channing is the wife of a retired mobster who is forced out of retirement at the insistence of "God" (Groucho Marxx!) to do one last job for him-in prison. A bunch of hippies and Hollywood veterans spend pretty much the entire film getting stoned. If seeing Gleason spacing out on hallucinogenic drugs isn't weird enough for you, try Slim Pickens, Burgess Meredith and Peter Lawford.

This is a mess of a film that has to be seen to be believed. In addition to the cast of veterans (which also includes Mickey Rooney, Cesar Romero and George Raft),add on Frank Gorshin (who talks entirely through closed teeth) and Frankie Avalon (minus Annette),plus Doro Merande, a name you may not know but whose face you probably might recognize. She plays a square mayor as a combination of both Margaret Hamilton (looks) and Billie Burke (bird brain) that would make the Wizard of Oz fly the coop long before Dorothy ever arrived. When a film is this bad, it is unnecessary to repeat the plot, what little there is of it, because there is simply so much to laugh at. This is an incomprehensible mess with a horrible title song that comes out of nowhere to be sung by Ms. Channing in pirate get-up, as well as a song simply devoted to trash cans (minus Oscar the Grouch). Crazy sets and costumes (including a bed that descends into the floor in Avalon's pad) seem as if they were designed while on LSD. The opening is a battle of remote controls between Gleason and Channing, while the closing credits are sung in a way so ghastly you want to hold your nose over the invisible stench of the film.

The late 60's had a ton of films so bad that they defy description, and this is at the top of the list. Preminger made some strange choices in the later part of his career, but this one is the most puzzling. It ranks two stars instead of one because I had to acknowledge the fact that I had fun laughing at it while making notes for this review.