Set in Rome during the reign of Emperor Nero, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is the story of the attempts of a lazy, sloppy and conniving slave (played by Zero Mostel) to win his freedom. Adapted from a Broadway musical, there are surprisingly few songs in the movie, apparently being chopped by screenwriters Melvin Frank and Michael Pertwee.
With his master and mistress away, the slave Pseudolos realises that their son, Hero (Michael Crawford), is in love with a virgin concubine who is owned by their next door neighbour, Marcus Lyrus (Phil Silvers of Bilko fame). Unfortunately the girl has been sold to a general returning that very day from war in Crete. Pseudolos, having been promised his freedom by Hero if he can arrange for them to be together, finds his plans falling apart at every turn as his actions become more and more outrageous in best farce fashion.
The story, inspired by the work and characters of Roman playwright Platus, does a good job of taking a classical story structure and updating it for modern sensibilities. Most of us love a plucky underdog and Mostel's Pseudolos certainly fits that category - backtalking to his employers and refusing to be beaten by circumstance.
He is supported by an excellent cast featuring some of the biggest names of that period in comedy. Even some of the smaller roles feature excellent actors including Jon Pertwee (later the star of TV's Doctor Who), Buster Keaton (in his last film performance) and Roy Kinnear (who would go on to be Planchet in the Three Musketeers series). This quality-in-depth gives every character a life and a presence of their own and adds to the feeling that we are watching some of the best comics at work.
Unfortunately towards the end of the film the piece degenerates quickly into a run-of-the-mill chase around with a chariots sequence that feels like it exists both to fill in time and to try to add something to the production that could not be seen on stage. This section is overrun with slapstick comedy and ultimately disappoints as a conclusion to the smarter wordplay and situations that had preceeded it.
Despite the weakness of its ending, the film manages to entertain. This is not laugh-a-minute material but with such an excellent cast giving their all, somehow it comes together.