Fitzwilly

This comedy revolves around a lovable rogue butler played by Dick Van Dyke. I think I was about nine or so when I saw it in the sixties. I thought it was great though admittedly I was immature. I'm 62 now and I saw it was on Amazon Prime so why not revisit my childhood. Well, it's still great, although in a more modest way. Van Dyke is great as the central character and his would-be foil/romantic interest of Barbara Feldon provides a smart chemistry. You might say the secret weapon is the utterly fantastic supporting cast. It's admittedly by today's standards a bit of fluff, but what an entertaining fluff it is I say. The film is in fine form with some film grain and natural well-defined colors. It's definitely the type of film that simply isn't done anymore and as such a sweeter side of the sixties though I'm sure some would point out it makes light of swindling and such (I'll leave it at that). It's just a decent spoof comedy with a great performances by all.

Dick Van Dyke and Barbara Feldon are absolutely charming in this lighthearted comedy fluff. Van Dyke plays the title character Fitzwilly (short for the more proper Fitzwilliam) who is the butler and head of the household staff for an eccentric but lovable philanthropist whom he addresses as Miss Vickie; Feldon plays Juliet a Columbia University graduate that Miss Vickie hires as a secretary for the purpose of assisting her in writing a "dictionary for illiterates" - listening to Miss Vickie's explanation will provide you with some genuine laughter. Miss Vickie is quite a charitable person, making sizable donations to nearly anyone who will call on her at home and ask her. Fitzwilly has kept his employer out of financial straits by resorting to pulling off some rather clever criminal thefts at nearly every upscale department store in New York City. He accomplishes these feats of derring-do with the assistance of the rest of the household staff who are expert con men and pickpockets. When Juliet joins the staff her nosy nature and honest desire to protect her new employer puts the whole scheme in jeopardy; when they're found out it's up to Fitzwilly to run interference on Juliet so the staff can keep Miss Vickie "cash rich" and keep themselves out of jail!As I said this movie is a piece of fluff that has tremendous appeal if you are partial to either of the two stars or the kinds of comedy capers that the late sixties made so great back then. Not only are Van Dyke and Feldon fun to watch but the rest of the cast is rounded out with many familiar faces such as John McGiver as the footman and expert pickpocket (and former minister!) Albert; Norman Fell is quite funny as the neurotic head of finances at Gimbels; Cecil Kellaway appears briefly as the affable elderly gentleman who operates the "thrift store" the con men (and women!) use as a front; John Fielder is a gullible piano store salesman, a pigeon waiting to be plucked by Van Dyke; the household staff is cast with many faces you will recognize - most noticeably a very young Sam Waterston making his film debut. All of the capers that they pull off are great and will give you a smile each time they con someone. They range from the very elaborate to the very simplistic; early in the film one of the women reports that she was able to return a tie for a full refund at seventeen different stores with the same receipt - a new record Fitzwilly proclaims! But the showstopper involves a very daring and intricately planned Christmas Eve robbery at Gimbels department store that has to be seen to believed. One of the steps involves having one of the con men walk up behind unsuspecting ladies and pinching their rears. The women react, as one would expect them to, by turning and slapping the man nearest them! Great Fun! Another big plus is that Alan & Marilyn Bergman provide the perfect song "Make Me Rainbows" for the film.For years I had been forced to get by with only a poor videotape copy of a cable TV presentation of 'Fitzwilly' filled with countless commercial interruptions. Then I happily discovered that it had finally been released on cassette and available at Amazon. This is the first movie my parents took me to see and all I could remember for years afterwards was Juliet finding the basement filled with the gang's ill-gotten booty and the great comedic finale at Gimbels. Now that I have a legitimate videotape of 'Fitzwilly' it has become my favorite film to watch on Christmas Eve...next to 'It's A Wonderful Life' that is.

I am a huge fan of classic movies and this one fits the bill for applause. The movie turns back the hand of time to showcase actors, then, in the budding of their careers, who today star in contemporary series such as Law & Order. There are several familiar veteran actors doing what they did best, giving a great performance that you will appreciate. The story is fun, light and interesting. If you enjoy a good classically driven movie, I highly recommend.

I liked Rob Petrie and Barbara Feldon in the Laura Petry role. Dick VD was at his Cheshire cat best. He was smooth as silk and Barbara was as appealing as ever.I liked the ending where everything was tied up in a nice little bow very 60s style. It was a guilty pleasure very Mission Impossible style which was a hit TV show right around the time this film was made.I can see if it was a bit too corny for today's audiences but good film making is good film making. You can't deny that.

Saw this first when it originally came out in the 60s at the local theater. It was a hoot as I remember it, a comedic 'caper' flick that had all the bells and whistles to have a no consequences ending for the characters. Seen with that 60s mindset, no worries, right?Now it's the 21st century, and a lot of water flows under the bridge. Ideals and attitudes change as time and experience pile up.NOW it's not so funny to defraud insurance companies and large retailers regardless of the motive. Sure isn't great fun to barricade the doors to a building, penning people in. Throwing down objects that cause falls and stampedes in the mob you've built up for your caper. A mob that HAD to have injuries from the violence of those falls.It's shocking now to see Fitzwilly's group laughing and sipping champagne after their final robbery, without a care in the world.

This movie has a great storyline and I love Dick Van Dyke!

I have lost track of how many times I have watched this over the years. This print is of good quality.

This movie from 1967 was memorable from when I was growing up. It used to show up on the television around Christmas time and I looked forward to watching it every year. Now years later I had not seen or heard of it and so on a whim I searched and found the copy on amazon.ca.The movie is as good as I remember. The story of the butler carrying out a number of money making scams so that his elderly penniless employer will not have to face the fact that her husband died leaving her with no resources to maintain her lifestyle. The cast of characters involved in thesubterfuge are a recognizable crew, many going on to become regular stars in future years. There is a good dose of humour, and twists in the plot; on the whole it is a truly entertaining, "feel good" movie.

Thank you very much! I had almost given up hope of being able to add this movie to my collection. Cheers

A classic movie with many great stars early in their carriers. It always played at Christmas time in my youth and I still enjoy it.