The secret life of walter mitty was a spry short story written by james thurber back in 1939 and spinning the tale of a henpecked fantasist in humdrum connecticut. The secret life of walter mitty some of the deepestdyed thurber fans may squeal since theres naturally considerable change from the famed short story on which the screenplay is built. Kaye is such a terrific performer in all areas of the craft, and his daydreams are a hoot to watch. The secret life of walter mitty 1947 film wikipedia. Source for information on the secret life of walter mitty. The short story the secret life of walter mitty 1939 by american author james thurber begins with its protagonists fearlessly leading a navy crew through an aircraft takeoff. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. The secret life of walter mitty summary gradesaver. What is the core theme or message of the movie, the secret. The secret life of walter mitty movie movie insider. The secret life of walter mitty was released on dvd and bluray on april 15, 2014, by 20th century fox home entertainment. Synopsis through his imagination, a man leaves behind his humdrum life for the road to high adventure. The manager of the negative assets sector of life magazine, walter mitty, has been working for sixteen years for the magazine and has a tedious life, not going anywhere but from his home to his job and viceversa.
The secret life of walter mitty is not a great movie, but its still an accomplished drama for what it does, and with an actor like stiller acting and directing, we get something quite good and. Being deployed makes going to the movie theatre a little tough though, and i wasnt able to watch it. The secret life of walter mitty on dvd april 15, 2014 starring ben stiller, adam scott, kristen wiig, patton oswalt. The secret life of walter mitty 20 rotten tomatoes. The film stars danny kaye as a young daydreaming proofreader later associate editor for a magazine publishing firm and virginia mayo as the girl of his dreams. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in the secret life of walter mitty, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Unfortunately, for all the thought conrad put into the details of the world surrounding mitty, he seems to have put less thought in giving mitty. The most famous of thurbers stories, it first appeared in the new yorker on march 18, 1939, and was first collected in his book my world and welcome to it harcourt, brace and company, 1942. A missing negative from the magazines star globetrotting photog sean penn sets mitty on his own real life globetrotting adventure in search of the photog, who can tell him where. Character of walter mitty in the secret life of walter. The film also stars kristen wiig, shirley maclaine, adam scott, kathryn hahn, and sean penn this is the second film adaptation of james thurbers 1939 short story the secret life of walter mitty. Best movies like the secret life of walter mitty bestsimilar. Its important to note that the secret life of walter mitty both begins and ends inside walter s fantasies.
The secret life of walter mitty study guide contains a biography of james thurber, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Producers often use a book as a springboard for a movie idea or to earn a specific rating. The secret life of walter mitty short story plot line by. Study guide for the secret life of walter mitty 20 film the secret life of walter mitty 20 film study guide contains a biography of director ben stiller, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Perhaps staying in a new place for a few days or you might nurture a new hobby. The plot in the secret life of walter mitty revolves around walter mitty, an employee of life magazine. It is this basic idea which is the only thing common between this short story and the movie, which was one of the first movies i had seen last year. With ben stiller, kristen wiig, jon daly, kathryn hahn. Mitty works with photojournalist sean oconnell, whose images are highly regarded. These scenarios generally involve giving mitty superpowers, and so the first half of the movie has a nearquorum of explosions and flyinghuman scenes.
The secret life of walter mitty, thurbers bestknown story, is, like most of his fiction, short, requiring only five or six pages. Secret life of walter mitty is as dull as his real life usa today. Walter fancies a fellow employee named cheryl kristen wiig and would love to date her, but he feels unworthy. For the 1947 film, see the secret life of walter mitty 1947 film. Earlier in the movie, walter goes to visit kristen. Follows a daydreamer who escapes his anonymous life by disappearing into a world of fantasies filled with heroism, romance and action. The secret life of walter mitty 20 plot summary imdb. Writings and drawings the library of america, 1996, isbn 1883011221, is. The secret life of walter mitty with danny kaye has always been one of my favorites. Its important to note that the secret life of walter mitty both begins and ends inside walters fantasies. In 1947, samuel goldwyn studios produced a wellregarded movielength version of thurbers story, titled the secret life of walter mitty.
The secret life of walter mitty summary supersummary. Its a tween and teenfriendly tale full of hope, with a cando, gobigorgohome message thats backed by sensational special effects. This walter mitty is a journey of selfactualization in which its titular character casts off the shackles of his nondescript existence and finally starts living the life he only envisioned in his daydreams. Ben stillers secret life of walter mitty, an ambitious, uneven. The hidden meaning of the life of walter mitty the secret life of walter mitty is a short story, published on march 18, 1939 by author james thurber. The secret life of walter mitty 20 synopsis fandango. Physical descriptions associate him with cold and ice. From ben stillers pantomimes of romantic hesitation in its opening moments as walter mitty goes all j. Another way to interpret this is as a sort of victory on mittys part, as far as the story is concerned. The manager of the negative assets sector of life magazine, walter mitty, has been working for sixteen years for the magazine and has a tedious life, not going. The secret life of walter mittyby james thurberthe literary work a short story set in a suburban connecticut town during the mid to late 1930s.
Ben stiller directs and stars in the secret life of walter mitty, james thurbers classic story of a daydreamer who. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of. James thurbers whimsical day dreamer walter mitty was a perfect character for danny kaye to apply his many talents with. The secret life of walter mitty 1947 plot summary imdb. When both he and a colleague are about to lose their job, walter takes action by embarking on an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined. Both films are worth watching, though, for the contrast between a country that still thought of itself as poor and one that assumes it will always be rich. This weekend remake throwdown is won by the secret life of walter mitty 1947 because it is fun while the remake is just there. The secret life of walter mitty 1939 is a short story by james thurber. A naval commander is captaining a huge, hurtling, eightengined navy hydroplane through a terrible storm.
Alfred prufrock on, to costar adam scotts fussily styled fake beard, to the overall depiction of how a print magazine worksworked, to the consoling midtownmanhattan romantic fade out, the secret life of walter mitty. The secret life of walter mitty is a 1947 technicolor comedy film, loosely based on the short story of the same name by james thurber. Walter mitty is a negative assets manager at life magazine who daydreams of adventures and has a crush on a coworker named. In this version walter mitty is a man of photographs and details. For one, the picture that walter was searching for that was to be the final cover of life magazine is an impossible shot to have been captured, considering all the information given to us during the movie. Another way to interpret this is as a sort of victory on mitty s part, as far as the story is concerned. This new adaptation of james thurbers classic is big, winsome and professionally polished, but it lacks any sense of what life might actually be. The secret life of walter mitty 20 film study guide contains a biography of director ben stiller, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters. Mitty thinks walter is sick and wants to get medicine for him. Parents need to know that the secret life of walter mitty, starring and directed by ben stiller, may be based on james thurbers short story, but its very different from it and the original 1947 movie. What is the plot in the secret life of walter mitty by.
It has a rock solid plot, thats punchy, fast, and solid. Its all about the chase finding sean penn wherever he is in the world, in a volcano, photographing leopards in afghanistan, or traveling on ships across shark filled oceans one clue photo at a time. The secret life of walter mitty is a very loose adaptation of the 1939 james thurber short story which was previously made into a danny kaye movie in 1947. The plot line for the secret life of walter mitty by james thurber found in pretince halls timeless voices, timeless themes gold level 2005. The secret life of walter mitty by james thurber plot. Thurber is an accomplished author, and illusionist who used humor to help americans get through some of the very depressing times in history. The secret life of walter mitty by james thurber duration. Also have an eye for beauty whether it is a place, a per. The secret life of walter mitty summary the secret life of walter mitty tells the story of the aging walter mitty on a trip into town with his overbearing wife, mrs. To escape the tedium, walter inhabits a world of exciting daydreams in which he is the undeniable hero.
Get all the key plot points of james thurbers the secret life of walter mitty on one page. Mitty also has a crush on a coworker named cheryl, but never has the nerve to tell her his feelings towards her. If you like the secret life of walter mitty you are looking for feel good, motivational and inspirational movies about with self discovery, life changing experience, adventure, obsessive quest, loneliness, adventurer and escape from reality themes of comedy, drama and fantasy genre shot in usa or uk. The secret life of walter mitty 20 plot synopsis imdb. A clumsy daydreamer gets caught up in a sinister conspiracy. German troops invaded poland, the germans and the soviets signed a nazisoviet nonagression pact, and. He feels that his life does not have much meaning or adventure, and decides to create a. The movie stars danny kaye and virginia mayo and is available through rko distributors and on video. Make note however this is not film based on thurbers short story, the secret life of walter mitty, but the character is used to fashion a plot whereby this day dream believer gets into a real life adventure. Walter mitty is a negative assets manager at life magazine who daydreams of adventures to get away out of the tedium of his boring job. The secret life of walter mitty is a 20 american adventure comedydrama film directed, coproduced by and starring ben stiller and written by steve conrad. Walter mitty, american literary character, a meek and bumbling man who spends much of his time lost in heroic daydreams. Instead of living cooped up in your house all your life, try something new.
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