Overview
A window washer's rise to corporate success reveals the absurdity of ambition and love.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- witty
- irreverent
- buoyant
- classic movie night
- musical movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's successful translation of the Broadway musical to the screen, especially Robert Morse and Rudy Vallee's performances, while noting its commercial disappointment.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Finch advances through Worldwide Wicket Corporation by following the book's cynical instructions rather than performing meaningful work.
The workplace setting is repeatedly transformed into synchronized musical numbers centered on desks, elevators, and corporate routines.
Finch memorizes strategic advice to rise rapidly, then faces the moral cost of stepping over colleagues and risking Rosemary's love.
Rosemary's affection forces Finch to weigh advancement against honesty and the possibility of losing her.
Films like How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and why
The Apartment
Both are witty workplace musicals using romance, satire, and elaborate production numbers to mock corporate ambition.
The Pajama Game
Both combine romantic comedy with musical spectacle, comic social observation, and a protagonist navigating status-conscious professional culture.
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Both are bright, performance-driven musical comedies centered on ambition, social advancement, and romantic complications.
9 to 5
Both use broad workplace satire, romantic entanglements, and charismatic comic performances to expose institutional absurdity.
My Fair Lady
Both are classic musical comedies built around social climbing, mistaken judgments, and the tension between career success and personal integrity.
Movie Details
- Director
- David Swift
- Release Date
- 1967-03-09
- Runtime
- 121 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (64)
Cast
- Robert Morse
- Michele Lee
- Rudy Vallee
- Scooter Teague
- Maureen Arthur
- John Myhers
- Carol Worthington
- Kathryn Reynolds
- Ruth Kobart
- Sammy Smith
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- ScreenPix Apple TV channel, ScreenPix Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying about?
- A scheming window washer uses a cynical career manual to rocket through a 1960s corporation, discovering that success may cost him his integrity and his love.
- What is How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.
- What did critics think of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying?
- Critics broadly praised the film's successful translation of the Broadway musical to the screen, especially Robert Morse and Rudy Vallee's performances, while noting its commercial disappointment.
- Which films are like How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying?
- Films with a similar feel include The Apartment, The Pajama Game, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, 9 to 5, and My Fair Lady.
- How long is How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying?
- How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying runs 121 minutes.
- Where can I watch How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying?
- In United States, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying streams on ScreenPix Apple TV channel, ScreenPix Amazon Channel .
