Overview
A woman’s bizarre journey through love and loss reveals the dark side of wealth.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- gaudy
- morbid
- classic movie night
- retro comedy night
What critics said
Critics broadly regarded the film as an extravagant, visually dazzling but uneven black comedy whose broad gimmicks divided opinion.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Louisa's husbands become rich through obsessive ambition, only for their pursuit of wealth to contribute to their premature deaths.
Louisa recounts four marriages, each centered on a different husband and his fatal relationship with ambition.
The film's Oscar-nominated art direction and costume design support a deliberately lavish, gimmicky presentation.
The central pattern pairs romantic success and financial prosperity with the premature deaths of Louisa's husbands.
Films like What a Way to Go!, and why
The Loved One
shared blackly comic treatment of romance, marriage, and material wealth with an extravagant classic Hollywood style
The Women
shared episodic romantic comedy structure, satirical social comedy, and glamorous ensemble performances
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
shared musical comedy energy, heightened visual design, and romantic entanglements shaped by social ambition
The Apartment
shared darkly comic critique of wealth, status, and destructive ambition within an elegant period entertainment
Movie Details
- Director
- J. Lee Thompson
- Release Date
- 1964-07-02
- Runtime
- 111 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (111)
Cast
- Shirley MacLaine
- Paul Newman
- Robert Mitchum
- Dean Martin
- Gene Kelly
- Robert Cummings
- Dick Van Dyke
- Reginald Gardiner
- Margaret Dumont
- Lou Nova
Where to watch in United States
- 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 What a Way to Go! about?
- A fabulously dressed widow recounts four marriages, four fortunes, and the lethal price of getting rich.
- What is What a Way to Go! like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of What a Way to Go! as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is What a Way to Go! violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in What a Way to Go! as mild.
- What did critics think of What a Way to Go!?
- Critics broadly regarded the film as an extravagant, visually dazzling but uneven black comedy whose broad gimmicks divided opinion.
- Which films are like What a Way to Go!?
- Films with a similar feel include The Loved One, The Women, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and The Apartment.
- How long is What a Way to Go!?
- What a Way to Go! runs 111 minutes.
- Where can I watch What a Way to Go!?
- In United States, What a Way to Go! is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
