What a Way to Go!

What a Way to Go!
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJ. Lee Thompson
Screenplay by
Story byGwen Davis
Produced byArthur P. Jacobs
Starring
CinematographyLeon Shamroy
Edited byMarjorie Fowler
Music byNelson Riddle
Production
company
Apjac-Orchard Productions
Distributed by20th Century-Fox
Release date
  • May 14, 1964 (1964-05-14) (New York City)[1]
Running time
111 minutes
CountryUnited States
Languages
  • English
  • French
Budget$3.7 million[2]
Box office$11.1 million[3]

What a Way to Go! is a 1964 American black comedy film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Shirley MacLaine, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin, Gene Kelly, Bob Cummings and Dick Van Dyke.

In the film, a wealthy widow wants to donate most of her fortune to the Internal Revenue Service. She narrates her life story to her psychiatrist. Each of her past husbands found wealth and success, but met with tragic deaths. She thinks she is cursed, and she would instead prefer a "simple life" inspired by the writings of Henry David Thoreau.

  1. ^ "What a Way To Go!: Detail View". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on February 25, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  2. ^ Solomon 1989, p. 254.
  3. ^ "Box Office Information for What a Way to Go!". The Numbers. Retrieved April 30, 2013.