Editor Reviews:

Amazon.com:
If there's one movie Danny Kaye fans fondly remember, it's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. The versatile comedian--also an unsurpassed song-and-dance man--plays a henpecked, thriller-genre book writer suddenly enmeshed in a real adventure involving the (literal) girl of his dreams (Virginia Mayo). Initially criticized for not staying true to the more melancholic sensibility of author James Thurber's original story (Thurber allegedly offered producer Samuel Goldwyn $10,000 to not make the film), it not only works as an independent story, but remains highly entertaining and wears well upon repeated viewing. Kaye's milquetoast Walter fantasizes distractedly about being heroic, whether a gunslinger, an Air Force pilot, or a riverboat gambler. His "Anatole of Paris" number, in which Walter fancies himself a French hat designer who, in the end, declares he hates women, is nothing short of brilliant. That number, like many of Kaye's trademark patter deliveries, was penned by his wife, Sylvia Fine. Kaye benefits from a wonderful supporting cast: Mayo; Boris Karloff as maniacal Dr. Hugo Hollingshead; Faye Bainter as Walter's repressive but lively mother; Ann Rutherford as his suspicious fiancée Gertrude; and Gordon Jones as Tubby, who not only has designs on Gertrude, but provides the villain in Walter's fantasies. --N.F. Mendoza

Rating : - What Causes Daydreams?
This film was inspired by the short stories of James Thurber. Walter Mitty drives to the train station in a small NJ town that resembles southern California. Mitty works for a publishing company in Manhattan that prints racy detective stories and other popular magazines (classified as "escapist" literature). Mitty's daydreams are interspersed with his real life. An imagined operation has comic touches. His fiance's dog doesn't trust him. His furnace has logs that burn quickly (unlike in the real world). Mitty's comic musician seems quite outdated. On his morning train he meets a strange woman who ask for his help. Mitty's life quickly becomes complicated, far more than in any daydream. He has become involved in dangerous situation. Will he survive?

The story continues with comic scares and scenes. They now seek a missing notebook that was placed into a woman's corset. Scenes switch from reality to fantasy. Does Mitty need a psychiatrist? Does his job affect his imagination? The film runs on with more scenes of comic terror. At the end there is a surprise. This film tells what Hollywood thought would please customers. Did it? This isn't a good parody of suspense thrillers where an ordinary man stumbles into danger.