Why doesn Stan Freberg have any lines?
Actually, he does but for years, he didn’t know it. The master satirist was a last minute cast insertion. Freberg, who wrote and produced many of the film’s commercial spots was visiting the set to consult with director Stanley Kramer about the ads when Kramer asked him to step into a role. Another actor (apparently, Pat Buttram) had a sudden conflict and was unable to do the scene on the day it had to shoot. Freberg quickly learned and filmed a 3-page scene in which he played a deputy who was caught reading comic books by the sheriff, who was played by Andy Devine. Later, when it came time to edit the film down to an endurable length, dozens of scenes were cut in whole or part, and among the trims was all of Freberg’s dialogue with Devine. For years, Stan thought he’d been reduced to a non-speaking role in the film…but at a screening just a few years ago, a couple of Mad World buffs pointed out to him that he is heard in the film. In one scene where two cops are speeding along, they
