THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY did not overly please humorist James Thurber, whose famous 1939 short story was freely fiddled with by producer Samuel Goldwyn’s 1947 movie. But the results were nonetheless a popular hit for 35-year-old comic sensation Danny Kaye, clipping thru a feature film roll that lasted over a decade before shifting into TV and a host of other venues. Ken Englund and Everett Freeman wrote the script, Kaye’s wife Sylvia Fine pitching in for some of his more manic outbursts.

‘Walter Mitty’ (Kaye) works as an editor for a publishing company that specializes in pulp serial fodder. Constantly scolded by his mama (Fay Bainter), harangued by his boss (Thurston Hall, very funny), overridden by his dippy fiancee and her battle-axe mother, Walter is milquetoast in (in)action. Temporary solace comes from daydreaming about being a dashing hero in one adventure or another. Fate intervenes to bring real-life romance and danger; the former via mystery lady ‘Rosalind van Hoorn’ (Virginia Mayo, agleam), the latter in ruthless foreign spies who want something she (and eventually he) possess. Will wishy-washy wisher Walter wipe wrongdoers and win a wonder woman? Watch.

Director Norman Z. McLeod had experience honing patience with zany comics, having dealt with the Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields and previously Kaye (in The Kid From Brooklyn); he’s aided by a lush production look. Mayo glows in Technicolor closeups. It doesn’t hurt having one of the bad guys suavely essayed by Boris Karloff, 59, nailing three more dastards that year in Unconquered, Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome and Lured.  Whether or not the adaptation plays afield from Thurber’s idea of Mitty, there’s no quibble with Kaye’s exquisite timing and his unmatched mastery of verbal gymnastics. Crucially, the dream sequences are highlights.

The $9,700,000 gross tapped 19th place in ’47, a year decorated by a number of classic frolics. Remade (after comically endless turnarounds in cast & crew) in 2013 to various degrees of approval or derision. *

With Ann Rutherford, Gordon Jones, Florence Bates, Reginald Denny and Fritz Feld. Fans of Robert Altman can try and spot the future director, then a 21-year-old recently discharged bomber pilot, as an unbilled extra in the RAF bar scene. 110 minutes.

* Cohabiting with a slew of nasty noir faves, 1947 delivered welcome smile relief via The Egg And I, Life With Father, The Bachelor And The Bobby Soxer, Road To Rio, The Bishop’s Wife, The Farmer’s Daughter, My Favorite Brunette and Miracle On 34th Street.

Um, how long would “luscious” last in the post-Walter dream world?