About as good as it could be done

I really loved the original Bilko TV series, a magical combination of ingenuity, pace, twists and beautifully-delivered lines. In general, I'm not a fan of American TV comedy, though I really like US film comedy. For me, the Phil Silvers Show was in a little league of its own. Which made me think that whoever filmed it was taking a big gamble because a lot of the success was due to Phil Silvers and ten or so other lead actors.

From that perspective, I thought the Bilko film was really good. It had a bloody good try at doing something done so well the first time 'round. I don't think you could get a better actor than Steve Martin to have a crack at it. You have to let a few things go but it made me laugh loads.