This short story is a glimpse into the imagination of Walter Mitty, a daydreaming man who is given tasks by his wife while she gets her hair done. He struggles to remember the tasks due to his overactive imagination. A super-short (maybe 7-8 pages) story, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty has inspired two full-length films. The first, from the 1930s,
starred Danny Kaye and was harshly criticized by Thurber, who thought it was ridiculous. The second, one of my all-time favorite movies, was written and directed by Ben Stiller, who stars as Mitty.
A heartwarming and deep film, Stiller's version is also different from the short story, and I can only wish that Thurber could have seen it. The story's good, but the movie's awesome.
