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This month brings us four DVDs with strong theatre connections. Topping the group is the 1965 screen adaptation of Herb Gardner's 1962 comedy hit A Thousand Clowns [M-G-M]. Why is this film only now, finally, coming to DVD? And in M-G-M's "Limited Edition Collection," which is to say as a spare, bonus-free, movie-on-demand release? No matter; Gardner's cockeyed comedy of nonconformism is a wonderful movie with a wonderful cast filmed in an unconventional and intriguing manner. "A Thousand Clowns" preserves four of the six members of the Broadway cast, which perhaps adds inestimable value to the piece. Certainly, the two Broadway revivals — starring Judd Hirsch in 1996 and Tom Selleck in 2001 — both misfired on most cylinders. From the viewpoint of this theatregoer, though, it wasn't in either case the play that was the problem.

Start with Jason Robards, still in his late thirties when the play was originally produced (following his appearances in Long Day's Journey Into Night and Toys in the Attic). This is Robards at his comic best; his Murray Burns wanders the deserted streets of Manhattan shouting wakeup calls to the civilians, offering a sidelong glance at the normal people, and we simply believe him.

And here's another very fresh talent: William Daniels as Albert, the fiancé she dumps; he also went directly into Clear Day as Warren, the fiancé she dumps. And shortly thereafter on to the role of John Adams in 1776. Daniels was little known at the time of A Thousand Clowns, although he had made an auspicious Off-Broadway presence in 1960 in Edward Albee's The Zoo Story. Here, he is the perfect foil to Robards and Harris.

Daniels is joined by two other holdovers from Broadway, character comedians Gene Saks and Barry Gordon. That's right, Gene Saks, as the miserable kid's show host Leo Herman (AKA Chuckles the Clown). As A Thousand Clowns continued its stage run, Saks got the opportunity to direct a play — Carl Reiner's Enter Laughing — and never looked back. But he did return to his Chuckles garb for the Thousand Clowns film, between Broadway directing gigs on the musicals Half a Sixpence and Mame.

Not the least of these clowns in "A Thousand Clowns" is Barry Gordon, who was a mere 13 at the time of his one and only Broadway appearance. For which he, like Ms. Dennis, received a featured Tony nomination. (Gordon lost, though — to Alan Arkin for Enter Laughing.) Gordon went on to a long career in television, with a seven-year stint as president of the Screen Actors Guild. He took over the office from Patty Duke — who came to prominence as a child actor in Fred Coe's prior production, "The Miracle Worker" — and was a few years later succeeded by William Daniels. But that was the adult Gordon; in the "Thousand Clowns" film, the actor (who was by then already 16) is remarkably funny as a child with far more emotional maturity than his uncle. Or any of the other Gardner characters, for that matter. And let's not forget Gordon's interplay with Bubbles, the toy doll with electric lights in her — well, if you've seen the film you'll know what I'm talking about.

The role of Murray's brother Arnold is played by Martin Balsam, a veteran stage actor who was not in the stage production. While the "Thousand Clowns" film received four Oscar nominations — including Best Picture, which it lost to "The Sound of Music" — Balsam was the only winner, thanks to the scene in which his character finally explodes in frustration. Also on hand, in a brief scene added by Gardner for the film, is a character with a long comic monologue listed merely as "The Man in the Office." If this man in the office looks familiar, that's because it's the film debut of John McMartin.

This was the first of only two films directed by Coe, who was more usually a producer (although with a considerable amount of television directing experience). Unusual but fascinating, with the visuals providing an offbeat but keen view of Manhattan just before things started to change in the mid-60s. They seem to have done extensive location shooting in what was to become the Lincoln Center era, centering on a half-demolished street of brownstones. One scene actually shows the Metropolitan Opera House as a construction shell, before the front walls went up. Added to this is a joyous score, full of marching music, written by none other than Don Walker and conducted by Hal Hastings. Walker actually received an Oscar nomination for his efforts.

Between Herb Gardner's script, Coe's direction, and the unforgettable performances by all six principals (Robards, Harris, Daniels, Saks, Gordon and Balsam), "A Thousand Clowns" is like a trip to an old-fashioned candy store, with egg creams.