Ray Walston is Terrible

Ray Walston was a superb actor, but he was completely wrong for this part. First, he's too old. He was 50 when this movie was released. Felicia Farr was 32. Cliff Osmond was 26 or 27. Something just doesn't look right when he's interacting with them.
On top of that, Walston -- no matter what he does -- just comes across as a sophisticated, erudite, dignified intellectual. The character needs to have a "goofy" side, and Walston just doesn't come across as goofy. I don't mean completely goofy, like a Jerry Lewis, but a mix of dignity and slapstick. Walston doesn't have that certain mix, at least not here.
Next, I don't believe him living in this tiny, hole-in-the-wall town in Nevada. Walston just doesn't act or feel like a Westerner or a small-town type. Again, I'm not looking for a stereotypical Westerner, with a ten-gallon hat or anything. But Walston feels like he belongs about a million miles away from Climax, Nevada. He doesn't fit in at all.
Some might say that's a good thing. It's a fish-out-of-water story, and it's funny because Walston is so out of place in this tiny Nevada town, right? I don't think so. If Billy Wilder was going to go in that direction, they should have taken it further. They should have created a reason why Walston was stuck in this town. He's from somewhere else and he had to live there for some reason, against his wishes. PLAY UP the fact that he's a "fish out of water," and he doesn't fit in. Wilder doesn't do that. We're left to conclude that he's a longtime resident of this town, and that he belongs there, he fits in -- even though Walston's performance isn't consistent with that.

I've read that Jack Lemmon and Tony Randall were considered for this part. They're not perfect for it either, but either one would be better than Ray Walston.
Again, I like Walston. In the right role, he was terrific. This just wasn't the right role for him.

i think walston did a great job with the role. the character is so neurotically overprotective and jealous that at times I felt the character was a little much, but i think walston did an amazing job.

idk exactly what happened with peter sellers, but i heard from my film teacher that he suffered a drug related health problem and walston was called in last minute, making his performance all the more impressive

ive only seen two other wilder films, but if this was the worst script he ever wrote im gonna have to see more of them cause i thought it was pretty good

Walston is miscast. Felicia Farr was a hottie who wouldn't give a schmo like Uncle Martin the time of day, let alone spread her gooey gams for him.