The World of Henry Orient
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| The World of Henry Orient | |
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 The World of Henry Orient movie poster |
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| Directed by | George Roy Hill |
| Produced by | Jerome Hellman |
| Written by | Nora Johnson (novel and screenplay) Nunnally Johnson (screenplay) |
| Starring | Peter Sellers Paula Prentiss Merrie Spaeth Tippy Walker |
| Music by | Elmer Bernstein |
| Cinematography | Boris Kaufman Arthur J. Ornitz |
| Editing by | Stuart Gilmore |
| Distributed by | MGM |
| Release date(s) | 1964 |
| Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The World of Henry Orient is a 1964 comedy film based on the novel of the same name by Nora Johnson. It was directed by George Roy Hill and stars Peter Sellers, Paula Prentiss, Angela Lansbury, Tippy Walker and Merrie Spaeth. Filming started in June of 1963 and wrapped sometime in October of that year. The premiere was at Radio City Music Hall on March 19, 1964. In 1965 the film was nominated for a "Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy" Golden Globe Award and a "Best Written American Comedy" Writers Guild of America Award. The World of Henry Orient has influenced more recent films like Ghost World.
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[edit] Synopsis
Concert pianist Henry Orient (Sellers) is having an affair with a married woman, Stella Dunnworthy (Prentiss), while two preteen private-school girls, Valerie Boyd (Tippy Walker) and Marian Gilbert (Merrie Spaeth), stalk Orient and write their fantasies in a diary. Much of the humor of the film derives from Orient's paranoia that the two girls, who seem to pop up everywhere he goes, are spies sent by the husband of his mistress. When Val's mother, Isabel Boyd (Angela Lansbury), finds their diary, she suspects that Henry has acted inappropriately with her daughter. Tom Bosley has a supporting role as Mr. Boyd.
The pianist's unusual surname, "Orient", is because Nora Johnson based the character of Henry Orient on Oscar Levant, a real-life concert pianist, raconteur and film actor. A region of Asia Minor is known as the Levant; Johnson was attempting a play on the words "Levant" and "Orient". In the film, the only comment on the pianist's unusual name occurs when his two teenage fans put on Chinese conical hats and address their idol as "Oriental Henry".
[edit] Reception
The World of Henry Orient was the official U.S. entry at 1964 Cannes Film Festival.[1] The film was well-received by critics and has an 88% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. It was voted one of the Year's Ten Best Films by the 1964 National Board of Review.
[edit] Musical adaptation
A Broadway musical adaptation of The World of Henry Orient opened at the Palace Theatre, New York in New York City on October 23, 1967. Renamed Henry, Sweet Henry, it starred Don Ameche as Henry Orient, Neva Small as Marian Gilbert, Robin Wilson as Valerie Boyd, Milo Bouton as Mr Boyd, Carol Bruce as Mrs. Boyd and Louise Lasser as Stella. The show ran for 80 performances and closed on December 31, 1967, receiving less than stellar reviews. George Roy Hill directed, with Michael Bennett handling the choreography. The music and lyrics were by Bob Merrill.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- The World of Henry Orient at the Internet Movie Database
- The World of Henry Orient at Allmovie
- The World of Henry Orient at Rotten Tomatoes
- The World of Henry Orient at the TCM Movie Database
- Complete list of actors who were considered for roles
- MGM site with stills, samples from the soundtrack and soundbites of dialogue
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