What's New Pussycat?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| What's New Pussycat? | |
|---|---|
 original movie poster |
|
| Directed by | Clive Donner |
| Produced by | Charles K. Feldman |
| Written by | Woody Allen |
| Starring | Peter Sellers Peter O'Toole Romy Schneider Capucine Paula Prentiss Ursula Andress |
| Music by | Burt Bacharach Hal David (lyrics) |
| Cinematography | Jean Badal |
| Editing by | Fergus McDonell |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | 22 June 1965 |
| Running time | 108 min. |
| Country | UK / U.S.A. |
| Language | English French |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
What's New Pussycat? (1965) is a comedy film directed by Clive Donner and starring Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, Romy Schneider, Capucine, Paula Prentiss and Ursula Andress. It was Woody Allen's film debut, as well as his first produced script. The title song was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and sung by Tom Jones. The movie poster was painted by Frank Frazetta.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Notorious womanizer Michael James (O'Toole) desperately wants to be faithful to his fiancée Carole Werner (Schneider), but runs into serious problems since every woman he meets seems to fall in love with him.
His psychoanalyst, Dr. Fassbender (Sellers), cannot help him either since he's busy stalking one of his patients (Capucine) who in turn longs for Michael. A catastrophe appears on the horizon as all the characters check into the Chateau Chantelle hotel for the weekend not knowing of each other's presence.
[edit] Starring
- Peter Sellers — Dr. Fritz Fassbender
- Peter O'Toole — Michael James
- Romy Schneider — Carole Werner
- Capucine — Renée Lefebvre
- Paula Prentiss — Liz Bien
- Woody Allen — Victor Shakapopulis
- Ursula Andress — Rita
- Michel Subor — Philippe
- Eddra Gale — Anna Fassbender (as Edra Gale)
- Richard Burton — Man in Strip Club (cameo)
- Katrin Schaake — Jacqueline
- Eléonore Hirt — Mrs. Sylvia Werner
- Jean Parédès — Marcel
- Jacques Balutin — Etienne
- Jess Hahn — Mr. Werner
- Howard Vernon — Doctor
- Françoise Hardy — Mayor's assistant, scribe
[edit] Production
The film was originally to have been a starring vehicle for Warren Beatty – the very title was Beatty's usual way of answering the telephone at that time. However Woody Allen, who had been hired by producer Charles K. Feldman to write the script, began relegating Beatty's character to a secondary role, increasing his own character at Beatty's expense. This led to tension between Beatty and the studio, especially as the screenplay Allen was delivering was considered to be much funnier than the original idea. Eventually, Beatty was forced off his own project by the little-known Allen. Because of their pre-production feuding, Woody Allen and Warren Beatty never worked together again. Coincidentally, both had long term and significant relationships with the same woman, Diane Keaton, albeit at different times.
Groucho Marx was originally slated to play Dr. Fassbender in the Warren Beatty version.
The movie was filmed in and around Paris between October 1964 and January 1965, and was released in New York on 22 June 1965. It opened in Paris in January 1966 as "Quoi de neuf, Pussycat?". The film's total box office was $8.469[1] to $8.7[2] million.
[edit] Awards
In 1965, Burt Bacharach and Hal David were nominated for an Academy Award for "Best Song" for the title song. Woody Allen was nominated for a WGA Award for "Best Written Screen Comedy" in 1966.
[edit] Notes
- ^ All Movie Guide What's New, Pussycat? overview
- ^ IMDB What's New, Pussycat? business data
The Times, 2 September 1965 and 6 September 1966
