The Party

The only non–Pink Panther collaboration between director Blake Edwards and legendary comic actor Peter Sellers, The Party offers a modern take on a silent movie comedy, with Sellers starring as Hrundi V. Bakshi, an accident-prone East Indian actor who, after wreaking havoc on the set of an expensive picture, is accidentally invited to a big-time Hollywood dinner party. From that basic premise, a series of escalating visual gags are developed around the chaos that Bakshi inadvertently unleashes in a magnificent home featuring indoor ponds and an electronic control panel that operates retractable bars and floors. Although Edwards started with a script, he largely improvised with Sellers and the supporting cast. What could be an offensive ethnic-stereotype character is less a caricature than a benevolent, well-meaning outsider thanks to Sellers' fine performance. Steve Franken costars as Levinson, a waiter who keeps knocking back drinks he's supposed to be passing out to guests and ends up stumbling through the gathering in a drunken daze, and Claudine Longet is Michele Monet, a sweet-natured young actress who relates to the out-of-place and unfailingly polite Bakshi. The elaborately choreographed fun ends with a baby elephant and a bubble bath that takes over the house. While not as fall-down-funny as the best Pink Panther movies, The Party does boast a certain purity and comic grace, with a colorful design and a superb Henri Mancini score. Remastered for its Blu-ray debut and re-release on DVD, extras include vintage behind-the-scenes featurettes and profiles of Edwards, associate producer Ken Wales, and executive producer Walter Mirisch. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)