Peter Sellers has top billing as eccentric concert pianist and frustrated lothario Henry Orient in this 1964 comedy, but it is not really about his world. Instead, the narrative focuses on two outcast schoolgirls—Gil (Merrie Spaeth) and Val (Tippy Walker)—with overactive imaginations, who become fast friends, bonding over their love of fantasy and play-acting. Orient's story, as he sneaks around with a married woman (Paula Prentiss), provides much of the comic relief and Sellers offers a more subtle form of physical comedy than in his Pink Panther roles, as his attempts at secret rendezvous are constantly interrupted by the two girls. More bittersweet are the girls—the lonely Gil, raised by a single mother who is overjoyed that she has finally found a dear friend, and the neglected Val, raised by servants and relatives while her parents travel on business. Val pushes her fantasy life to destructive extremes at times (she has been kicked out of numerous exclusive schools), and she runs away when her parents (Angela Lansbury and Tom Bosley) return and Val becomes disgusted with her mother's hypocrisy and neglect. Director George Roy Hill bounces between the two stories, letting Sellers carry the comedy in extended sequences, but his compassion is clearly with the two girls and the loving affection of Gil's mother, which Val so desperately desires. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)
The World of Henry Orient
Kino Lorber, 106 min., not rated, DVD: $19.99 Volume 32, Issue 5
The World of Henry Orient
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