In 1964, after the success of Lolita and The Pink Panther, British comedian Peter Sellers was suddenly very much in demand in Hollywood, and found himself being called upon to lend his comic talents to all manner of pictures. The World of Henry Orient, a coming-of-age comedy drama, is among his most unusual vehicles – for him at least.
For one thing, The World of Henry Orient is not really anything much to do with Sellers or the titular character that he plays. Its central story about two free-spirited teenage girls was written by Nora Johnson, daughter of acclaimed screenwriter Nunnally, and is a rather charming and realistic portrait, if a little unfocused at times. Appropriately, the story gains maturity as it progresses, acquiring a little more meaning and even poignancy. The lead roles are played by unknowns Merrie Spaeth and Tippy Walker, both of whom give lively and very naturalistic performances, more than anything it seems enjoying themselves. Although Spaeth in particular shows a lot of promise, neither of them had lengthy careers on the screen.
This was an early directorial assignment for George Roy Hill, who would later go on to make some very fine pictures indeed. He shows intelligence and sensitivity in his handling of scenes, often using long unbroken takes and wonderfully simple set-ups. A good example is a shot when Gil first comes round to Val's house, where Walker is lying on the bed and Spaeth is sitting on the floor. It's such a typical-looking way for two teenage friends to relax, and it allows both to face the camera while the scene simply plays out without the need for cutting or changing the angle. The only moment that really interrupts the flow is the street scene early on with lots of Dutch angles and slow motion. Funny how with the Henry Orient character this movie pokes fun at avant-garde music, because all this camera trickery comes dangerously close to the cinematic equivalent.
Speaking of which, the Henry Orient character is a bit of a misfit here. Sellers acts funny and makes a decent comedy character out of Orient, but there simply isn't anything really very funny for him to say or do. This is right in a way, because you wouldn't want him to steal the movie, but it means his performance is rather frustrating to watch because he constantly seems on the verge of being hilarious, except he isn't. It's as if his parts of the story are out of step with the rest, and the picture is pulling in opposite directions. Even more bizarre (but mercifully short) is the business with Al Lewis as a crazy storekeeper, which looks like a bit of half-arsed comic relief from the 1940s. The World of Henry Orient is like a cobbling together of two different ideas, both of which – with a little development – could work very well on their own. The 1960s were a strange time in cinema, and produced many little oddities such as this.
For one thing, The World of Henry Orient is not really anything much to do with Sellers or the titular character that he plays. Its central story about two free-spirited teenage girls was written by Nora Johnson, daughter of acclaimed screenwriter Nunnally, and is a rather charming and realistic portrait, if a little unfocused at times. Appropriately, the story gains maturity as it progresses, acquiring a little more meaning and even poignancy. The lead roles are played by unknowns Merrie Spaeth and Tippy Walker, both of whom give lively and very naturalistic performances, more than anything it seems enjoying themselves. Although Spaeth in particular shows a lot of promise, neither of them had lengthy careers on the screen.
This was an early directorial assignment for George Roy Hill, who would later go on to make some very fine pictures indeed. He shows intelligence and sensitivity in his handling of scenes, often using long unbroken takes and wonderfully simple set-ups. A good example is a shot when Gil first comes round to Val's house, where Walker is lying on the bed and Spaeth is sitting on the floor. It's such a typical-looking way for two teenage friends to relax, and it allows both to face the camera while the scene simply plays out without the need for cutting or changing the angle. The only moment that really interrupts the flow is the street scene early on with lots of Dutch angles and slow motion. Funny how with the Henry Orient character this movie pokes fun at avant-garde music, because all this camera trickery comes dangerously close to the cinematic equivalent.
Speaking of which, the Henry Orient character is a bit of a misfit here. Sellers acts funny and makes a decent comedy character out of Orient, but there simply isn't anything really very funny for him to say or do. This is right in a way, because you wouldn't want him to steal the movie, but it means his performance is rather frustrating to watch because he constantly seems on the verge of being hilarious, except he isn't. It's as if his parts of the story are out of step with the rest, and the picture is pulling in opposite directions. Even more bizarre (but mercifully short) is the business with Al Lewis as a crazy storekeeper, which looks like a bit of half-arsed comic relief from the 1940s. The World of Henry Orient is like a cobbling together of two different ideas, both of which – with a little development – could work very well on their own. The 1960s were a strange time in cinema, and produced many little oddities such as this.