Arabs, Jews, college football teams, United States Politicians and the military, all get scathed in this over-the-top comedy where a fictional Arab country tries to go American after the son of the King is denied the chance to play on an Ivy League football team. It all starts with famed photographer Shirley MacLaine agreeing to go over to Fawzia to infiltrate the aging King's harem, and while there, she gets involved with one of her previous victims (Richard Crenna as the title character) in aiding the Fawzian football team to play and beat Notre Dame. This ain't no Knute Rockne or even Gus the football kicking mule. This is mud-slinging at its silliest, and you can almost hear the screenwriters laughing out loud as they see the dialog they've written and silly gags they've made into something that even the Three Stooges would turn down. The most outlandish casting comes with Peter Ustinov, truly overdoing it as King Fawz, whether driving around on his outrageous choo-choo train, playing with an all gold model train, or overreacting to MacLaine's fat suit disguise to avoid spending an evening in his company.
This is the type of comedy that probably appealed in 1965 to 13 year old boys who were laughing at Gilligan's Island and re-runs of the Three Stooges shorts. For adults, this will appeal to them for the plethora of character actors who appear in small roles, among them Charles Lane as MacLaine's wise-cracking boss (apologizing for making a mistake in hiring her for this project as he really needed a woman), Fred Clark, Jim Backus, David Lewis ("General Hospital's" first Edward Quartermain) and Harry Morgan as government flackies arguing over who sent an Arab King pigskin luggage, and especially Wilfred Hyde White as Ustinov's bossy assistant who treats him like a child. There's even Leon Askin ("Hogan's Heroes"), Richard Deacon ("The Dick Van Dyke Show") and a young Jerry Orbach. While Patrick Adiarte ("The King and I", "Flower Drum Song") does not at all seem to be Arab, he's very charming as Ustinov's young son, making me feel sorry for the woman forced to sleep with Ustinov. Way down the cast list is young James Caan as one of Notre Dame's football players. It seems like they kept everything in, including the harem sink.
You've got to give credit where credit is due, and this movie (controversial in 1964) has one of the most outlandish opening songs in film history, sung by its very funny star. I just wonder what she thought of this movie at the time, because I think I've read somewhere that now she considers it to be a career embarrassment. Certainly at the time, she was more known for her comedy, and this was in line with "The Apartment" and "Irma La Douce" that saw her as somewhat pathetic, if still interesting, characters. I happen to find it a guilty pleasure, having laughed hysterically at it in my early 20's, and smiling with amusement and remembrance 30 years later. Still, it's up there on many "worst" lists, and if indeed it does come off very tacky at times and definitely a slap in the face at the groups I mention above, it's an example of freedom of expression that doesn't exist anymore and hopefully might remind us not to take everything around us so seriously.
This is the type of comedy that probably appealed in 1965 to 13 year old boys who were laughing at Gilligan's Island and re-runs of the Three Stooges shorts. For adults, this will appeal to them for the plethora of character actors who appear in small roles, among them Charles Lane as MacLaine's wise-cracking boss (apologizing for making a mistake in hiring her for this project as he really needed a woman), Fred Clark, Jim Backus, David Lewis ("General Hospital's" first Edward Quartermain) and Harry Morgan as government flackies arguing over who sent an Arab King pigskin luggage, and especially Wilfred Hyde White as Ustinov's bossy assistant who treats him like a child. There's even Leon Askin ("Hogan's Heroes"), Richard Deacon ("The Dick Van Dyke Show") and a young Jerry Orbach. While Patrick Adiarte ("The King and I", "Flower Drum Song") does not at all seem to be Arab, he's very charming as Ustinov's young son, making me feel sorry for the woman forced to sleep with Ustinov. Way down the cast list is young James Caan as one of Notre Dame's football players. It seems like they kept everything in, including the harem sink.
You've got to give credit where credit is due, and this movie (controversial in 1964) has one of the most outlandish opening songs in film history, sung by its very funny star. I just wonder what she thought of this movie at the time, because I think I've read somewhere that now she considers it to be a career embarrassment. Certainly at the time, she was more known for her comedy, and this was in line with "The Apartment" and "Irma La Douce" that saw her as somewhat pathetic, if still interesting, characters. I happen to find it a guilty pleasure, having laughed hysterically at it in my early 20's, and smiling with amusement and remembrance 30 years later. Still, it's up there on many "worst" lists, and if indeed it does come off very tacky at times and definitely a slap in the face at the groups I mention above, it's an example of freedom of expression that doesn't exist anymore and hopefully might remind us not to take everything around us so seriously.