At first, it was a dream come true for Allen. He was making a name for himself as a stand-up comic and dreaming of writing for the theater when he was approached about writing a screenplay. His agents were urging him to get into film work, so Allen tackled the assignment, producing a witty tale of a fashion magazine editor (O'Toole) who can't resist good-looking women - nor can most of them resist him. His search for love in a world of rampant sexuality parallels the fate of Allen's character, a dresser in a strip club who can't get into the ballpark, much less to first base. Allen wrote good roles for the women in their lives and a nice cameo for O'Toole's psychiatrist. And they hired hot young British director Clive Donner, fresh off his critical successes with the Harold Pinter adaptation The Caretaker (1964) and the black comedy Nothing but the Best (1964).
Then the improvements started. Peter Sellers, who was recovering from a heart attack, agreed to play the psychiatrist, a small role that would help him get back into the swing of filmmaking. But once he got on the set, he started improvising his own lines and suggesting added scenes. Even more damaging, he and Allen developed a rivalry that wasn't helped by their resemblance to each other. Sellers resented people's mistaking him for the neophyte actor-writer. And it got worse when an executive producer on the film, thinking he was Allen, reassured him that he wouldn't let Sellers damage his picture. Sellers began improvising more and even got the producer to give him lines and scenes Allen had written for himself. Suddenly Sellers was the film's star, and Allen was reduced to a supporting role.
Producer Charles K. Feldman didn't help, offering his own suggestions for the script and forcing them to cast his protegee, former model Capucine, for a minor role that then had to be expanded to fit her supposed star status. This made problems for the other women in the cast, besides adding more scenes that Allen hadn't written. Allen's only defender on the film was Donner, who fought to keep their original vision, with little success. Ultimately, this strengthened Allen's resolve to control his own work in the future. After co-starring in Casino Royale (1967), he would mostly work for himself, directing, writing and starring in such acclaimed films as Bananas (1971), Annie Hall (1977) and Hannah and Her Sisters (1986).
The critics were not kind to What's New, Pussycat?. Writing in the New York Times, Bosley Crowther said, "Woody Allen, the nightclub comedian, is formally charged with the minor offense of having written what is alleged to be the screenplay of What's New, Pussycat? But Mr. Allen can deny it, if he wants to, and he is bound to be believed. He can simply state that no one in his right mind could have written this excuse for a script." But that wasn't enough to keep audiences away. Drawn by the then-hot O'Toole (this was his second film after Lawrence of Arabia, 1962) and the promise of unfettered sexuality, they made What's New, Pussycat? a hit. The title song scored an Oscar nomination and spent ten weeks on the charts, topping at number two. The film's title even became a popular catchphrase, which drew more people into theaters. As miserable as the experience had made him, the success of What's New, Pussycat? helped put Allen in a position to start directing his own films five years later with Take the Money and Run.
Producer: Charles K. Feldman
Director: Clive Donner
Screenplay: Woody Allen
Cinematography: Jean Badal
Art Direction: Jacques Saulnier
Music: Burt Bacharach
Cast: Peter Sellers (Dr. Fritz Fassbender), Peter O'Toole (Michael James), Romy Schneider (Carole Werner), Capucine (Renee Lefebvre), Paula Prentiss (Liz), Woody Allen (Victor Shakapopulis), Ursula Andress (Rita), Eddra Gale (Anna Fassbender), Jess Hahn (Mr. Werner), Howard Vernon (Doctor), Richard Burton (Man in Bar), Louise Lasser (The Nutcracker).
C-109m. Letterboxed.
by Frank Miller
