The World of Henry Orient
| The World of Henry Orient | |
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 theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | George Roy Hill |
| Produced by | Jerome Hellman |
| Screenplay by | Nora Johnson Nunnally Johnson |
| Based on | The World of Henry Orient by Nora Johnson |
| Starring | Peter Sellers Paula Prentiss Merrie Spaeth Tippy Walker Tom Bosley |
| Music by | Elmer Bernstein |
| Cinematography | Boris Kaufman Arthur J. Ornitz |
| Editing by | Stuart Gilmore |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | March 19, 1964 |
| Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The World of Henry Orient is a 1964 American comedy film based on the novel of the same name by Nora Johnson. It was directed by George Roy Hill and stars Peter Sellers, Paula Prentiss, Angela Lansbury, Tippy Walker, Merrie Spaeth, Phyllis Thaxter, Bibi Osterwald, and Tom Bosley.
Filming started in June 1963 and wrapped in October of that year. The premiere was at Radio City Music Hall on March 19, 1964. In 1965 the film was nominated for the Golden Globe Award in the category "Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy" and for a Writers Guild of America Award for "Best Written American Comedy."
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[edit] Plot
Concert pianist Henry Orient (Peter Sellers) is trying to have an affair with a married woman, Stella Dunnworthy (Paula Prentiss), while two teenage private-school girls, Valerie Boyd (Tippy Walker) and Marian Gilbert (Merrie Spaeth), stalk him and write their fantasies about him in a diary.
Orient's paranoia leads him to believe that the two girls, who seem to pop up everywhere he goes, are spies sent by the husband of his would-be mistress. When Val's mother, Isabel Boyd (Angela Lansbury), finds their diary, she suspects that Henry has acted inappropriately with her daughter. She contacts Orient and they end up having an affair. Val finds out about it, as does her dad.
[edit] Cast
- Merrie Spaeth as Marian "Gil" Gilbert
- Tippy Walker as Valarie "Val" Campbell Boyd
- Peter Sellers as Henry Orient
- Paula Prentiss as Stella Dunnworthy
- Angela Lansbury as Isabel Boyd
- Tom Bosley as Frank Boyd
- Phyllis Thaxter as Mrs. Avis Gilbert
- Bibi Osterwald as Erica "Boothy" Booth
- John Fiedler as Sidney
- Al Lewis as Store Owner
- Peter Duchin as Joe Daniels
- Fred Stewart as Doctor
- Philippa Bevans as Emma Hambler
- Jane Buchanan as Lillian Kafritz
[edit] Production
The pianist's unusual surname, "Orient", came about because Nora Johnson based the character on Oscar Levant, a real-life concert pianist, raconteur and film actor. Since the word "levant" means orient in French (literally the direction from which the Sun rises), the name is a play on words. In the film, several allusions to the pianist's unusual name occur when his two teenage fans put on Chinese conical hats, address their idol as "Oriental Henry," kow-tow to an Asian-style altar, and adopt vaguely Japanese-sounding names for themselves.
[edit] Reception
The World of Henry Orient was the official U.S. entry at 1964 Cannes Film Festival.[1][2]
The film was well-received by critics and has an 88% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. In his review for The New York Times, Bosley Crowther wrote that it was "one of the most joyous and comforting movies about teenagers that we've had in a long time".[3]
It was voted one of the Year's Ten Best Films by the National Board of Review in 1964.[4]
[edit] Musical adaptation
A Broadway musical adaptation of The World of Henry Orient called Henry, Sweet Henry, with music and lyrics by Bob Merrill, book by Nunnally Johnson (the father of Nora Johnson), direction by George Roy Hill and choreography by Michael Bennett, opened at the Palace Theatre on October 23, 1967. It starred Don Ameche as Henry Orient, Neva Small as Marian Gilbert, Robin Wilson as Valerie Boyd, Milo Bouton as Mr Boyd, Carol Bruce as Mrs. Boyd and Louise Lasser as Stella. Pia Zadora also appeared in the role of a student. The show ran for 80 performances and closed on December 31, 1967, receiving less than stellar reviews.[5] William Goldman, in his study of the 1967-68 theater year "The Season", claimed that the musical was of high quality but was old fashioned, and "had the misfortune" to open just a week after all the critics "were overcome by Hair," which had a modern sound.
Although the show was not a success, one of its performers, Alice Playten, received a 1968 Theatre World Award, and was nominated for a Tony Award for "Best Featured Actress in a Musical" for playing the role of Kafritz, which was enlarged substantially for the play. In addition, Michael Bennett was nominated for a Tony for "Best Choreography."[6]
[edit] References
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: The World of Henry Orient". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2935/year/1964.html. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ^ "The Girls of Henry Orient". Time. May 15, 1964. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,871047,00.html. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley (March 20, 1964). "2 Girls Chase Sellers in Henry Orient". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E03E0DC1138E13ABC4851DFB566838F679EDE. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
- ^ "National Board of Review Top Ten Films". National Board of Review. http://www.nbrmp.org/awards/awards.cfm?award=Top%20Ten%20Films. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
- ^ Henry, Sweet Henry at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ IBDB Awards
[edit] External links
- The World of Henry Orient at the Internet Movie Database
- The World of Henry Orient at the TCM Movie Database
- The World of Henry Orient at AllRovi
- The World of Henry Orient at Rotten Tomatoes
- MGM site with stills, samples from the soundtrack and soundbites of dialogue
- Henry, Sweet Henry at the Internet Broadway Database
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