The World Of Henry Orient

I'm a huge Peter Sellers fan, and about a year ago, I discovered a film of his that I hadn't seen before. Unfortunately though, I was at work and wasn't able to really watch it that closely. Last night I remedied that and caught up with 1964's The World Of Henry Orient.

Sellers is more of a supporting player in this, even though he has top billing and is the title role. The movie is about two pre teen girls, Tippy Walker and Merrie Spaeth, who become quick friends. The two become obsessed with a world renowned concert pianist, Sellers, after spying on him making out in the park. The girls begin to trail him, making Orient very paranoid since he is involved with a married woman, Paula Prentiss.

This is a fun and sweet little film. Sellers is terrific as always. Walker and Spaeth are very convincing for what was probably their first big roles. Plus I love seeing Prentiss in anything. I've always found her to be a fun actress.

The film is supposedly based on a true story about two young girls who developed a crush on Tony Bennett. It was directed by George Roy Hill, a filmmaker who I've always felt didn't get his proper due. Even though he has directed classics like The Sting and Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, it doesn't seem like nobody talks about him much. With this film he applies just the write touch and has a good balance between humor and drama.

Sadly this sweet film has a bit of a dark shadow over it. It turns out that Hill had an affair with Walker during the production and even for a year after. He was thirty years her senior and married with kids at the time. Because of this scandal Walker said that she wasn't able to land other roles.

That being said, I think this film is worth a look. It's available on dvd.