What's New Pussycat

WHAT'S NEW, PUSSYCAT? was a popular ticket in 1965--but when seen outside the context of its era it emerges as a slightly choppy, slightly slapdash film long on froth and short on actual amusement.

Originally written by Woody Allen as a vehicle for Warren Beatty, both script and cast underwent a mighty change before it reached the screen, so much so that the experience prompted Allen to swear he'd never allow any one but himself to direct one of his scripts in the future. The story revolves around Michael James (Peter O'Toole), a handsome man who wants to marry Carol (Romy Schneider) but can't stop sleeping around long enough to make a commitment. He accordingly goes to psychiatrist Dr. Fritz Fassbender (Peter Sellers)--who is a sex-crazed nut in pursuit of patient Renee (Capucine.) Before the dust settles Woody Allen, Paula Prentiss, Ursla Andress, and Edra Gale are added to the mix.

O'Toole and Sellers are hardly challenged by the material and Allen introduces his "I'm a New York neurotic" screen persona for the first time--but it is really the abundance of supporting actresses that give the film what little zing it still retains. Romy Schnieder was among Europe's greatest stars and finest actresses of her era; although the script offers her little, she is charming indeed. Much the same can be said of the legendary Capucine in the role of a world-weary nymphomaniac; Ursula Andress, who arrives in the film via parachute, and bovine Edra Gale, who runs riot in Wagnerian attire. But the real scene stealer is Paula Prentiss.

Although extremely attractive, Prentiss was originally typed as a "second lead" of the Eve Arden type--but she quickly graduated to neurotic comedy roles for which she had a truly unique flair. WHAT'S NEW, PUSSYCAT? finds her at the top of her form as the interestingly-named Liz Bien, who writes bad poetry, has a tendency to overdose on pills every time she goes to the bathroom, and who attaches herself to the much-harassed Peter O'Toole. It really is a performance that transcends the material and which lingers in the mind long after the credits roll.

The DVD release is third rate, with mediocre visual elements and sound so uneven that I constantly adjusted the volume as I watched. When all is said and done, this is really a film for hardcore fans of its various stars--and especially for Paula Prentiss. If for no other reason, the film is worth watching for her alone.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

"What's New Pussycat? (1965) was directed by a British director, Clive Donner and it is the first feature film for which Woody Allen wrote the original screenplay. Allen also played a supporting role of Victor Skakapopulis, the friend of Michael James (Peter O'Toole). Michael is a fashion editor, surrounded by beauty and glamor of his models which he can't refuse. He truly loves his fiancée Carole (Romy Schneider) and wants to be faithful to her but what can a man do if the gorgeous women literally fell for him from the sky? He sees a psychoanalyst Dr. Fassbender (Peter Sellers) who is not much of help and faces his own demons. Meanwhile, Victor is desperately in love with his best friend's fiancée...

The movie reminds a lot "Casino Royale" - it was made in the 60s, has a great cast (Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, Romy Schneider, Capucine, Paula Prentiss, Woody Allen, Ursula Andress), strikingly beautiful women and the song by Burt Bacharach. It takes place in Paris - and it is almost as much mess as "Casino... " is - silly, naive, and often simply ridiculous but somehow it works after all these years. One of the reasons I believe is Allen's script, the dialogs and one-liners that are hilarious. This time, Allen received more screen time that in Casino.... and he made his scenes very funny. "What's New Pussycat?" is not a great movie but it is charming and I like it.

6.5/10

Even for a budding great movie writer and producer such as Woody Allen, this film fails to measure up to the lowest level of entertainment. Heavy, plodding script, patchwork scenes, a very loose plot. Generally, not worth the time spent in watching it. HOWEVER, the Oscar-nominated title song, by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and as performed by the incomparable Tom Jones, makes it all worthwhile.

This, the first time Woody Allen wrote and played in a film, is indeed an easygoing laugh-a-minute introduction to his unmistakable neurosis humor, though it is not a proper introduction to the height of his genius as a writer or an on-screen persona, which in its cinematic infancy here is in its mostly widely recognized distillation, an intellectual nebbish whose life is a never-ending uphill battle to deduce why he can't score with any women. Like his first three efforts at the helm, What's Up, Tiger Lily?, Take the Money and Run and Bananas, What's New Pussycat? is a prime example of the swinging '60s vogue, but whereas in Take the Money and Run, for instance, his cinematic approach hearkens back to early documentaries and silent comedies, this romp is under the much more generic direction of Clive Donner, who had before been an assistant director.

But even as an especially commercial production with a then modern pop soundtrack, which absorbed the movie lots of success (though the most memorable use, a Dionne Warwick track, was much overlooked), and a slapdash editing job, it has some impressive elements not limited to the wit and inspired silliness contributed by Woody. Peter O'Toole had already done Lawrence of Arabia, Becket and Lord Jim before this silly little farce, which was a cool and slick showcase of his range. He plays a strapping, earnest young man who struggles to remain faithful to his fiancé but cannot seem to avoid women who want to sleep with him. Peter Sellers plays his analyst, a Deutsche pervert who hates his nagging, brutish wife and proposes to follow his patient O'Toole and "study his behavior." Sellers provides one of his most hilarious performances, making it seem so easy to alternately embellish and subdue his Germanic caricature while completely inhabiting his ridiculous '60s swinger get-up.

So this is a classic screwball sex comedy of its time and captures the era not in the material, or even in production value, but in sight and sound. The movie was a box-office success, appealing of course to date moviegoers and mainstream audiences who saw the names Peter O'Toole, Peter Sellers, Capucine, Ursula Andress, Tom Jones and Burt Bacharach, but also, surely, to those who were cynical of the gender double-standard as well as Sellers' Teutonic psychiatrist. But yeah, definitely well worth a look, full of laughs.

It's hard to recommend this film if you're looking for non-stop laughs. The humor is hit- and-miss, with far too many misfires. But there's still a lot going for it, especially, a stellar cast who appear to be game for anything. Peter O'Toole proves he can be very funny. Peter Sellers as a lecherous psychiatrist, with a Prince Valiant wig, and a Valkyrie wife is a character right out of Woody Allen's comic sensibility. Woody himself is here, refining and polishing his nebbish persona so convincingly, that many viewers assume he's not acting at all. His assignment, when hired to write the film, was merely to gather a collection of beautiful women and send everyone off to Paris.

There is a bevy of beautiful women here. Paula Prentiss gets the most obviously outrageous role: a suicidal poetry-with-a-social-conscience writer who's also a performer at the Crazy Horse Saloon. The exquisite Capucine shows off her remarkable flair for physical comedy. Ursula Andress doesn't have to do anything other than show up in a bikini, but even she turns out to be a delightful comedienne. Romy Schneider doesn't fare as well. She looks amazing, but her character is cloying. She does shine, however, in the hilarious English-as- a-second-language class sequence.

There are some other gems: The nighttime courting below the window, the group therapy sessions, the library bully. The film comes to life at the end when it turns into pure slapstick. It contrives to assemble all the characters in a French château, with everyone chasing after each other in some cleverly devised sight gags. Just don't look for consistency, coherence, or continuity in this film. They don't exist. Enjoy it, instead, as a series of comic set-pieces.