gpaltrow2001 *SPOILERS*The 60 year-old women on IMDb who recall this as a favorite childhood memory should perhaps re-watch this from the jaded 21st century point of view, knowing that the filmmakers squeezed as much sex as they thought they could get away with in this film.I recently watched this for the first time, and was surprised at the blatant and not-so-blatant innuendos.The first thing that struck me was the opening scene, where director Hill got as many up-skirt panty shots as possible. If you pay attention, he does this again later. Why were panty shots needed, George?One of the reviewers here asked about the necessity of Boothy. It was pretty obvious to me this was a closeted lesbian relationship.Paula Prentiss wants to commit adultery, and c**k teases Henry Orient quite a bit.Henry Orient becomes the sex fantasy of mother and daughter, with one having intercourse, and the pubescent one thinking about it to the point of tears.The end of the movies shows the pubescent girls putting on heavy make- up, including "lipstick the color of a scarlet gash".Now that I have all of you prudes up in arms, let me say this-- It was an enjoyable film, mostly due to Tippy Walker. She showed such promise I'm sorry she didn't get into more films.The music and cinematography were great.Many reviewers here say they wanted more Peter Sellers, and that he wasn't funny enough. I disagree. Just the right amount, and he was very funny, especially the accents.I watched this movie because it got 3 1/2 stars out of 4 on Xfinity. Sorry, but it doesn't hold up that well. And denying the constant message of sex, however undertone, is simply wrong.

mark.waltz Merrie Spaeth and Tippy Walker play two rather eccentric teenage girls (is there any other kind?) who find fascination in the comings and goings of Henry Orient (Peter Sellers), a world renowned pianist they come upon kissing his married mistress (Paula Prentiss) in the Ramble in Central Park. Like Doris Day's victim (a perplexed movie producer) in "It's a Great Feeling", Sellers gets paranoid every time he sees these two girls. In real life, having someone appearing in comical ways out of the blue rather frequently would drive a person to become unglued, and the publicity shy Sellers is truly put off by their childish pranks. Walker, the neglected daughter of wealthy but unhappily married Tom Bosley and Angela Lansbury, likes to play "fantasy" games of acting like somebody totally different. Today, we just call it a desperate cry for attention. At one point, she feigns a medical crisis; At another point, she claims to shopkeeper Al Lewis ("Grandpa Munster") that she's waiting for her mother, Jayne Mansfield! Each time gets the two girls into trouble. When mama Lansbury and papa Bosley come back from a trip, the two girls are separated, but when they get back together for one last visit to the shy Sellers, mama Lansbury gets involved which brings a show-down over the neglect Walker feels.Some people may not find these two girl's antics amusing, but there are a few moments that are truly funny. The film drags here and there, and finally settles into domestic drama that unleashes the reasons for the wealthy girl's strange behavior. Spaeth and Walker aren't your Patty Duke/Sally Field 60's teen; They reminded me of Hayley Mills' two "Parent Trap" characters needing a good dosage of Ritalin. Other than perhaps being raised without a father, there's no explanation for Spaeth's character's willingness to follow in Walker's footsteps. Phyllis Thaxter is Spaeth's sensible mother, and that wonderful rather obscure character actress Bibi Osterwald is hysterically funny as her eccentric pal. Lansbury plays one of her typically typecast harridan mothers, although in her Christmas party scene, she looks a lot like how she would just a few years later in "Mame". Her future "Murder She Wrote" co-star Tom Bosley adds a lot of heart as her unhappy husband. This is a comedy that will require the viewer to think a bit more psychologically than normal in movies. A good usage of Manhattan scenery is another one of the film's pluses. I do not see how this could be musicalized, as it was for the 1967 Broadway flop "Henry Sweet Henry". As for Peter Sellers, he is always hysterically funny, and especially so when he is expressing exasperation at the girls' constant sudden appearances during awkward moments. But basically his character is a cad, sort of a continuation of his role in "Lolita" minus the desire for "jail bait".

aimless-46 "You know, I don't know whether I ought to or not, but I feel awfully happy... in a sort of sad way" says Valerie Boyd to conclude the climatic scene of this nurturing film. George Roy Hill gets my vote for most underrated director. I don't know if it was intentional but Hill seems to have specialized in directing extremely difficult films ("Slaughterhouse Five", "The World According to Garp", "The Sting", and "Slap Shot") and did them all quite well. "The World of Henry Orient" (1964) certainly falls into this difficult category as his two inexperienced young stars were featured in almost every scene and alternated between location shooting and studio sound stage work. This will probably be regarded as Hill's best film, not because it is technically perfect but because few (if any) films have successfully interpreted an ambitious screenplay in such a subtle and lyrical manner. It is a story seen from the point-of-view of two 14-year old girls who the viewer first meets at the moment they first meet each other. Gil (Merrie Spaeth) and Val (Elizabeth Walker) are prep school students in New York City who immediately connect despite coming from very different backgrounds and being in different developmental stages. What distinguishes this from most film friendships is that both are loners who are comfortable enough with each other to maintain their own individuality, even dressing differently. Hill managed to put the two young actresses at ease in front of the camera and to capture their natural energy, this is what gives their characters an unexpected authenticity. Just prior to seeing the film I had spent a couple days at a girls' fastpitch softball tournament and was struck by the true-to-life qualities of these two girls. They keep accidentally bumping into the title character, a vain concert pianist (Peter Sellers), and become his youngest fans. Dressed in Chinese hats (insert "Orient" here), the two girls stake out his apartment. He is engaged in a long-term and frustratingly unsuccessful attempt to seduce an ultra-paranoid married woman, nervous Stella Dunnworthy (Paula Prentiss). Henry and Stella fuel each other's paranoia and finally convince themselves that Stella's husband is employing the girls as detectives. The film's funniest scene occurs when Gil and Val convince Al Lewis (Grandpa Munster) that their mother is Jayne Mansfield. "The World of Henry Orient" is the only film I know of that takes the world of 13 and 14 year- old girls seriously. "Ghost World" (which placed a "Henry Orient" poster on the wall of Enid's bedroom), New Waterford Girl, and "Times Square" could be considered sequels-stories, what Gil and Val would become a couple years into the future when they were a couple years older and a little worn down by the additional experience with the world. It's also the first credible portrayal of the effects of divorce and parental neglect on children. "The World of Henry Orient" is more a coming of age story than a comedy although it does have some comic moments. Most of these involve the title character played by Peter Sellers. But don't expect the over-the-top performances of the older Sellers, his Henry Orient is more along the eccentrically restrained lines of his Fred Kite-trade union leader character in "I'm All Right Jack". Paula Prentiss is also quite funny in a restrained portrayal. Ultimately it is Hill's subtlety and nuance that are most memorable. Watch the expressions change on Gil's face as Val takes her on a fantasy trip involving the "wished for" return of her father in time for Christmas. Val quickly moves on to another subject as Gil quietly finishes processing the dream. Tom Bosley is especially good as Frank Boyd, Val's father. He does not appear until midway into the film. You learn that he has long doubted that he is actually Val's biological father and has kept the father- daughter relationship distanced, with both parents constantly traveling and Val left at school. With minimal dialogue Bosley shows Frank's slow realization that he loves his daughter more than anything in the world, despite his earlier doubts. This leads to one of cinema's most amazing climatic scenes, coming unexpectedly at least 10 minutes before the actual ending. Val returns home after accidentally discovering that her mother (Angela Lansbury) and Henry are having an affair. Although she does not reveal this to her father, watch how Hill (mostly wordlessly) illustrates the climatic revelations and the process of father and daughter finally finding each other. This visual narrative is why film is so powerful in the hands of a skilled and visionary director like Hill. This is a nice 16x9 print that could greatly benefit from captioning as the audio track is quite poor. Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

theowinthrop It was 1964 and the great wave of fascination with Peter Sellers as an actor who could do anything well - could flesh out any character - was in full bloom. His films were growing an international audience that would culminate with his "Clouseau" performances and his multiple performances in DR. STRANGELOVE. But his films did show some odd choices, one of which was this unexpected study of adolescent puppy love. Sellers played avant garde (or self-appointed avant garde) pianist Henry Orient, who manages to pick up two acolytes, Tippy Walker as Val Boyd and Merrie Spaeth as Gil Gilbert. Both come from Manhattan homes with some claims to privilege (they attend the same girls school), but Walker is from a family with more money. Both girls also have family problems: Spaeth's parents are divorced, and Walker's parents are in a state of marriage doldrums. Walker's mother is Angela Lansbury (at her most irritatingly snobbish) and her father is Tom Bosley, a decent man who is increasingly showing strains putting up with his wife's behavior and even her possible infidelities. He is a loving father, and this despite his uncertainty if Walker is his daughter or not. Spaeth's mother (Phyllis Thaxter) is a decent woman raising her daughter with the help of her friend (Bibi Osterwald).The girls decide on being devoted followers of a "cult" of Orient, a concert pianist of dubious popularity whose records they collect and whose photos they pick up. Gradually they also invade his personal life, following Sellers all over the place. He starts getting a complex about them, wondering if they are detectives. They certainly spoil his personal lifestyle - especially his relationship with wealthy Paula Prentice.Sellers had some choice, but minor moments in this film - his trying to put a curse on the girls at one point, or his running from backfire (thinking it is a jealous husband). Prentice had a hysterically funny scene when her tryst with Sellers is spoiled - a scene where Al Lewis popped up as a nosy shop-keeper who signals the police. There was also a concert sequence with the conductor getting angry at the "embellishments" in the score that Sellers puts into the concerto he is playing.But the bulk of the film was really carried by the two girls, who are shown growing up and trying to maintain their friendship. And the equally trying problems concerning Walker and her mother. It was sold as a Peter Sellers movie, and he has a sizable part, but it was really not his film at all. It was a film that featured him in support of Walker and Spaeth. That it was a good film is not in doubt, but for a person interested in Seller's mad, creative artistry it was not as important as the earlier British comedies, or some of his later international films.