Another "Focus" Sample

Here's another sample from my "Focus" column. Enjoy.

There have been many actor/director collaborations during the history of cinema that have resulted in great and lasting works in the beloved medium. A notable example that comes to mind is the collaboration between director Martin Scorsese and the actors Robert DeNiro, and Leonardo DeCaprio. There are many others and this is just one of the multitude of examples that one might choose to cite.
A lesser known example of this type of collaboration, resulting in much tickling of the funny bone over the course of nearly a dozen films, would be the collaboration between director Blake Edwards and the late Peter Sellers.
Beginning in 1964 with “The Pink Panther” and continuing until the 1978 film “Revenge of the Pink Panther”-released less than two years before Seller’s untimely death from a heart ailment-these two unlikely partners in crime unleashed a string of comedies that continue to live on in the hearts of film fans everywhere. In fact, the influence these two had on each other’s work was so strong that director Edwards even went as far as to string together another entry in the “Pink Panther” series strictly from outtakes that Sellers had left behind in an effort to keep the magic going. Even though that latter film, “Trail of the Pink Panther”, didn’t work it was still an admirable attempt on Edwards’ part to acknowledge the creative impact they had made on each other during the years they had spent working together.
Most everyone is familiar with the series of “Pink Panther” films they collaborated on but not everyone is as familiar with their 1968 effort, “The Party”, the only non “Pink Panther” film they made together. Like so many other great films it was largely ignored during it’s initial run only to find another life on cable and video. In fact, when the film was released in 1968 it played in the Charlotte area for less than a week according to my research. If you haven’t seen the film, you owe it to yourself to find it.
If you are one of those who enjoyed the slapstick goings on of the series of “Pink Panther” films, then you’re certain to appreciate the onscreen antics of “The Party”. “The Party” tells the story of a bumbling Indian actor named Hrundi V. Bakshi, played by, who else, Peter Sellers. During the early scenes of the film, Bakshi single handedly destroys the entire set of the picture he happens to be working on at the time. He is immediately told by the director that he’s ‘finished’ and will never work in pictures again. His accident on the set is immediately reported to the head of the studio who absent mindedly jots his name down on the wrong piece of paper, which coincidentally happens to be the guest list for a chic Hollywood party the Hollywood mogul’s wife is in the midst of planning.
The rest of the film is a wildly improvised-the film’s actual script was only 63 pages- of side splitting sight gags as the clumsy Indian actor inadvertently wrecks the party and everything connected to it during the space of the film’s ninety nine minute running time.
As I mentioned earlier, the film was largely improvised and this was the desire that Edwards and Sellers had from the moment of the film’s inception. To accommodate the improvisational nature of the film, Edwards even went as far as to arrange for a TV camera to be mounted on the film camera for instant access, a revolutionary process at the time.
Throughout the film, the cast seems to be having a great time and enjoying themselves but this certainly wasn’t the case during the film’s production. Although this was the third film that Edwards and Sellers had collaborated on at this point, it was a well know fact that, on a personal level, they simply could not or would not get along. Much of this can be attributed to the mercurial temperament of star Sellers. During the film’s shoot, relations between the two men eventually deteriorated to the point that Sellers refused to take personal direction from Edwards and would only communicate via notes that were sent out from under his dressing room door. It’s a true testament to each man’s talent, and the exceptional supporting cast which includes Gavin McLeod (“The Love Boat”) and French pop singer Claudine Longet in her only starring role, that the film turned out so well. In fact, the film turned out so well indeed that it’s been documented in more than one Elvis Presley bio that this was his favorite film. And if it was good enough for the ‘King of Rock N Roll’ then maybe there’s something to it.

“The Party” is available on DVD from MGM Home Entertainment