The World of Henry Orient (1964)

Director:

George Roy Hill

Writers:

Nora Johnson (screenplay) and
Nunnally Johnson (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

13 November 1964 (Finland)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Step into the world of Henry Orient...and meet two junior-size misses and one king-size nut!

Plot:

A mischievous, adventuresome 14-year-old girl and her best friend begin following an eccentric concert pianist around New York City after she develops a schoolgirl crush on him.

Plot Keywords:

Concert Pianist | New York City | Intelligence Quotient | Passionate Kiss | Zebra Skin

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Peter Sellers	...	Henry Orient
Paula Prentiss	...	Stella Dunnworthy
Angela Lansbury	...	Isabel Boyd
Tom Bosley	...	Frank Boyd
Phyllis Thaxter	...	Mrs. Avis Gilbert
Bibi Osterwald	...	Erica 'Boothy' Booth
Merrie Spaeth	...	Marian 'Gil' Gilbert
Tippy Walker	...	Valarie 'Val' Campbell Boyd
John Fiedler	...	Sidney
Al Lewis	...	Store Owner
Peter Duchin	...	Joe Daniels
Fred Stewart	...	Doctor
Philippa Bevans	...	Emma Hambler
Jerry Jerrett
Jane Buchanan	...	Lillian Kafritz
William Hinnant
Colin Romoff
William LeMassena		(as William Le Massena)
Claudia Morgan	...	Drunk Woman at Christmas Party
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hermione Gingold	...	Undetermined Role (scenes deleted)
William J. Daprato	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Timothy Gordon	...	Towel holder just before concert (uncredited)
Peter Turgeon	...	Orchestra Member (uncredited)

Directed by
George Roy Hill

Writing credits
Nora Johnson		(screenplay) and
Nunnally Johnson		(screenplay)
Nora Johnson		(novel)

Produced by
Jerome Hellman	....	producer

Original Music by
Elmer Bernstein

Cinematography by
Boris Kaufman
Arthur J. Ornitz

Film Editing by
Stuart Gilmore

Casting by
Marion Dougherty

Production Design by
James W. Sullivan		(as James Sullivan)

Art Direction by
Jan Scott

Set Decoration by
Ken Krausgill

Costume Design by
Ann Roth

Makeup Department
Phil Naso	....	hair stylist
Dick Smith	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Robert J. Anderson	....	unit manager
Emmett Emerson	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michael Hertzberg	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Gilbert D. Marchant	....	sound editor (as Gilbert Marchant)
Robert Martin	....	sound mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Tex Hayes	....	key grip
Muky	....	still photographer
Don Stott	....	electrician
Albert Taffet	....	camera operator (as Al Taffet)

Music Department
Richard Carruth	....	music editor
Ken Lauber	....	conductor (uncredited)
Ken Lauber	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Ruth Deen	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Pan Arts (presents) (as Pan Arts Company)

Distributors

• United Artists (1964) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1968) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• CBS/Fox Home Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Parade Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Singapore:PG | USA:Approved (certificate no. 20690) | Finland:S | Germany:16 | Ireland:PG | UK:U | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Pan Arts

Trivia:

The phone Peter Sellers uses in his bedroom is called a Ericofon, made by L. M. Ericsson of Sweden. This is one of the very few foreign phones allowed in the US at the time of filming by the then telephone company, Bell Telephone, which held a monopoly on both telephone service and telephone equipment in the US. Bell Telephone felt so threatened by the unique European design (and possible mass intrusion into "their" telephone network) that they designed the "Trimline" phone as a countermeasure.

Goofs:

Continuity: During his concert, Henry's hair changes back and forth from neat to messed up.

Quotes:

[Val induces a fantasy about Gil's divorced parents]
Valerie Boyd: Think your Dad will ever come back?
Marian Gilbert: Why can he? He's married and has a couple of kids.
Valerie Boyd: But how do you know he's happy?
Marian Gilbert: He's crazy about her.
Valerie Boyd: I know, but just suppose he suddenly realized his second marriage was a tragic mistake. His eyes are opened at last, and he knows now that your mother is the only woman he's ever loved in his whole life.
Marian Gilbert: I don't think there's much chance of that.
Valerie Boyd: So there's nothing to do but tell her the truth... the scond wife I mean. He's simply got to go back to the only woman he's loved in his whole life. Good-bye, second wife.
Marian Gilbert: You think that's really possible?
Valerie Boyd: Well, he's got no other choice. He can't go living a lie, can he? He's got to go back to his one true love.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ghost World (2001)

Soundtrack:

Henry Orient Concerto

This was also the Sixties

The sixties became The Sixties around the time of this film, 1964. There was a time, believe it or not, when kids played grown-up, instead of the other way around, as is the case today. Two cute girls are venturing from childhood to youth, in a benign Manhattan. They have a crush on a pianist-lothario who happens to be Peter Sellers. You can imagine the complications - and the hilarity.

What makes this film so appealing, is the way it portrays sexual awakening and same-sex bonding as a completely unsordid and sweet experience. Yes, there is pathos, when the two discover how adults have turned their world into Henry Orient's world.

Although the cast is sterling all around, Tom Bosley is a standout as father to one of the girls, who helps put things to rights.

If the Kennedy assassination and Vietnam are cultural watersheds, then this film is a wonderful cinematic artifact; it gives the lie to the condescending put-downs of the era by the current generation.