Bedazzled (1967) User Reviews

Iconoclastic sixties merriment

[HenryHextonEsq · 8/10 · 8 October 2002]

I did have high expectations going into this film, being a fan of Cook and Moore through what is available of "Not Only But Also", and several other Cook projects like the superb collaboration with Chris Morris, "Why Bother?" The expectations were largely fulfilled when I got to see this film, via a rare showing on Channel 4 this last April, as a tribute to Dudley Moore. The remake with Liz Hurley in place of Cook (how crass and thoughtless a piece of casting? They should really have discarded the title "Bedazzled" and just made it a Faust update, and not made any association with the Pete n' Dud film) is of course an irrelevance, and it is truly emblematic of our culture that it has received so many more IMDb votes than this original.

This film succeeds where "The Hound of the Baskervilles", a later Cook-Moore vehicle, abysmally fails. "Bedazzled" contains the essence of their comedic appeal, rooted as it is in errant taboo-breaking and gleeful absurdism. The strong guiding influence of Cook is in the script, which he had strong control over, by all accounts. The concept is a modern spin on the Faustian legend, based in 1960s London (amongst diversions!). "Bedazzled", with this scenario and its effective portrayal, is thus most winning when compared to both concept and execution in "The Hound of the Baskervilles"' lamentable case.

We have Pete n' Dud centre stage, and both at their comedic peak. Moore as a hapless, beleaguered little chap, and Cook as a matter-of-fact, mischievous, cunning and charming devil. A devil called Mr George Spiggott, bizarrely! :-) The other turns are good, and merely complementary, with the various sins portrayed pretty well. Eleanor Bron is reasonable as the malleable (according to the wishes) but essentially quite undeveloped love interest of Moore's. Not that this particularly matters in a comedy such as this; and her hair is eye catching. :-)

The brazenly literal cameo from Raquel Welch is something of a scream I must say; no pretence at her being anything else, which I presume there has been in other Welch movies of the period.

The various segments in this episodic film, are perhaps variable in their quality, but none are poor. The episodic nature of the film really does work in its favour keeping it fresh, but having the wonderful London linking sequences the heart of the film. It gets most amusing as Cook's devil repeatedly outwits Moore and finds loopholes in his wishes to downright exploit. The "happy family and home life" wish is really quite bizarre and almost disturbing in its oddness, while maybe the "rich" one slightly overdoes Bron's bumptious ultra-sexuality, even if the whole segment works very well. The "leaping nuns" part is prime "Not Only But Also" in its hushed absurdity and is a joy. The art direction and music aspects are notably good, embellishing the film and drawing out its sixties context. This film has not and can not date, as it is all so tastefully achieved and its technical grasp never exceeds its reach.

The whole film I feel, works excellently, with dashes of irony and an effective restating of the Faustian morals. There is an engaging melancholy to this film, below its comedic surface. The scene of the old woman being fobbed off by Cook is briefly poignant and suggestive of a whole society's delusion. The scenes as Cook effectively knocks on the door of Heaven feel slightly sombre to me, as well as oddly comic. There are some quite thoughtful scenes of dialogue as well, with the droll Cook in his element, perched atop a postbox. Of course, the depressing outcomes of each wish for Moore's character, only add to the slightly prickly, problematic mood that underlies the film. The whole thing ends on a very apposite note, I should add with a glint in my eye.

I loved watching this film, and while I doubt it could quite be labelled a fully-formed "masterpiece", it is a startlingly good evocation of the 1960s in a way... and also very much an amusing, clever comedy, with the subversive spirit of Peter Cook stamped all over it.

Modern British Comedy

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 11 March 2016]

A hapless loser (Dudley Moore) sells his soul to the Devil (Peter Cook) in exchange for seven wishes, but has trouble winning over the girl of his dreams (Eleanor Bron).

An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, Cook is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was closely associated with the anti-establishment comedy that emerged in Britain and the United States in the late 1950s.

Others have said Cook (and this film) are sort of a precursor to Monty Python, and I can see that. The mocking of religion is there, especially with the nuns on trampolines. The film does seem to run a bit long and get stale in places, but as a whole it is a breath of fresh air, a piece of film history ushering in a new era of comedy.

Does the devil bear the face of Peter Cook?!

[Tails-5 · 7/10 · 17 July 1999]

This is one of my personal favorites. Stanley Moon (Dudley Moore), a down-and-out Londoner who has a miserable job at the local Wimpy Burgers and has the hots for a beautiful waitress named Margaret Spencer, tries to hang himself, but then the Devil has to come in and save him. The Devil (played by Peter Cook) isn't all red and horned, but dressed in a nice tuxedo and wears Ray-Bans. He is interested in Stanley for the sole fact that George (the name he goes by) made a deal with God to get a hundred billion souls first before the other. In exchange for his soul, Stanley gets seven wishes, and of course George has to twist them all into nightmares, just for a cheap laugh. ("You just left me one little loophole. I had to take advantage of it, doctor's orders!") One of my favorite scenes is where Stanley and George are passing by as police officers, and with the snap of George's fingers parking meters expire, old ladies' grocery bags tear apart, and fires start in trash bins. Definitely a good movie if it's rainy outside, and you're all depressed -- it'll lift you up in no time!

A clever and classy treat

[mathewshires · 13 April 2002]

"Bedazzled", mainly because it's not available on DVD (and even VHS in the UK), has become something of a cult in recent years. This is also due to the simple fact that its a very good film, a very mannered and well-crafted high concept flick.

Dudley Moore and Peter Cook were still friends in 1967. They were two of British TV's most feted stars, and had also enthusiastically appeared together in a few ensemble comedy films. They were no slouches when it came to their first feature either. Stanley Donen was brought in a director, Cook toiled over the witty script, Moore did the perky score.

"Bedazzled" is slightly dated and is quite an uncommercial product overall, but its still a clever and interesting film. It doesnt deliver bellylaughs, but it is pretty thought-provoking and intelligent. There's funny one-liners ("Yes, Irving Moses-the fruitier etc), totally original ideas (the animated fly sequence, Raquel Welsh as Lust), slapstick stuff and a top pop parody with Cook as the indifferent "Drimble Wedge".

The pathos and sadness underpinning the movie is perhaps best summed up with the conned old lady's "Goodbye" as the Eyewash men leave. "Bedazzled" is very British and very 60s, but it still a well-made and well-acted fantasy, much better than the silly 2000 remake.

Be Careful When You Wish For Something, That The Wish Is Explicit.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 22 July 2017]

Dudley Moore is a hash slinger who has a more than usually strong crush on a waitress, Eleanor Bron. So Moore sells his soul to the devil, Peter Cook, in return for seven wishes involving his waitress.

Surprise -- the wishes go wrong. If he wishes, say, to be rich and be married to Bron, well, he is, but he didn't bother to specify that Bron should love him, so on their country estate she runs round after other men -- taller men, bronzed men, and crack croquet players.

It's kind of amusing in its winsome British way. Oh, to be in England, now that 1967's here. The garb is cute and on women it's sexy, what with tiny skirts reduced to a length that absolutely requires opaque pantyhose.

The principles work well together. As the devil, Cook is genuinely affable and sympathetic, a typical young man in period wardrobe except for his crimson socks. Dudley Moore is unsurpassed at making arch expressions.

Kind of fun overall. Makes you yearn for the hoof beats of yesteryear.

The Devil Went Down To Dudley

[Lejink · 7/10 · 31 October 2019]

I came to "Bedazzled" with some trepidation, fearing an inconsistent, incoherent, over-indulgent sixties romp but was pleased at how well structured and directed it was. Seasoned Hollywood practicioner Stanley Donen taking on Britain's Anarchic Duo Pete and Dud looked from the outside a risky proposition but Donen does a fine job of guiding Cook's barbed, witty and funny screenplay into an enjoyable film entertainment.

Cleverly adapting the Faustian legend to modern day London it takes swipes at the convention of marriage, pop stardom, morality, religion (of course) and sex (also, of course) along the way. Framed by the device of the lovelorn Moore character's Stanley Moon's seven wishes, all to help him gain the heart of the remote Eleanor Bron character who works with him at the same greasy-spoon cafe, as granted by Cook's very chummy but always-one-step-ahead-of-him personification of the Devil, resplendent in his red socks, the film cleverly falls into a series of sketches like their TV series, taking in along the way personifications of the seven deadly sins for good (or bad) measure.

Most prominent amongst the latter of course as Lillian Lust is the new sex-bomb of the time, Miss Raquel Welch, who gets to flaunt her ample charms in a state of extreme undress in her barely (no pun intended) seven minute part. It being the swinging 60's and all, the sexism exhibited to females is pretty blatant and gratuitous which some today may find objectionable. Whilst I could have done without this cheap-thrill titillation, I found the rest of the film to be sharp, witty and amusing. Cook as the writer naturally gives himself the best lines, in particular his pop star spoof where he invents Neil Tennant twenty years in advance or when he topically sinks the Torrey Canyon oil tanker which was one of the main news stories in the U.K. that year, although the most memorable scene has to be Moore as a nun bouncing on a trampoline with a bunch of bopping Sisters behind him.

The chemistry between Cook and Moore is obvious but there's little sign of the spontaneous improvisation which sometimes prevailed in their TV shows ("Greta, Greta!") but it's no bad thing here as it keeps their performances sharp and to the point.

It's a pity there wasn't a follow-up to this film or indeed any other film collaboration between the two which is a shame because not only did I enjoy this outing but also I'm sure they could have repeated the success they enjoyed here (see what I did there!).

I'm The Horned One, The Devil, Let Me Give You My Card

[no-skyline · 8/10 · 31 December 2004]

Cooke and Moore were possibly the finest comedians the UK has ever produced before Python and others followed Pete and Dud were the undisputed kings of the new cutting edge of comedy/satire in the UK.

But always just under the surface (and later out in the open) there was a sadness and dis-satisfaction to both Peter Cooke and Dudley Moore and I think some of that shows up in this film. Think of the old lady taken for all her money by the Devil and the cheery goodbye she still manages. Also part of the film seems to be dealing with the moral flexibility of people given their circumstance.

Stanley Moon (Moore) has limited opportunities as a short order cook all he desires is the love of Margaret one of the waitresses at the Wimpy he works in. But he is a good person, when after a botched suicide attempt he sells his soul to the devil (Cooke) he has all the opportunities in the world but it is easier for the devil to corrupt him.

Throughout the seven wishes (in accordance with 7 the mystic number, 7 days of the week, 7 deadly sins, 7 brides for 7 brothers..)Stanley can only think of his own needs and perhaps this is why they fail to make him happy. On his one opportunity to give a wish away to stop one of the devils petty tricks (sending a swarm of bee's to harass some flower children) he refuses saying 'Their mine and iv'e only got four left!' The other main theme of this film is more to the forefront dealing with Cooke and Moores attitudes towards religion and it's place in what at the time was the modern world. People were beginning to come away from the church and for the first time non-believers were becoming the majority. Part of the film lampoons religion particularly the bouncing nuns, but at the end it's god who wins out over the devil all be it by a technicality. In a way they showed the obvious contradictions and flaws in the Christian faith - religion nice idea but surely it cant be that way? If all of the above makes this film sound heavy going be assured it's not, and where as in others hands it may have become a pretentious mess it becomes a light hearted very funny comedy romp. If you just want a laugh on a Saturday night this will provide it, if you want to look deeper in and start divining meaning from every little aspect you can it's that sort of film.

Highly recommended 9/10 NOTE - AVOID THE REMAKE LIKE THE PLAGUE IT'S Awful

oddball film with odder characters

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 13 September 2020]

If you weren't blinded by the opening credits, as we spin around and view the bright, neon lights, it opens with Stanley (Dudley Moore) in church, asking god for help. but the devil (Peter Cook) hears him ask for help, and makes Stanley an offer he can't refuse. You MIGHT recognize Barry Humphries, better known as Dame Edna... Envy. as we know from Fantasy Island, what we wish for isn't usually what we get when we wish for something! his adventures turn into various misadventures. and the secret word is "Julie andrews", for some reason. i guess she was in so many recent shows, her name would have been popular at the time. and nuns on trampolines. great stuff. the delicious Raquel Welch is one of the seven deadly sins, so (oddly) doesn't get much air time. In the remake, Elizabeth Hurley is the devil in the updated 2000 version. Directed by Stanley Donen, who had also done BIG films Singin in the Rain and Charade. Cook and Moore had written the story itself, so good choice for the leads! has a fair amount of fun sight gags and clever phrases. it's quite good... some dated references, but still fun. and some GREAT scenery of London in the 1960s.

Searching for Bedazzled (1967)

[dave-1511 · 9/10 · 30 December 2004]

I first bought this movie on VHS in 1983 as an ex rental from a garage, if it wasn't worn out then it certainly is now and I probably remember every line in the movie, but for some reason I have spent the whole evening searching for a copy I can buy to enjoy it again.

The movie is a gem incomparable to the 2000 effort.

Why is the movie so good? I believe the secret to the movie is that they played themselves, Cooke cruel, but humorous, arrogant, intelligent but tragic, Moore full of good intention, seemingly one step behind, but with the brighter future; the combination is gripping.

At the end of it all, as in life Cooke is exposed as being slightly more fragile than he gives on and an unlikely bond appears to have developed between the two.

I was reassured to hear the 60's critics found the movie bland and questioned Cooke's acting ability. Cooke's genius was non-conformity and the movie is full of it, trampolining Nuns, a hypnotically haunting Pop song, thought controlled pigeons, unforgivable abuse of kind old ladies and all captured in a cinematographic magic as were "the Prisoner" and "The Avengers" and which can never be recreated by a sequel.

There are so many great asides, lines and scenes, that to mention one or the other does not do justice; it is the wealth of colourful detail in the scenes, the events, the characters and the script. This movie certainly isn't "bland", "bland" is Cooke's appearance in the "One foot in the Algarve" episode and if there is any movie to best remind us why the pairing had a hint of genius this is it.

I hope I manage to find a copy to buy in the UK, but am also grateful that it is hard to get my hands on one. This movie like my "Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" or "Queen 1" LP is that much more enjoyable because it is mine and not the property of mainstream commercialisation ... However be sure you see it at least once when you can.

Snotty comics cutting up...

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 15 December 2005]

"Bedazzled" is dazzling to some, deadening to others. I eventually grew tired of the many tight close-ups of Dudley Moore's perspiring, beady little face, or listening to Peter Cook's repetitious lines and snotty delivery. The production has a nice feel in the early scenes at the diner, where Moore works as a short-order cook, but his seven wish-fulfillments after signing a pact with Beelzebub Cook are disappointing. Eleanor Bron, as the object of Dudley's affection--a cheerless, jaded waitress--takes some time getting used to; the actress uses her dry, apathetic voice in some amusing ways, and she's not afraid to be repulsive, but a little of her goes a long way. The Devil's faculty--especially Anger, Envy and Lust (the latter portrayed by Raquel Welch, in red bra and panties)--are wonderful, but this one-note twist on Faust is an overlong British farce with too-careful pacing and not enough big laughs. **1/2 from ****

Strictly a product of British '60s humor...full of gags but still misses the mark...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 23 February 2007]

I grant you that PETER COOK and DUDLEY MOORE are two very talented British performers but even their kind of talent needs a better than average script to overcome the tired gags conjured up to give a new spin to the Faust legend.

Cook is a dim-witted short order cook who gets to realize some of his wishes (but always with a hex on all of them) from devil Cook, and the film is a series of jokes with Cook's best laid plans always going amok as he struggles to find and conquer his true love.

DUDLEY MOORE completely nails his Stanley Moon characterization, as does PETER COOK with his sharp and snotty comments as the Devil, always up to no good. But the story concept wears thin by the time the first hour is over--and the last forty-four minutes are simply tiresome repeats of previous vignettes. RAQUEL WELCH is amusing as a seductress in one brief scene.

The later remake with BRENDAN FRASER was a lot more enjoyable. This one depends entirely on your appreciation of British humor gone amok.

Hip comedy that gets better every time you see it.

[mfredenburg · 9/10 · 17 January 2005]

I have not seen the 2000 remake of Bedazzled for the same reason I never did see the Psycho remake - why mess with something so good?

Dudley Moore as a short-order cook leading a life of quiet desperation and Peter Cooke as the Devil team-up to deliver an extremely funny movie with surprisingly deep theological commentary. The Theodicy, the nature of sin and repentance, and other interesting topics are discussed and explored.

The first time I saw this movie I liked the offbeat humor (If you like Monty Python you will like this movie as well). However, I liked it better the second time I saw it and liked it even more the third time around, etc. So the first you see it you may give it a 7, the second time an 8 and by the third time it will rate a 9 or 10! I actually would give it a 9.5.

Speaking of a 10, Raquel Welch is appropriately cast for this movie!

Some other classic comedies I really like are the Pink Panther Movies, Arsenic and Old Lace (Cary Grant), A New Leaf (Walter Matthau) Dr. Strange Love, Pillow Talk (Doris Day/Rock Hudson),etc. IMHO, Bedazzled belongs in this company.

Unfortunately, it is only out on VHS, but I like this movie enough that I will buy the DVD when it comes out. (Note: it is now available on DVD and I did buy it!)

It would probably would rate a PG or PG-13 because of appropriately sexually explicit content - a funny seduction scene and some very brief nudity (movie would be fine without it, but it is extremely brief).

The movie pokes fun at religiosity. Which might offend some religious people. But if you are a person of faith who doesn't take yourself too seriously, you will find this to be a good watch and you might get an interesting discussion or two out of it.

a few laughs

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 19 November 2017]

Stanley Moon (Dudley Moore) is a short order cook secretly infatuated with waitress Margaret (Eleanor Bron). He prays to God for the strength to speak to her. In desperation, he tries to hang himself and fails. The Devil (Peter Cook) comes to him instead. He is given seven wishes for his soul. Only his wishes aren't as simple as he hopes.

It's not the first time that I got tricked by a DVD cover. I assumed that Raquel Welch would be the female lead. I don't know much about Eleanor Bron but I would definitely prefer Welch who has a minor role as one of the Seven deadly sins, Lust. Overall, there are a few laughs. It tries to be clever. I would be nice to have a bigger role for Margaret. She is more of an object rather than a full character. The idea is cute with some promise. Some of this works more than others.

Gave it a chance...give it a pass!

[deanbean317 · 3/10 · 11 September 2008]

Being an Amerikanisch swine, more of an Anglophile than a xenophobe am I. Most of my favorite bands are English not to mention my favorite actors, directors, television shows, etc., etc., etc. How was it then that I went 48 years without seeing this "classic" British comedy? Twenty three years after the release of its predecessor, I watched the Brendan Frasier/Elizabeth Hurley remake and lust plain loved it. That made me all the more anxious to see the original, performed by the originators. My initial reaction was a huge *yawn*. The first scene between Stanley Moon and the Devil was soooooo drawn out and sooooo full of boring, long winded exposition that I literally found myself nodding off! To be fair, I soldiered on, hoping and expecting for the film to pick up its pace...I waited in vain. True, the look and feel of the whole movie was dated, but so then is Monty Python, and "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum". That doesn't stop them from being hilarious. The one thing they have that transcends time is...well...timing! Fast paced, snappy dialogue brimming with that deliciously dry English wit. I found that to be sadly lacking here. So, sorry Queen Mum, this match goes to the Americans.

It really is that good

[lucy-66 · 17 April 2002]

Just watched it again and this time I get it. Thirty-four years ago the script was over my head and I missed most of the double entendres. 1967 was a great

year for them as censorship had just been slackened. The pop star sequence is in fuzzy black and white because it's supposed to be on TV - yes, that's what it used to look like. (Did people really dance like that?)

The script is brilliant but sometimes the delivery is so throw-away the jokes are missed. Maybe as Peter Cook wrote them he didn't think they needed

underlining. For example, when Stanley borrows George's red nightshirt and

says something like "Does it really suit me? Red's not my colour, I'm usually more conservative." Red for socialism, blue for the conservative party. George's red socks were sported by Labour voters well into the conservative 70s and

80s.

Little things you may not know: Victorian nightshirts and long-legged bathing suits were a fad in 1967. George and Stanley when being themselves speak in

working class accents (unlike God). Dudley really was working class, unlike

Peter Cook.

RIP to both. Let's eat a bowl of raspberries and cream in their memories. xxxxxxxxxxx

Bedazzled: Unwavering Brilliance

[imagiking · 7/10 · 25 March 2010]

Having had my view of what comedy is revolutionised by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore via the immortal Derek and Clive, I could not wait to check them out together in a film. When I finally got the chance to see Bedazzled, I was incredibly excited to see what the most ingeniously funny duo ever could offer in a cinematic medium.

Moore plays Stanley Moon, a depressively lonely cook with a secret attraction to the waitress who rarely notices him. Deciding to finish himself once and for all, his suicide attempt is suddenly interrupted by the appearance of the mysterious George Spiggot. Soon after revealing himself to be Satan, Spiggot offers Moon seven wishes for the simple price of his soul.

Perhaps half an hour into Bedazzled, I started to feel somewhat disappointed. Though I was being made to chuckle, the opportunities for such weren't quite as frequent or hilarious as I had hoped. My expectations looking dashed, I decided to sit back and enjoy the substandard(by the high standards of Cook/Moore, that is) level of comedy I was getting. Of course, it was mere moments later that I was howling with laughter, a particular scene reducing me to fitful tears and gasps for air amidst the unwavering brilliance of gag after gag. The unending hilarity of that scene, and indeed all that followed, had me questioning whether I had just been in a mood not conducive to comedy. Cook's script is teeming with deliciously subtle jokes: whether cunning double-entendres or simple gestures. The dialogue is incomparable, benefiting from the clear chemistry of the two. Spiggot's twisted realisations of Moon's wishes are brilliant in themselves, particularly the now famous Order of St Beryl scene. My huge enjoyment of perhaps the latter two thirds of the film has me eagerly awaiting the chance to see it again.

Tremendously funny, Bedazzled is entirely worthy of its cult status. Managing to convince me despite my initial cynicism, I have no doubt that further viewings will provide the chance to catch the likely dozens of laughs I missed first time around. Everybody must watch this film.

It really Tickled me... Possible spoilers

[padawanmovies · 7/10 · 26 June 2017]

Whenever I know something is a remake, I try my darnedest to always see the original and the remake. Being a kid in the 90s my only knowledge of Bedazzled was the Hurley/Fraser remake, still makes me laugh. However I did enjoy this one more than that one. My favorite parts were 1)the botched hanging; I cant recall another time I've laughed so hard at a characters suicide attempt. 2) the pop star scene; from the 1st LOVE ME scream to the crowd falling upon Wedge this was my fav scene in the entire movie. I loved both songs, they were really catchy. 3)the fly bit; I laugh anytime a camera is really close and shaking in a persons face. 4) the make out scene in the car; those 2 making out, crying, and doting on Peter's character was Hilarious!! 5)the bouncing nuns; did not see that coming, his fear of jumping off the board was just too funny. This was a really pleasant piece of 60s cinema, definitely would watch again...

A bit dated sometimes, but still very good.

[philip_vanderveken · 8/10 · 23 November 2004]

I first saw the Hollywood remake of this movie a few years ago. I don't remember much about it, except for the fact that I wasn't really convinced by it. This evening however I saw the original version and I really liked it.

Yes, it looks a little bit dated and the acting may not be the best you've ever seen, but the story is nice and timeless. It's about a man who is afraid to ask the girl of his dreams out for a date. In return for his soul the devil promises him to help him. He sells his soul and he gets 7 wishes. Of course the devil always knows how to fool the man by making his wishes not coming true the way he had imagined it.

I had a good time watching it and I really had a few good laughs. The humor may look a little bit innocent by today's standards, but I still prefer this kind of humor over what is considered as humor today by some (a man running with a dead deer around his body, getting hit by a truck for instance - part in Tom Green's Freddy Got Fingered). You may call me old fashioned (even though I'm only 26 years old), but sometimes I prefer the old kind of humor over the new kind.

Overall this movie looks a bit dated from time to time, but don't let that be a reason not to watch this movie. I'm quite sure you'll enjoy it. I did and I give it a 7.5/10 for it.

Faust in the Swinging Sixties

[JamesHitchcock · 7/10 · 1 February 2019]

Peter Cook and Dudley Moore were one of Britain's leading two-man comedy teams of the sixties and seventies, but they were younger and edgier than other comedy dues of the period such as Morecambe and Wise or The Two Ronnies, often with a satirical bite to their humour. They mostly worked on television, but "Bedazzled" is one of their rare joint ventures onto the cinema screen. Moore, of course, was later to become a successful Hollywood actor, specialising in romantic comedies. American audiences, apparently, loved him, but British ones found it hard to understand his success; they tended to see him more as the hapless, none-too-bright loser he had played in his duologues with Cook than as the new Cary Grant or David Niven.

In this film, however, Moore plays another hapless loser. His character Stanley Moon is a cook in a fast-food restaurant who is infatuated with Margaret, a waitress who works in the same restaurant, but lacks the self-confidence to ask her out. (In the sixties even hamburger joints used to employ waitresses rather than requiring customers to order their food at the counter). He makes the acquaintance of George Spiggott, a nightclub owner who is really the Devil in disguise. The Devil offers Stanley seven wishes in exchange for his soul, a bargain which Stanley accepts, hoping to use his wishes to get Margaret into bed with him. The joke is that every time Stanley makes a wish, the Devil grants him something which accords with the strict letter of what he has wished for but which somehow does not give him what he really wants. Other scenes feature George's staff of the Seven Deadly Sins, most notably a scantily-dressed Raquel Welch as Lust (disguised as a go-go dancer at the nightclub).

The film is essentially a comic version of the Faust legend, set against the background of 1960s Swinging London. As one might expect of a Cook and Moore production, especially with a script written by Cook, who was generally the more acerbic of the two, it contains a good deal of social satire, especially during the "wish" scenes" when Stanley becomes, among other things, a pretentious and garrulous intellectual and a rock star. Although the rest of the film is in colour, the "rock star" scene is shot in black-and-white to mimic the look of the BBC's "Top of the Pops"- British television had not yet embraced colour- and makes Cook's disdain for pop culture quite clear. (He himself sings a monotonous, meaningless parody of a pop song). Although he would only have been thirty in 1967, he was far from being the only thirty-something around this period who looked down on pop music as trashy modern rubbish for gullible long-haired teenagers. (My own parents were around the same age and of a similar opinion).

In a comedy revolving round the subject of eternal damnation, it is inevitable that some of the satire will come at the expense of religion; in one scene Stanley finds himself transformed into a member of an order of nuns whose form of religious worship involves bouncing on a trampoline. (Despite his transformation, he retains his masculine appearance). God himself turns up as a pompous, self-satisfied disembodied voice booming down from Heaven. The film ends with the Devil threatening to take revenge on God by unleashing on the world what Cook evidently regarded as the deadly plagues of the modern age, including Tastee-Freez and Wimpy Burgers, concrete runways, motorways, aircraft, television and automobiles, advertising, plastic flowers, frozen food, and supersonic bangs. This element of religious satire may explain why the film, although a hit in Britain, was less successful in an America still unused to films which took a disrespectful attitude towards things sacred. (The Production Code had only just come to an end in 1967).

The film can inevitably come across as looking very dated today, but that is the price to be paid for satire, which needs to be directed against the foibles and preoccupations of the age in which it is made. What was edgy and biting when it first came out can seem stale even ten- sometimes even five- years later, never mind fifty-two. "Bedazzled", however, does give modern audiences a chance to see two of Britain's finest comedians going through their paces. Too many of their television performances, alas, were lost to the BBC's short-sighted "wiping" policies of the sixties and seventies. Just forget that dreadful remake with Liz Hurley. 7/10

Fencing For Your Soul

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 29 November 2009]

Bedazzled finds Dudley Moore as a short order cook at a Wimpy's in London trying his best to score with the lovely Eleanore Bron who comes in every day for an order. He'll do just about any old thing to make it with her and when you say that, you know that old Scratch will come up from the bowels of the earth to offer you a deal for your soul.

But Moore doesn't give up that easy in fact he worms seven different chances with this girl and as the devil his partner Peter Cook comes up with a loophole every time. I have to give Moore credit, he negotiates like a Philadelphia lawyer, but Cook is up to each and every one. The way he gets out of the seventh and last is one for the books.

Starring along with Moore and Cook is the city of London in the Sixties when because of the Beatles it was the pop capital of the world. For those who want a look at London back in the day, Bedazzled is definitely the film for you.

The only other American on this film besides director Stanley Donen is Raquel Welch who plays the deadly sin of lust personified. And I can't think of anyone better for that time period.

There is some physical comedy in Bedazzled, but the real treat is watching Moore and Cook fence for Moore's soul. It's the Faust theme with a real comic twist. Tab Hunter should have only been this cagey with Ray Walston in Damn Yankees.

Moore and Cook did quite a few films together before splitting in the late Seventies. Dudley Moore of course had far greater success as a single than Peter Cook did. Then again this side of the pond did not see that much of Cook. The team did a lot of British television together that we in America never were privileged to see. I'm told some of those programs are classic. Bedazzled is yet another classic for them that is available and should be looked at.

Good humor but the movie drags on for too long at points.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 7/10 · 15 February 2005]

The humor is good and typical British. Most of the jokes work really well, it's just too bad that some of the sketches are dragging on for too long and the movie itself feels a bit long.

Man oh man, let me start of by saying that Peter Cook and Dudley Moore are horrible actors. It was really painful to watch at times for me but since this is a comedy, the acting really is secondary. The real power of course lies in its jokes and one-liners. Who cares really that Dudley Moore and Peter Cook weren't the world finest actors?

The quality of the most sketches is good even though some of course are better than others. But like I said it drags on for a bit too long at times, some more pace wouldn't had been such a bad idea at times. After 2 sins I already got a bit tired thinking about it that I had to watch 5 more sins but luckily the movie never really weakens and keeps you watching to the end.

It is a very recommendable movie to kill some time with, also because of Raquel Welch small role!

7/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Devilishly Fun

[JasparLamarCrabb · 5/10 · 12 February 2006]

A goof on the Faust legend, BEDAZZLED is a fun showcase for then partners Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. As Harry Moon, Moore signs a pact with the decidedly inept Cook and gets into one hair-brained situation after another. Director Stanley Donen keeps things moving at a brisk clip so the episodes are never tiresome. The nuns-on-trampolines segment is priceless --- Moore's nun name is very clever. Cook and Moore didn't get many chances to showcase their unusual chemistry on film so the film is a real treat. Moore himself would not become a genuine leading man for another twelve years.

Raquel Welch appears briefly and the always charming Eleanor Bron is in it too.

"Say the magic words - Julie Andrews!"

[ShadeGrenade · 10/10 · 23 June 2006]

With 'Beyond The Fringe', Peter Cook and Dudley Moore - along with Alan Bennett and Jonathan Miller - helped define 1960's comedy. They were a classic comedy duo - Cook was tall, witty and handsome, Dudley short, musically gifted and lovable. They progressed to television - the wonderful B.B.C.-2 show 'Not Only But Also' - and finally into films. After appearing in Bryan Forbes' 'The Wrong Box' in which they played greedy, grasping brothers, they landed their own movie, directed by Stanley Donen, known mainly for musicals such as 'Singing In The Rain'.

'Bedazzled' is a comic version of the Faust legend. Moore is 'Stanley Moon', short order cook in a London Wimpy bar, who is suicidally depressed because he feels his life is going nowhere. He even lacks the courage to ask the flighty waitress whom he is obsessed with - Margaret Spencer ( Eleanor Bron ) - out on a date. Salvation arrives in the cloaked shape of a mysterious stranger by the unlikely name of George Spiggot ( Peter Cook ). Spiggot is The Devil, and in return for Stanley's soul gives him seven wishes.

In the first, Moon is a Welsh intellectual who tries to sweep Margaret off her feet ( and into his bed ) with clever talk. She cries 'Rape'! In the second, he is a millionaire who lavishes expensive presents on Margaret, to whom he is now married. But she is openly sleeping with everyone except him. The third wish sees him as a pop star whom the whole world adores. Alas newcomers 'Drimbl Wedge & The Vegetation' are on the same programme, and Margaret transfers her hero worship to them. The fourth wish occurs when Stanley innocently wonders what Margaret is currently up to. He and Spiggot transform into flies who buzz around a morgue. The fifth has Stanley and Margaret passionately in love. But she is happily married to the too-good-to-be-true Peter. Stanley details his sixth wish carefully. There must be no men in Margaret's life. He forgets to specify the sex and is turned into a nun! Which means he has one wish left. Or does he?

Though regarded now as a classic cult comedy, the film was a box office failure in its day. Pete and Dud had many fans, obviously not enough to make the film a hit. The late Harry Thompson - Cook's biographer - thinks British audiences were disappointed not to see the duo's cloth-capped characters in the film. While undeniably amusing, I do not think they would have worked on the big screen. In America, the advertising mistakenly overemphasised Raquel Welch's contribution - she is in it for all of three minutes. 'Bedazzled' opened when the popularity of British comedies was in decline, with only the 'Carry On' series and all-star romps such as 'Monte Carlo Or Bust' ( featuring Pete and Dud, incidentally ) keeping the genre afloat.

Donen does not try to smother Cook's witty script with superfluous visual touches. Another director probably would have. The episodic plot is kept well under control. Sadly, he never worked with Pete and Dud again. The name 'Stanley Moon' came from Sir John Gielgud, incidentally, while 'George Spiggot' was the Moore character in the celebrated 'One Leg Too Few' sketch in 'Not Only But Also'. Another recycled idea was the leaping nuns. Dudley Moore wrote the wonderful soundtrack.

Often overlooked when assessing this film is Eleanor Bron, playing multiple versions of her character. Not only is she beautiful but a marvellous comedy actress. Two years before she had appeared as a Kali Priestess in The Beatles movie 'Help!'.

Funniest moment? Too many to name. Wish No.3 superbly sends up 'Ready, Steady Go' but it is Wish No.5 that never fails to make me cry with laughter. Stanley and Margaret desperately want to commit adultery, but cannot because their mutual admiration for her husband is too great!

One of the funniest motion pictures of all time. Watch it and treat yourself to a Frobisher & Gleason Raspberry Flavoured Ice Lolly at the same time, folks!

In 2000, Liz Hurley and Brendan Fraser starred in a remake, which was okay but not a patch on the original.

Great partnership and dialogue, but the movie itself...

[Gislef · 7/10 · 10 January 2001]

Bedazzled is funniest when Cook and Moore sit there and bounce dialogue off each other. Granted, Moore's pretty much the deadpan comic relief (and his constant, "You just can't stop, can you?" gets pretty monotonous after a while), but the diatribes on God, religion, the Devil, sin, etc., are pretty funny.

The movie itself is pretty basic, though, and the scenes with Dudley Moore getting his wishes seem to drag on a bit (someone else noted the first one with 15 minutes of psuedo-intellectual dialogue by the score). The only really good one is the Bouncing Nuns, and even that seems to go on a bit too long. The movie's best with just Cook and Moore strolling down a street having another exchange about God.

Bedazzled

[jboothmillard · 4/10 · 17 September 2008]

I had seen the Brendan Fraser/Elizabeth Hurley version long before this original from director Stanley Donen (Singin' in the Rain) and written by the two leading actors. It is exactly the same premise, a guy - Stanley Moon (Dudley Moore) - wants to be with a girl - Margaret Spencer (Eleanor Bron) - and along comes The Devil, aka George Spiggott (Peter Cook), and the guy signs a contract for seven wishes in exchange for his soul. Throughout the film Stanley becomes articulate intellectual, a wealthy industrialist, a brief rock star, has an affair, a fly on the wall and a nun, oh, and gets an ice lolly. In the end though, instead of the Devil demanding he makes a final wish and it isn't for himself, Stanley uses them all, and the Devil simply turns nice to get God to take him back into Heaven. Also starring a pretty brief Raquel Welch as Lilian Lust, Alba as Vanity, Robert Russell as Anger; Barry Humphries, aka Dame Edna Everage as Envy, Parnell McGarry as Gluttony, Danièle Noël as Avarice, Howard Goorney as Sloth, Michael Bates as Insp. Reg Clarke, Bernard Spear as Irving Moses, Robin Hawdon as Randolph, Michael Trubshawe as Lord Dowdy, Evelyn Moore as Mrs. Wisby, Charles Lloyd Pack as Vicar and Lockwood West as St. Peter. In my opinion, this isn't as good as the much more lively and modern remake, this just feels too 60's, it seems much more chatty, and there was not much to laugh at. Cook is not as fun as the sexy interpretation by Hurley, Moore is not as concerned as Fraser, I think Welch would been a very seductive Devil, probably more so than Hurley, but if you like old fashioned comedy, this is worth seeing, at least once. Okay!