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The World of Henry Orient

  • 1964
  • Approved
  • 1h 46m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
4K
YOUR RATING
Peter Sellers, Merrie Spaeth, and Tippy Walker in The World of Henry Orient (1964)
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Buddy ComedyComing-of-AgeQuirky ComedyTeen ComedyTeen DramaComedyDrama

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

  • Director
    • George Roy Hill
  • Writers
    • Nora Johnson
    • Nunnally Johnson
  • Stars
    • Peter Sellers
    • Tippy Walker
    • Merrie Spaeth
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.6/10
    4K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • George Roy Hill
    • Writers
      • Nora Johnson
      • Nunnally Johnson
    • Stars
      • Peter Sellers
      • Tippy Walker
      • Merrie Spaeth
    • 74User reviews
    • 34Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 3 nominations total

    Videos2

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    Trailer 2:39
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    Trailer 2:39
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    Trailer 2:39
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    Photos284

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    Top cast22

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    Peter Sellers
    Peter Sellers
    • Henry Orient
    Tippy Walker
    Tippy Walker
    • Val Boyd
    Merrie Spaeth
    Merrie Spaeth
    • Marian Gilbert
    Paula Prentiss
    Paula Prentiss
    • Stella Dunworthy
    Angela Lansbury
    Angela Lansbury
    • Isabel Boyd
    Tom Bosley
    Tom Bosley
    • Frank Boyd
    Phyllis Thaxter
    Phyllis Thaxter
    • Avis Gilbert
    Bibi Osterwald
    Bibi Osterwald
    • Erica Booth
    John Fiedler
    John Fiedler
    • Sidney
    Al Lewis
    Al Lewis
    • Tobacconist
    Peter Duchin
    Peter Duchin
    • Joe Daniels
    Fred Stewart
    Fred Stewart
    • Doctor
    Philippa Bevans
    • Emma Hambler
    Jerry Jarrett
    Jerry Jarrett
    • Doorman
    • (as Jerry Jerrett)
    Jane Buchanan
    • Lillian Kafritz
    Peter Turgeon
    Peter Turgeon
    • Orchestra Member
    William Hinnant
    William Hinnant
    • Doorman
    Colin Romoff
    • Hairdresser
    • Director
      • George Roy Hill
    • Writers
      • Nora Johnson
      • Nunnally Johnson
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews74

    6.64K
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    Featured reviews

    gregcouture

    An unexpectedly pleasurable gem!

    I wasn't quite prepared for how much I enjoyed this sophisticated (but certainly not too much so) romp when I caught it during its first-run release. I thought it so well-executed in every department that I was delighted to note that it's now available in a DVD edition with its Panavision widescreen ratio restored. But unfortunately the audio element is so bad (requiring turning the volume way up to even begin to hear the dialogue, and a music score that's mangled beyond belief) that I had to return the disc for a refund. Fortunately Turner Classic Movies recently showed it and the soundtrack was not a problem, making possible a fairly decent high-fidelity VHS recording.

    The two young actresses who played the very natural but entirely madcap duo who precipitate most of the plot's ins-'n-outs are completely charming and they are supported by an extraordinarily well-chosen cast of top-notch professionals. Angela Lansbury, never an actress to shrink from the somewhat less savory aspects of a character she's playing, strikes just the right note as a socialite whose maternal instincts are close to non-existent. I do remember wishing that Paula Prentiss had been given more to do, but I suppose getting mistaken for Jayne Mansfield (in one of the film's funnier sequences) wasn't something to be sneezed at. As the film's title character, Peter Sellers wasn't permitted by director George Roy Hill to unbalance the proceedings. And it certainly seems that scenarist Nora Johnson had inherited more than a modicum of her father Nunnally's professional good taste. This one is a treat for all but the dyspeptic and the excessively demanding.
    9charlie_bucket

    Halcyon Days

    George Roy Hill is a perhaps neglected name in any 'top ten' list of great directors we are likely to see, but his filmography speaks for itself, with a number of quiet classics among a few heavyweight top 100 films--all within a somewhat small oeuvre. Each of these classics shows to good effect Hill's marvelous aesthetic moods and attention to detail, combined with absolutely expert casting, obtaining winning performances from all of the principles, with superior character acting from the secondaries.

    Peter Sellers is actually something of a secondary in this one as the title role, but his portrayal of Henry Orient is so ludicrous and wonderful that he steals the show every time he's on screen. He was really something. Sellers plays it very large here, as a pretentious, NYC-based, avant-garde pianist of meagre talent--a charlatan, egoist, and ersatz Lothario who cultivates a faux-Euro accent but slides back into his 'native' Brooklyn (Sellers is probably the greatest accent-mimic ever) jargon every time he gets rattled, who has Paderewski hair that he continuously primps, and who entices women who've actually fallen for his schtick by hurling continuous salvos of romance-novel drivel at them until they (hopefully) relent.

    Oddly, although it is made plain and obvious in the dialogue that Henry Orient is more or less a hack, and although Sellers plays his usual skillful physical shenanigans, I found that the pianist on the soundtrack played the piano quite well, despite the ridiculous material. There's a hilarious, gushing theme that is edited into almost every scene that Henry is in. His mannerisms during the piano concerto and the ostentatious buffoonery from scene to scene show Sellers in his element, and he never misses the chance to exploit the full range of available comedic ingredients in any moment to the utmost. Every time I watch him cross his arms to play two notes four octaves apart at the end of the concerto, and he does the little wiggle of the finger as if he's depressing the string on a violin to get vibrato out of it, I let out a belly laugh. I never get tired of that.

    The two protagonists (or rather, Sellers's perceived antagonists) are played with mesmerising enthusiasm by the two adolescent leads. Tippy Walker is particularly radiant in this movie as the talented, attention-starved, sensitive, hyperkinetic Val, who develops a crush on Henry. Her pixie features, infectious retainer-filled smile, and wide-eyed, bubblegummy girlishness shine on, and share honors with Sellers for scene-steal appeal. She plays off the hurt, pouty ingenue angle beautifully too. Her counterpart, Merrie Spaeth, is no slouch either, although she had the disadvantage here of having the 'straight man' role. No matter! They don't compete for space at all (the scene-stealing qualities of Ms Walker notwithstanding),and they get equal attention and equally precocious dialogue, with the simpatico theme being so stressed as to tell us purposely that they are equal partners through and through.

    Ultimately the film leaves me feeling bittersweet, partially through nostalgia--Hill's 1963 NYC is beautiful--but also because the movie has that theme of fleeting innocence in the face of oncoming adolescent desire. George Roy Hill's great movies have a sparkle to them, and this qualifies as one of the quieter greats. In any case, as time buries this one, those halcyon days of youth go with it, but the legacies of Sellers and Hill should mark it for at least cult-status immortality, which by proxy should give the girls their deserved legacy too.
    9middleburg

    New York has never looked so beautiful--in a bittersweet tale of adolescent yearning and discovery

    A truly lovely and engaging film, with surprisingly real and complex characters anchored in the perceptive viewpoints of adolescents -- their joys, confusions and hurts, paving the way for future joys, confusions and hurts. This is a remarkable film with countless moments to cherish--the adults with all their foibles, inconsistencies, concerns real or selfish--and those two girls exploring the world with wonderment and imagination born of exuberant discovery and painful denial. The feelings are so complex--it is often playful fun, but with a tinge of bittersweet wisdom that pervades practically every frame of the film. And New York. For those that love New York City, this film is a must. Filmed over 40 years ago--it is a joy to see all the familiar, beloved landmarks as they looked before. Only Woody Allen has filmed NYC with as much loving detail. From the opening scene on the East River where the girls first meet, to their first romp through the glories of Central Park (The Bow Bridge never has looked more elegant and graceful--and the Rambles never more wild and rustic), Park Avenue in the snow with the Christmas tree lights all glowing (truly capturing the magic of NYC at holiday time)--to surprising scenes of Carnegie Hall, and the wonderful Greenwich Village neighborhoods with their charming mews and meandering streets. How appropriate that the girls' discoveries should take place in this beautiful, complex city. One final comment--Elmer Bernstein's film score is a sheer delight-befitting this delicate, but profound story--bathing the film in a musical glow as beautiful as New York City.
    gregorybnyc

    Paula Prentiss, Paula Prentiss, Paula Prentiss

    I loved this hilarious movie as a teenager and own the video of it

    as an adult. The story of two young girls who sweetly stalk a

    concert pianist, played with insane panache by Peter Sellars, is

    one of the nicest coming-of-age movies of that era. Set in New

    York, her is a surprisingly sophisticated and gentle comedy you'll

    enjoy over and over again.

    Sellars's clueless, womanizing virtuoso never strikes a false

    comic note. He's wildly inventive, never more so than in his

    scenes with the gorgeous Paula Prentiss as the way-too-nervous

    object of his lust. Playing a married woman who is flattered by his

    attentions, Prentiss manages to look glamorous and on the verse

    of a nervous breakdown all at once. Why this spectacularly gifted

    comic actress didn't make it to the top is a mystery to me.

    Angela Lansbury's socialite bitch of a mother is another one of her

    classic nasty lady roles. Nobody can look down her nose with the

    authority of Lansbury. Yes she got found acceptance and respect

    on Broadway and on television, but she was a first-rate character

    actress on screen too.

    Tom Bosley is sympathetic as Tippy Walker's father and Phyllis

    Thaxter exudes motherly warmth as Mary Spaeth's divorced Mom.

    The Walker and Spaeth should have had futures as screen

    actors. Alas, it was not to be. But they are delightful as the young

    girls on the verse of womanhood, with a terrific crush on an

    undeserving idol.

    Nora and Nunnelly Johnson's script (he of course, a Hollywood

    legend) wrote a sharp, funny and observant screenplay that is

    respectful of teenagers and the adults. George Roy Hill is not a

    great director, but when given good material, he rises to the

    occasion as he does here. A real gem.
    7dgz78

    Despite Title, Not A Sellers Movie

    Is there another movie where the lead actor has his characters name in the title and yet his part is almost irrelevant to the film? This can hardly be called a Peter Sellers movie.

    The movie really belongs to the two girls with a crush on the Sellers character, Henry Orient, a schlocky avant-garde pianist. Gil (Merrie Spaeth) has a the big crush on Orient and her friend Val (Tippy Walker) is her cohort in the 2 member fan club. Their relationship seems so natural you forget they are acting. Neither girl had a long career in movies (few child actors do) and it's nice to see child actors carry a movie so effortlessly. So many times kid actors can only play cute and you are quickly reminded that real kids never act that way. I suspect George Roy Hill deserves some credit for their performances - I know he got good performances from Diane Lane and Thelonious Bernard in A Little Romance. Their performance doesn't rank up there with Tatum O'Neal in Paper Moon but are still very good. Considering it was the first movie for each of them, their performances are even more remarkable.

    After the girls the performance by Paula Prentiss stands out. Playing a much more glamorous role than she had previously (think Tuggle in Where The Boys Are) she is funny and sexy as the married object of Seller's affections. A pleasant surprise and an indication that she should have been a bigger star than she was. Why couldn't she have had more roles like this?

    Tom Bosley also plays a warm father to Val - a more sentimental version of his role as Mr C on Happy Days. Angela Lansbury practically reprises her role from The Manchurian Candidate as the worst mother she could be.

    As for Sellers, his accent shifts continually. Maybe he thought he was playing numerous characters as he did in Dr Strangelove and never realized when he changed costume he was still Henry Orient. As much as I love and respect Sellers, I could see other actors in the role without hurting the movie.

    If you want to see teenagers do a good job of acting like teenagers (albeit in 1964 and having a crush on a concert pianist instead of the Beatles) this is a good flick. Plus New York looks really good - you almost believe it's safe for teenage girls to wander the city late at night.

    As a side note, I was surprised to discover that Merrie Spaeth was the founder of Spaeth Communications. She may not have had a long career as an actress but she sure became a success as an adult.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The character of Henry Orient was inspired by real-life concert pianist Oscar Levant. Nora Johnson, who wrote the novel on which the movie was based (and co-wrote the screenplay with her father, Nunnally Johnson), said that she and a friend had a crush on the rather homely Levant when they were schoolgirls.
    • Goofs
      When Mrs. Gilbert pours Mr. Boyd a drink at her home, the "scotch" foams slightly. Real booze doesn't do that; its ubiquitous stand-in, cold tea, does.
    • Quotes

      [Val induces a fantasy about Gil's divorced parents]

      Val Boyd: Think your Dad will ever come back?

      Marian Gilbert: Why can he? He's married and has a couple of kids.

      Val Boyd: But how do you know he's happy?

      Marian Gilbert: He's crazy about her.

      Val 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.

      Val 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?

      Val 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.

      Marian Gilbert: Maybe, during Christmas.

      Val Boyd: Chirstmas Eve maybe.

      Marian Gilbert: About 6:00.

      Val Boyd: You and your mother are all alone trimming the tree, when suddenly the doorbell rings.

      Marian Gilbert: I'd be the one to go and answer it.

      Val Boyd: But you'd be wondering 'who on earth it could be,' because you weren't expectign anyone. He'd open the door, and he'd be standig there simply loaded with presents. And before you could say anything, he'd say, 'Shhhh,' because he wants to surprise your mother. At first, he'd give you a big hugh, just as tight as he could.

      Marian Gilbert: And them Mom would come down wondering who it was, beause she'd be wondering why she didn't hear anybody say anything.

      Val Boyd: And for a long time, they'd just stand there and stare at each other not saying anything.

      Marian Gilbert: They wouldn't have to.

      Val Boyd: [sighing mid-sentence] And then he'd take her in his arms, and rain kisses on her upturned face, and they'd just... love each other to death right there at the front door.

    • Crazy credits
      introducing MERRIE SPAETH as "Gil" TIPPY WALKER as "Val"
    • Connections
      Featured in Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter (1982)
    • Soundtracks
      Henry Orient Concerto
      Music by Ken Lauber (as Kenneth Lauber)

      Conducted and orchestrated by Ken Lauber (uncredited)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 20, 1964 (Canada)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Italian
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Henrys Liebesleben
    • Filming locations
      • The Brearly School, 610 E. 83rd Street, New York City, New York, USA(School bus drop-off at end of opening credits)
    • Production company
      • Pan Arts
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 46 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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