''Something for Everyone'' is a 1970 American

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to disc ...

film starring

Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...

Michael York Michael York OBE (born Michael Hugh Johnson; 27 March 1942) is an English film, television and stage actor. After performing on-stage with the Royal National Theatre, he had a breakthrough in films by playing Tybalt in Franco Zeffirelli's ''Ro ...

, Anthony Higgins, and

Jane Carr Ellen Jane Carr (born 13 August 1950) is an English actress. She is well known for her first film role as Mary McGregor in drama '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' (1969) and the voice role of " Pud'n" on the animated ''The Grim Adventures of ...

. The film was based on the novel ''The Cook'' by Harry Kressing, with a screenplay by

Hugh Wheeler Hugh Callingham Wheeler (19 March 1912 – 26 July 1987) was a British novelist, screenwriter, librettist, poet and translator. He resided in the United States from 1934 until his death and became a naturalized citizen in 1942. He had attended L ...

. The plot to the film is quite different from the novel. Directed by

Harold Prince Harold Smith Prince (born Harold Smith; January 30, 1928 – July 31, 2019), commonly known as Hal Prince, was an American theatre director and producer known for his work in musical theatre. One of the foremost figures in 20th century America ...

(in his feature directorial debut) for

Cinema Center Films Cinema Center Films (CCF) was the theatrical film production company of the CBS Television Network from 1967 to 1972. Its films were distributed by National General Pictures. The production unit was located at CBS Studio Center in the Studio City ...

, the film began shooting on 30 June 1969 and was originally released by National General Pictures in July 1970. Lansbury was nominated for the

Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset * Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestersh ...

. In the UK, the film was retitled ''Black Flowers for the Bride'' (subtitle: ''A Comedy of Evil'') and released in May 1971. In 1986 and 1990, a VHS of the film was issued followed by DVD and Blu-ray on 6 December 2016.

Plot

A handsome young stranger, Konrad Ludwig, is fascinated by a castle near the Bavarian village of Ornstein. He dreams of owning and living in the castle, which is the property of widowed countess Herthe von Ornstein, who lives in the dower house, unable financially to open and live in her castle. As Konrad schemes to become one of the countess's servants, he romances a beautiful and wealthy young lady, Anneliese Pleschke, daughter of a nouveau riche couple. The idea is to use their wealth to reopen castle Ornstein. After an afternoon of chauffeuring the Pleschkes around the countryside, he gets Rudolph, the countess's footman, drunk at the local Biergarten and then run over by a train. Konrad then takes Rudolph's place in the countess's household. Helmuth von Ornstein, a shy and attractive young man, and Lotte von Ornstein, a plain and annoying girl, are the countess's children. Helmuth is gay and begins to be romanced by Konrad when the stern

majordomo A majordomo is a person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another. Typically, this is the highest (''major'') person of a household (''domūs'' or ''domicile'') staff, a head servant who acts on behalf of the owner of a large ...

, Klaus, tries to put a stop to it by firing Konrad. When the mayor of Ornstein is militantly disposed to root out all Nazis remaining in Germany, Konrad reports Klaus to the mayor after discovering he is harboring a scandalous secret: his father was a Nazi colonel, whose memory is fondly enshrined in Klaus's bedroom. Klaus is summarily and quietly put out of the countess's employ, leaving Konrad free to be Helmuth's lover while taking Klaus's place as majordomo. Konrad now plays up to the countess, encouraging her to throw a daring, expensive party at the dower house in order to initiate a pseudo romance between Helmuth and Anneliese Pleschke. Konrad, the lover of both Helmuth and Anneliese, induces them to become engaged to each other, while secretly assuring both of them that he would always be there at the castle. When the marriage contract is signed, the Pleschke money flows in to reopen and refurbish the castle Ornstein. The marriage takes place, but the honeymoon is a disaster with both the bride and groom wanting an annulment. The demise of the grand design is hastened along by Anneliese, who walks in on Konrad and Helmuth kissing. Anneliese, shocked and speechless, is ushered to the limousine in which she and her parents are to be driven to the castle by Konrad. When Anneliese hysterically opens up to her parents, Konrad turns the limousine down a steep embankment, managing to jump out before it crashes, killing Anneliese and her parents. Konrad escapes with a broken leg. Konrad goes through a pleasant convalescence with the countess herself becoming his new romantic interest. After an amorous night in the countess's boudoir, they plan to be married. Helmuth is devastated. He reluctantly allows the marriage to go on rather than have Konrad be forced to leave by a scorned countess. Helmuth's sister Lotte has other plans. On the eve of the wedding she informs Konrad that she knows all about his murderous and scandalous exploits. Ingeniously she avoids being Konrad's next victim and has him marry her instead of her mother.

Cast

as countess Herthe von Ornstein *

as Konrad Ludwig * Anthony Higgins as Helmuth von Ornstein (billed as Anthony Corlan) *

as Lotte von Ornstein *

Heidelinde Weis Heidelinde Weis (born 17 September 1940 in Villach, Carinthia) is an Austrian actress. Selected filmography * '' I'm Marrying the Director'' (1960) * '' Dead Woman from Beverly Hills'' (1964) * ''Condemned to Sin'' (1964) * '' Don't Tell Me Any ...

as Anneliese Pleschke * Wolfried Lier as Klaus * Despo Diamantidou as Bobby (billed as Despo) * John Gill as Herr Pleschke *

Eva Maria Meineke Eva Maria Meineke (8 October 1923 - 7 May 2018) was a German actress. She appeared in more than one hundred films from 1942 to 2008, including ''Yesterday Girl'' and ''Something for Everyone ''Something for Everyone'' is a 1970 American blac ...

as Frau Pleschke *

Klaus Havenstein Klaus Havenstein (7 April 1922 in Wittenberge, Germany – 19 March 1998 in Munich), was a German actor, cabaret artist, dubbing artist and television presenter. Biography Klaus Havenstein grew up in Hamburg, where he started an apprenticeship a ...

as Rudolph *

Walter Janssen Walter Janssen (7 February 1887 – 1 January 1976) was a German film actor and director. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1917 and 1970. Selected filmography * '' The Dancer'' (1919) * ''Destiny'' (1921) * '' Wandering Souls'' ( ...

as Father Georg

Reception

John Simon wrote of ''Something for Everyone'': "The movie is not alone slapped together ineptly, not only pretentious, unfunny, and obvious, it is also a prime example of disguised homosexuality at its distorting worst."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0066392
Vincent Canby review, ''The New York Times'' (July 23, 1970)
1970 films 1970s black comedy films American black comedy films American LGBT-related films Films based on American novels 1970 LGBT-related films LGBT-related black comedy films Films set in Austria Cinema Center Films films Films directed by Harold Prince 1970 directorial debut films 1970 comedy films 1970 drama films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links