What's New Pussycat

''What's New Pussycat?'' is a 1965 screwball comedy film directed by Clive Donner, written by Woody Allen in his first produced screenplay, and starring Allen in his acting debut, along with Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, Romy Schneider, Capucine, Paula Prentiss, and Ursula Andress.

The Academy Award-nominated title song by Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (lyrics) is sung by Tom Jones. The film poster was painted by Frank Frazetta, and the animated title sequence was directed by Richard Williams.

The expression "what's new pussycat?" arose from Charles K. Feldman, the producer, overhearing Warren Beatty, who was original choice for the lead role, answering the phone to a girlfriend and saying "what's up pussycat". In the film, Michael (O'Toole) calls all women "Pussycat" to avoid having to remember their names.

Plot

Notorious womanizer Michael James wants to be faithful to his fiancée Carole Werner, but most women he meets become attracted to him, including neurotic exotic dancer Liz Bien and parachutist Rita, who accidentally lands in his car. His psychoanalyst, Dr. Fritz Fassbender, is unable to help, since he is pursuing patient Renée Lefebvre, who in turn longs for Michael. Carole, meanwhile, decides to make Michael jealous by flirting with his nervous wreck of a friend, Victor Shakapopulis. Victor struggles to be romantic, but Carole nevertheless feigns interest.

Fassbender continues to have group meetings with his neurotics and obsessives and cannot understand why everyone falls for Michael. The group sessions become stranger—including an indoor cricket match. Michael dreams that all his sexual conquests simultaneously bombard him for attention, listing the places where they had sex.

One night, Fassbender goes to the Seine, fills a rowing boat with kerosene and wraps himself in the Norwegian flag, preparing to commit suicide in the style of a Viking funeral. Victor, who has set up a small dining table nearby, asks what he is doing. Distracted, Fassbender forgets his idea of suicide and starts giving Victor advice. Despite his attempts to womanize, Fassbender is revealed to be married with three children.

Meanwhile, Carole's plan seems to work and Michael asks to marry her. She agrees and they settle on marrying within the week. She moves in with Michael, but he finds fidelity impossible. When Liz introduces herself as Michael's fiancée, Carole becomes indignant. Simultaneously, Rita parachutes into Michael's open-top sports car and the two check into a small country hotel, though he resists her attempts to seduce him.

Soon, all parties gradually arrive at the hotel; some are checked in, but most simply appear. This includes Carole's parents who wander the corridors, causing Michael to jump from room to room. A rumor also circulates locally that an orgy is taking place at the hotel, so side characters such as the petrol station attendant also surface. Carole arrives and wishes to see Michael's room. As they speak, all the other participants chase each other around in the background. Fassbender's overbearing wife, Anna, tracks him down.

Everyone ends up in Michael's room with most of the women half-naked. As the police arrive outside and form a line, Anna, dressed as a valkyrie and wielding a spear, leads the group through the police. They all escape to a go-kart circuit. They leave the circuit and go first to a farmyard, then through narrow village streets still on the go-karts, then back to the circuit.

After a mayor marries Michael and Carole in a civil marriage ceremony, the couple are signing the marriage certificate when Michael calls the young female registrar "Pussycat", infuriating Carole. They leave and Fassbender attempts to court her instead.

Cast

Production

Warren Beatty wanted to make a comedy film about male sex addiction and hoped Charles K. Feldman would produce it. The title ''What's New Pussycat?'' was taken from Beatty's phone salutation when speaking to his female friends. Beatty desired a role for his then-girlfriend, actress Leslie Caron, but Feldman wanted a different actress.

Beatty and Feldman sought a joke writer and, after seeing him perform in a New York club, Feldman offered Woody Allen $30,000. Allen accepted provided he could also appear in the film. As Allen worked on the script, his first screenplay, Beatty noticed that Allen's role was continually growing at the expense of his own.

Eventually, Beatty threatened to quit the production to stop this erosion, but the actor's status in Hollywood at that time had declined so severely that Feldman decided to let him leave and gave the part to Peter O'Toole. Beatty later said, "I diva'ed my way out of the movie. I walked off of ''What's New, Pussycat?'' thinking they couldn't do it without me. I was wrong." According to Beatty, a new screenwriter was brought in and Allen's role was pared back to a minor character.

Groucho Marx was to have played Dr. Fassbender, but at O'Toole's insistence, he was replaced by Peter Sellers. O'Toole, Sellers, and director Clive Donner all made changes to the script, straining their relationship with Allen. Tension was also generated by Sellers' demanding top billing, but O'Toole described the atmosphere as stimulating. Donner was given the job of directing on the strength of ''Nothing But the Best''.

Second unit director Richard Talmadge is credited with creating the karting sequence. Principal photography began on October 13, 1964, and concluded on January 25, 1965, with locations including Paris, Luzarches, Castel Henriette in Sèvres, Château de Chaumontel in Chaumontel, and Billancourt Studios in Boulogne-Billancourt. The film was released in New York City on June 22, 1965, and opened in Paris in January 1966 as ''Quoi de neuf, Pussycat?'' It grossed $18,820,000 at the domestic box office.

In addition to the title theme, songs featured were "Here I Am" by Dionne Warwick and " My Little Red Book" performed by Manfred Mann.

Reception

Critical response

The film received mixed reviews. Bosley Crowther in ''The New York Times'' gave the film a negative review. He criticized the script, the directing and the acting and described the film as "the most outrageously cluttered and campy, noisy and neurotic display of what is evidently intended as way-out slapstick". He praised the scenery and title song. On the other hand, Andrew Sarris in ''The Village Voice'' wrote: "I have now seen ''What's New Pussycat?'' four times, and each time I find new nuances in the direction, the writing, the playing, and, above all, the music. This is one movie that is not what it seems at first glance. It has been attacked for tastelessness, and yet I have never seen a more tasteful sex comedy."

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 32% based on 19 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10.

Accolades

Home media

''What's New Pussycat?'' was released on DVD by MGM Home Video on June 7, 2005, as a Region 1 widescreen DVD, on May 22, 2007, as part of ''The Peter Sellers Collection'' (film number two in a four-disc set) and on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber on August 26, 2014, as a Region 1 widescreen Blu-ray. It was previously released in VHS.

Novelization

Slightly in advance of the film's release, as was the custom of the era, a paperback novelization of the film was published by Dell Books by crime and western novelist Marvin H. Albert.

Sequel

The 1970 film '' Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You'' was intended as a sequel to this film, and includes much of the same premise of a young man (played by Ian McShane) visiting his psychiatrist to discuss his love life.

References

External links

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1965 films
1965 romantic comedy films
1960s American films
1960s English-language films
1960s French films
1960s screwball comedy films
1960s sex comedy films
American romantic comedy films
American screwball comedy films
American sex comedy films
American slapstick comedy films
English-language French films
English-language romantic comedy films
English-language sex comedy films
Films about infidelity
Films about psychiatry
Films directed by Clive Donner
Films scored by Burt Bacharach
Films set in hotels
Films set in Paris
Films shot at Billancourt Studios
Films shot in Hauts-de-Seine
Films shot in Val-d'Oise
Films with screenplays by Woody Allen
French romantic comedy films
French sex comedy films
United Artists films