What's New Pussycat (1965)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Directors:

Clive Donner
Richard Talmadge

Writer:

Woody Allen (original screenplay)

Release Date:

22 June 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

FOLLOW US... ...and find the answer to the comedy question of the year!

Plot:

A playboy who refuses to give up his hedonistic lifestyle to settle down and marry his true love seeks help from a demented psychoanalyst who is having romantic problems of his own.

Plot Keywords:

Hotel | Chateau | Womanizer | Breaking The Fourth Wall | Toothbrush

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 nominations

Cast

Peter Sellers	...	Dr. Fritz Fassbender
Peter O'Toole	...	Michael James (as Peter O'toole)
Romy Schneider	...	Carole
Capucine	...	Renée
Paula Prentiss	...	Liz
Woody Allen	...	Victor
Ursula Andress	...	Rita
Eddra Gale	...	Anna Fassbender (as Edra Gale)
Katrin Schaake	...	Jacqueline
Eléonore Hirt	...	Mrs. Werner (as Eleonor Hirt)
Jean Parédès	...	Marcel (as Jean Paredes)
Jacques Balutin	...	Etienne
Jess Hahn	...	Mr. Werner
Howard Vernon	...	Doctor
Michel Subor	...	Philippe
Sabine Sun	...	Nurse
Nicole Karen	...	Tempest
Jacqueline Fogt	...	Charlotte
Daniel Emilfork	...	Gas Station Man
Tanya Lopert	...	Miss Lewis
Barbara Sommers	...	Miss Marks (as Barbara Somers)
Robert Rollis	...	Car Renter
Annette Poivre	...	Emma
Richard Saint-Bris	...	Le Maire
Marion Conrad	...	1st Stripteaser
Maggie Wright	...	2nd Stripteaser
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marc Arian	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Jean-Yves Autrey	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Rosemary Blake	...	Miss Pringle (uncredited)
Richard Burton	...	Man in Strip Club (uncredited)
Jack de Lassartesse	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Georges Douking	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Colin Drake	...	Mental Patient (uncredited)
Louis Falavigna	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Gordon Felio	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Marcel Gassouk	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Françoise Hardy	...	Mayor's Secretary (uncredited)
Louise Lasser	...	Masseuse (uncredited)
Edouard F. Médard	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Nadine Papin	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Norbert Terry	...	Kelly (uncredited)
Pascal Wolf	...	Bit Part (uncredited)

Directed by
Clive Donner
Richard Talmadge		(karting sequence) (as Richard Talmage)

Writing credits
Woody Allen		(original screenplay)

Produced by
Charles K. Feldman	....	producer
John C. Shepridge	....	executive producer
Richard Sylbert	....	associate producer
Warren Beatty	....	executive producer (uncredited)
John Dark	....	associate producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Burt Bacharach		(music composed by)

Cinematography by
Jean Badal

Film Editing by
Fergus McDonell

Production Design by
Jacques Saulnier

Art Direction by
Jacques Saulnier

Costume Design by
Gladys de Segonzac

Makeup Department
Charles E. Parker	....	chief makeup artist (as Charles Parker)

Production Management
Henri Jaquillard	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Enrico Isacco	....	first assistant director
Richard Talmadge	....	second unit director (as Richard Talmage)

Art Department
Charles Merangel	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Dino Di Campo	....	sound editor (as Dino di Campo)
Jacques Gérardot	....	sound recordist (as Jacques Gerardot)
Antoine Petitjean	....	sound engineer
William Robert Sivel	....	sound engineer (as W.R. Sivel)
Hugh Strain	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Robert MacDonald	....	special effects (as M. MacDonald)

Camera and Electrical Department
Philippe Brun	....	camera operator
Henri Persin	....	director of photography: second unit
Vincent Rossell	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mia Fonssagrives	....	clothes designer: Miss Prentiss (as Fonssagrives-Tiel)
Vicki Tiel	....	clothes designer: Miss Prentiss (as Fonssagrives-Tiel)

Music Department
Burt Bacharach	....	composer: songs
Charles Blackwell	....	conductor
Charles Blackwell	....	music arranger
Hal David	....	composer: songs
Paul B. Clay	....	scoring mixer: songs (uncredited)

Other crew
Charles K. Feldman	....	presenter
Jean Guélis	....	choreographer (as Jean Guelis)
Richard Williams	....	title designer
Jean-Étienne Siry	....	poster designer (french version) (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Famartists Productions S.A.
• Famous Artists Productions

Distributors

• United Artists (1965) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1975) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• FS Film Oy (2004) (Finland) (DVD)
• Fazer Musiikki Oy/Fazer Video (1989) (Finland) (VHS)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1974) (Finland) (TV)
• United Artists Films (1966) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1993) (Finland) (TV)

Also Known As:

Quoi de neuf, Pussycat? (France)
Was gibt's Neues, Pussy? (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
¿Qué pasa, pussycat? (Mexico) [es]
¿Qué tal, Pussycat? (Spain) [es]
Ciao Pussycat (Italy) [it]
Com va això, gateta? (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Evlenmekten korkuyorum (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Hei Pussycat (Finland) [fi]
Hej Pussycat (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Hej, pussycat (Sweden) [sv]
Hva' nyt, Pussycat? (Denmark) [da]
Mi újság, cicamica? (Hungary) [hu]
Mitä uutta, kissimirri? (Finland) (TV title) [fi]
O Que É Que Há, Gatinha? (Brazil) [pt]
Qué hay de nuevo, Pussycats? (Argentina) [es]

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:U (re-release) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Famartists Productions S.A.

Trivia:

Richard Burton appears in a cameo with Peter O'Toole in a scene in a bar where Burton asks O'Toole "Don't you know me from someplace?" and O'Toole responds "Give my regards to what's her name." The dialogue is a reference to their appearance together in Becket (1964) and to Burton's wife at the time, Elizabeth Taylor. Screenwriter Woody Allen later said of the Burton cameo, "It was so cute, you want to vomit."

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the end during the go-cart scene, Dr. Fassbender enters a farmyard in his go-cart and ends up on a horse; however immediately afterwards he is seen driving the go-cart again.

Quotes:

Mayor's clerk: I can't spell Sigismund.
Dr. Fritz Fassbender: I think that you have a little sexual block over the spelling of that naughty name. Allow me to help you, I'm a psychoanalyst, among other things.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Into My Heart (1998)

Soundtrack:

My Little Red Book

Sloppy (if occasionally amusing) mess.

"What's New, Pussycat" marks the writing and acting debut of Woody Allen; as an actor, he clearly steals the show, and he has a couple of hilarious scenes. Peter O'Toole is agreeable in a somewhat self-parodying role, but Peter Sellers is really disappointing in this film, constantly overacting and earning very few laughs. Allen's screenplay has some witty lines but generally it's a complete and utter mess - in a way that gives the film an feeling of sloppiness. There are a few chuckles in this movie, but it's very dated, and as comedy it can best be described as highly uneven. And I didn't understand if the sets were intentionally so fake-looking.