The Party (1968)

Director:

Blake Edwards

Writers:

Blake Edwards (screenplay) &
Tom Waldman (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

4 April 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

If you've ever been to a wilder party... you're under arrest.

Plot:

A clerical mistake results in a bumbling film extra being invited to an exclusive Hollywood party instead of being fired.

Plot Keywords:

Shoe | Elephant | Hollywood | Actor | Dog

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Peter Sellers	...	Hrundi V. Bakshi
Claudine Longet	...	Michele Monet
Natalia Borisova	...	Ballerina
Jean Carson	...	Nanny
Marge Champion	...	Rosalind Dunphy
Al Checco	...	Bernard Stein
Corinne Cole	...	Janice Kane
Dick Crockett	...	Wells
Frances Davis	...	Maid
Danielle De Metz	...	Stella D'Angelo (as Danielle de Metz)
Herbert Ellis	...	Director (as Herb Ellis)
Paul Ferrara	...	Ronnie Smith
Steve Franken	...	Levinson
Kathe Green	...	Molly Clutterbuck
Allen Jung	...	Cook

Also Known As:

La party (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
A Festa (Portugal) [pt]
Der Partyschreck (West Germany) [de]
El guateque (Spain) [es]
Estély habfürdövel (Hungary) [hu]
Ett sjujävle party (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Festen (Denmark) [da]
Hollywood Party (Italy) [it]
Kom og vask min elefant (Denmark) [da]
La festa (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
La fiesta inolvidable (Argentina) [es]
Oh vilket party (Sweden) [sv]
Pahuksenmoiset pirskeet (Finland) [fi]
Tatli budala (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
The Party (Denmark) (reissue title) [da]
To party (Greece) [el]
Um Convidado Bem Trapalhão (Brazil) [pt]

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Australia:G (TV rating) | Portugal:M/12 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Brazil:Livre | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Argentina:Atp | Canada:G | Finland:S | France:U | Norway:7 (DVD rating) | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:6 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Mirisch Corporation, The

Trivia:

The unusual red sculpture on the wall behind the dining room table is a Mexican "árbol de la vida" (tree of life). They are still manufactured today.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: In the scene mid-way through the film where the woman is playing guitar and singing, the sounds of the guitar strings are not in sync with her finger plucking. There are also sounds from other instruments like a flute playing along with the music yet she is performing solo with only the acoustic guitar.

Quotes:

Levinson: [Comes in with a plate of hors d'oeuvres with Hrundi's shoe on top of it] Would you care for some hors-d'oeuvres sir?
Hrundi V. Bakshi: I am on a diet, but to hell with it!
[Takes his shoe]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "De wereld draait door: (#4.87)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Nothing to Lose

One of the Blake Edwards Best...

I'm sorry, but if you don't laugh, until you cry or your sides ache, at something, hell, at everything in this movie then you'd better check yourself for a pulse. The first four or five times I viewed The Party, I did just that. This is a gut aching, side splitting, fall on the floor, laugh a minute comedy, from start to finish! The scene where the Cornish game hen 'flies' across the dinner table and lands on the tiara of one of the party 'goers' is literally one of the funniest scenes of all time. And it's not just the outrageously funny bumbling physical comedy of Peter Sellers. There is also a subtleness with which Sellers portrays his Indian character that is very visible in his many facial expressions as well as with the 'body language' he uses, that's just as funny. If you even like comedy just a little, you'll love this movie. I give it 4 stars, to infinity!