The Party (film)

• Peter Sellers: Hrundi V. Bakshi
• Claudine Longet: Michele Monet
• Marge Champion: Rosalind Dunphy
• Al Checco: Bernard Stein
• Denny Miller: Wyoming Bill Kelso
• Buddy Lester: Davey Kane
• Herbert Ellis: Director
• Steve Franks: Levinson, the waiter

The Partyschreck is an American comedy film directed by Blake Edwards from the year 1968.

Action

Hrundi V. Bakshi is an Indian extra who got in Hollywood exposure to a period film. However, he screwed up scene after scene, either by his own authority to spectacles (a signal trumpet player who is just not stopping them ), or he forgets easy to remove his watch. Finally, he breaks through his clumsiness nor the whole scenery before the cameras are rolling.

The director is furious and calls as a result, the film's producers in order to be put Hrundi on the "black list ", so that he can never work in Hollywood again. The producer listed the name of the saboteurischen actor on a supposedly blank sheet of paper before he leaves his office. His secretary he commissioned to make the invitations for his party finished. The guest list lying on the desk. It turns out quickly that he did not, as first thought, listed the names of Hrundi on the guest list and on a bare page. Unsuspecting sends the secretary also Hrundi an invitation to the big party in the extravagant house of the studio boss in Beverly Hills.

The house of the producer is built in modern style, with all the refinements of modern technology and provides many " traps" for Hrundi. Even when he arrives he loses in an artificial brook one of his shoes as he tries to clean it off. With its efforts to regain the shoe, it provides the first irritation with guests and staff.

Hrundi trying to catch up with the guests, but what he did not really succeed well. Only the Western actor " Wyoming Bill" Kelso, worships the Hrundi, gives him an autograph and offers him the opportunity for a first small talk.

Meanwhile Hrundi makes the gadgetry of the house to create: he cackles over the intercom and drives a mechanical bar. Even the in-house parrot he makes a deposit feeding society.

Then he meets the starlet Michele, which is introduced by the director in the scene. Direct connect the two friendlies, but are repeatedly torn apart by other people.

It is served the dinner, which runs very turbulent, not only because one of the waiters is already drunk.

After the meal, the director Michele performs in front of the audience by having them can sing a song. Meanwhile Hrundi must urgently to the toilet, and as the WC on the ground floor is permanently occupied, he seeks one upstairs. There he can just prevent the director Michele comes against their will to close. Once the bedroom is free and has Hrundi access to en suite, the toilet it is the same fate. First, he can not stop flushing, then him a watercolor falls into the cistern, which is open for its repair attempts. When he tried to clean the precious picture, it rolls with a jerk the entire toilet paper. This he disposed of in the toilet and caused a flood, because now the flush went alone again. To escape the discovery, he flees to the housed inside the house roof from which he crashes the same again and lands in the pool.

Since he can not swim, Michele also fell into the water to save him. Both are drenched housed upstairs. Before Hrundi a Scotch has been instilled. But since he can not tolerate alcohol, he is drunk after just one glass. In the bedroom he gets a red jumpsuit as makeshift clothes. Once again it goes a little better for him if he finds the weeping Michele. He comforts her, when suddenly the angry director is in the room. He puts Michele given the choice to go with him or stay. Michele can pull the director and remains with Hrundi at the party. After she too has received fresh clothes, both fall back into the hustle and bustle.

Meanwhile, a Russian balalaika band has arrived. It will play music and danced wildly, the vodka flows like water. Again Hrundi plays with the panel in the house and manages to be a platform disappear, whereby a portion of guests falls into the swimming pool.

The situation is getting worse, however, even more than the daughter of the homeowner with their friends and a painted baby elephant shows up at the party. Hrundi convinced the teenager to clean the elephant, because this animal in his homeland is a sacred symbol. Therefore, brushes, brooms, buckets and detergents are fetched. Now the chaos is perfect: the pool in which the elephant is cleaned up, froths over, guests plunge into the pool, the lady of the house gets more dizzy spells and also falls into the pool. Meanwhile, the whole house has been transformed into a bubble bath.

The director, who has now been asleep already at home, can suddenly remember again who was the ominous stranger at the party: Bakshi! The next morning, he rushes back to the house; there emergency services and police have now arrived. Hrundi farewell to the master of the house, as the director arrives, the whispers in the ear of the producer, who is his guest. Hrundi up out of the dust, and the producer accidentally strangles the head waiter, but is prevented by the director and the police.

Hrundi leaves together with Michele 's house, he still gets the cowboy from " Wyoming Bill" Kelso. Bakshi Michele brings home, and you can tell that a romance between the two looming.

Background

The comedy is characterized primarily by slapstick, which is offered to the viewers by Blake Edwards and his friend Peter Sellers in perfection. The Indian accent Hrundi V. Bakshi makes the protagonist much more sympathetic, so that the viewer is taken immediately for him. "The Party " was the first film in history, which was recorded in parallel next to the PANAVISION - film technique on video. This technique was in 1968 still so complex that they built into a huge truck that could only be operated on a neighboring property with a special power. This technique was necessary for Blake Edwards and Peter Sellers were able to see their improvised gags immediately and evolve. You would have had to wait two days until the film was developed.

The film production company Mirisch Corporation produced the comedy for the film distributor United Artists.

Reviews

" A modern slapstick comedy (...) Blake Edwards ' best film, supported by stylistic aplomb "

" Turbulent film fun with sly subtle and refined structured and varied gags, cheeky swipes at the film business and quirky secondary characters. Excellent Peter Sellers. "

" The Partyschreck ' stands and falls with Peter Sellers: It's 94 minutes long the undisputed star in a film that is primarily a linked by a frame story loosely sequence of sketches and secondarily a with sometimes quite vicious swipes studded satire is the practice of show business à la Hollywood. The Jacques Tati's Mr. Hulot's Holiday to sound, in time you will feel the visual humor of some of the skits Loriots recalls. "

" You notice it only at second glance, because the film works so well as a comedy. But Blake Edwards ' The Party Nightmare is one of the few true experimental films from Hollywood. A study of the resolution, a happening of the destruction of the spirit of slapstick, set by Edwards in scene as a daring image and sound collage, as well as self-reflection about Hollywood and filmmaking. [ ... ] And you can feel in the melancholy music of Henry Mancini's music that Edwards ' wonderful comedy has its basis in melodrama and tragedy. "

Trivia

• The original script was only 56 to 60 pages long. Blake Edwards later said this was the shortest script, after he had ever worked with.
• Most of the gags was improvised during filming.
• The film was the only collaboration between Sellers and Edwards outside the Pink Panther movies.
• The role of Hrundi V. Bakshi is similar to the role of Dr. Ahmed El Kabir by Sellers in The Millionairess.
• While Hrundi struggling upstairs with the toilet, you can hear in the background the band's song " It Had Better Be Tonight" ( Meglio Stasera ) play from The Pink Panther.
• In Pirates of the Caribbean Jack Sparrow mentioned birdy num num ( bird Happie Happie ) and howdy partner in the caves of Isla de los Muertos, these are the two quotes that Hrundi V. Bakshi attaches at the party again and again.
• The Partyschreck was Elvis Presley's favorite movie.