Mr. Topaze

Last updated

Mr. Topaze
Mr. Topaze (1961 film).jpg
British quad poster by Tom Chantrell
Directed by Peter Sellers
Written byPierre Rouve
Johnny Speight (script associate)
Based onthe play Topaze by Marcel Pagnol
Produced byPierre Rouve
StarringPeter Sellers
Nadia Gray
Herbert Lom
Leo McKern
Cinematography John Wilcox
Edited by Geoffrey Foot
Music by George Martin
Georges Van Parys
Production
company
Dimitri De Grunwald Production
Distributed by Twentieth Century Fox
Release date
  • 4 April 1961 (1961-04-04)(London)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Mr. Topaze (U.S. title: I Like Money) is a 1961 British film directed by Peter Sellers [1] and starring Sellers, Nadia Gray, Leo McKern, and Herbert Lom. [2] [3] It was Sellers' directorial debut. The screenplay was written by Pierre Rouve based on the 1928 playTopaze by Marcel Pagnol. [4]

Contents

Out of distribution for many years, a print exists in the British Film Institute National Archive, which makes it available for viewing on their website. [5] The film was shown during the 2003 Cardiff Independent Film Festival. [6] It was released on Blu-ray and DVD on 15 April 2019 by the BFI.

Plot

Mr. Topaze is an unassuming school teacher in an unassuming small French town who is honest to a fault. He is sacked when he refuses to give a passing grade to a bad student, the grandson of a wealthy Baroness. Castel Benac, a government official who runs a crooked financial business on the side, is persuaded by his mistress, Suzy, a musical comedy actress, to hire Mr. Topaze as the front man for his business. Gradually, Topaze becomes a rapacious financier who sacrifices his honesty for success and, in a final stroke of business bravado, fires Benac and acquires Suzy in the deal. An old friend and colleague, Tamise questions him and tells Topaze that what he now says and practices indicates there are no more honest men.

Cast

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Peter Sellers has chosen, in the early scenes, to adopt the diffident, rueful manner and accent of Alec Guinness, while he leaves it to Leo McKern, all snorts and twitches, to present the lively caricature performance. With Michael Gough's sympathetic Tamise and Martita Hunt's battleship Baroness in support, these school episodes have a dawdling, easy-going humour. With the appearance of Suzy and Castel Benac, however, and the shift from atmosphere to plot, the film goes adrift. Sellers, as director, has neither the necessary control nor the ability to direct actors playing straight, as opposed to character, parts. He leaves Herbert Lom and Nadia Gray amateurishly at sea, he shows no stages of the transformation but simply invites us to accept the fact of Topaze's newly-discovered acumen, and he lets the sympathy seep out of his own characterisation without finding anything to put in its place. Don Ashton's art direction and some agreeable locations give Mr Topaze an elegant surface; but this is essentially a film of minor pleasures and major inadequacies." [7]

In The New York Times , Bosley Crowther wrote, "for the most part, Mr. Sellers keeps himself too rigidly in hand – and the blame is his, because he is also the fellow who directed the film. He avoids the comic opportunities, takes the role too seriously," concluding that, "As a consequence, he's just a little boring – and that's death for a Sellers character." [8]

Stanley Kauffmann of The New Republic wrote: "This new version of Pagnol's Topaze has a diluted script by Pierre Rouve that runs about an hour before the plotwheels begin to turn." [9]

Leslie Halliwell said: "Predictable, sluggish, character comedy, with a good actor unable to make it as a star. Or as a director." [10]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Peter Sellers directed himself in this adaptation of a Marcel Pagnol play, so he has only himself to blame. ... Beset by the likes of Herbert Lom, Leo McKern and Nadia Gray, Sellers makes an endearing innocent at large. Alas, his direction lacks the edge the idea needed." [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Sellers</span> English actor and comedian (1925–1980)

Peter Sellers was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series The Goon Show. Sellers featured on a number of hit comic songs, and became known to a worldwide audience through his many film roles, among them Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leo McKern</span> Australian actor (1920–2002)

Reginald "Leo" McKern, AO was an Australian actor who appeared in numerous British, Australian and American television programmes and films, and in more than 200 stage roles. His notable roles include Clang in Help! (1965), Thomas Cromwell in A Man for All Seasons (1966), Tom Ryan in Ryan's Daughter (1970), Harry Bundage in Candleshoe (1977), Paddy Button in The Blue Lagoon (1980), Dr. Grogan in The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), Father Imperius in Ladyhawke (1985), and the role that made him a household name as an actor, Horace Rumpole, whom he played in the British television series Rumpole of the Bailey. He also portrayed Carl Bugenhagen in the first and second instalments of The Omen series and Number Two in the TV series The Prisoner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbert Lom</span> Czech-British actor (1917– 2012)

Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru, known professionally as Herbert Lom, was a Czech-British actor with a career spanning over 60 years. His cool demeanour and precise, elegant elocution saw him cast as criminals or suave villains in his younger years, and professional men and nobles as he aged. Highly versatile, he also proved a skilled comic actor in The Pink Panther franchise, playing the beleaguered Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus in seven films.

<i>A Shot in the Dark</i> (1964 film) 1964 film by Blake Edwards

A Shot in the Dark is a 1964 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards in Panavision. Produced as a standalone sequel to The Pink Panther, it is the second installment in the eponymous film series, with Peter Sellers reprising his role as Inspector Jacques Clouseau of the French Sûreté.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edwige Feuillère</span> French actress (1907–1998)

Edwige Feuillère was a French stage and film actress.

<i>Only Two Can Play</i> 1962 British film by Sidney Gilliat

Only Two Can Play is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Sidney Gilliat starring Peter Sellers, Mai Zetterling and Virginia Maskell. The screenplay was by Bryan Forbes, based on the 1955 novel That Uncertain Feeling by Kingsley Amis.

<i>Topaze</i> (1933 American film) 1933 film by Harry dAbbadie dArrast

Topaze is a 1933 American pre-Code film directed by D'Abbadie D'Arrast and starring John Barrymore and Myrna Loy. It was based on the 1928 French play of the same name by Marcel Pagnol. Another film version of Topaze, this one made in the original French was also released that year, starring Louis Jouvet in the title role. Subsequently, Pagnol himself directed another film titled Topaze in 1936.

Topaze is a 1928 play in four acts by the French writer Marcel Pagnol. It tells the story of a modest school teacher who is fired for being too honest and decides to become a dishonest businessman. The play premiered on 9 October 1928 at the Théâtre des Variétés. It was performed on Broadway in 1930 with Frank Morgan in the title role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Sellers (actor)</span> British builder, car restorer and author (1954–2006)

Michael Peter Anthony Sellers was a British builder, car restorer, author and the son of actor Peter Sellers. He also had small parts in a couple of his father's films. He was often interviewed by the media about his relationship with his father. Despite a tenuous and troubled relationship with his father, he frequently defended him and his legacy.

Topaze may refer to:

<i>The Dock Brief</i> 1962 British film by James Hill

The Dock Brief is a 1962 black-and-white British legal satire directed by James Hill, starring Peter Sellers and Richard Attenborough, and based on the 1957 play The Dock Brief by John Mortimer.

<i>Up the Creek</i> (1958 film) 1958 British film by Val Guest

Up the Creek is a 1958 British comedy film written and directed by Val Guest and starring David Tomlinson, Peter Sellers, Wilfrid Hyde-White, David Lodge and Lionel Jeffries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nadia Gray</span> Romanian film actress (1923–1994)

Nadia Gray was a Romanian film actress.

<i>Topaze</i> (1951 film) 1951 French film

Topaze is a 1951 French comedy film directed by Marcel Pagnol and starring Fernandel, Hélène Perdrière and Marcel Vallée. It is based on Pagnol's own 1928 play of the same name, which has been adapted for the screen a number of times including a 1936 film directed by Pagnol.

<i>Waltz of the Toreadors</i> (film) 1962 British film

Waltz of the Toreadors is a 1962 film directed by John Guillermin and starring Peter Sellers and Dany Robin. It was based on the play of the same name by Jean Anouilh with the location changed from France to England. It was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay, in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Sellers on stage, radio, screen and record</span> British actor, 1925-1980

The British actor and comedian Peter Sellers (1925–1980) performed in many genres of light entertainment, including film, radio and theatre. He appeared in the BBC Radio comedy series The Goon Show, recorded a number of hit comic songs and became known internationally through his many film characterisations, among them Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series. English filmmakers the Boulting brothers described Sellers as "the greatest comic genius this country has produced since Charles Chaplin".

<i>30 Is a Dangerous Age, Cynthia</i> 1968 British film by Joseph McGrath

30 Is a Dangerous Age, Cynthia is a 1968 British romantic comedy film directed by Joseph McGrath and starring Dudley Moore, Eddie Foy, Jr. and Suzy Kendall.

<i>Topaze</i> (1936 film) 1936 film

Topaze is a 1936 French comedy film directed by Marcel Pagnol and starring Alexandre Arnaudy, Sylvia Bataille and Pierre Asso. It is based on the Pagnol's own 1928 play Topaze. A separate adaptation Topaze had been directed by Louis J. Gasnier three years earlier.

"Topaze" is a 1966 Australian TV play based on the 1928 play by the French writer Marcel Pagnol. It aired on 6 April 1966 in Sydney, on 30 March 1966 in Melbourne, and on 27 April 1966 in Brisbane.

Topaze (<i>Playhouse 90</i>) 3rd episode of the 2nd season of Playhouse 90

"Topaze" was an American television play broadcast on September 26, 1957, as part of the second season of the CBS television series Playhouse 90. Ellis St. Joseph wrote the teleplay based on Marcel Pagnol's 1928 play, Topaze. Vincent J. Donehue directed, Martin Manulis was the producer, and Robert Drasnin composed the music. Sterling Hayden was the host, and Ernie Kovacs and Carl Reiner starred.

References

  1. "I Like Money (1961) - Peter Sellers - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  2. "Mr. Topaze". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  3. "Mr. Topaze (1961)". Archived from the original on 15 April 2018.
  4. Sikov, Ed (19 August 2011). Mr Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers. Pan Macmillan. ISBN   9781447207146 via Google Books.
  5. Calvario, Liz (30 April 2016). "Peter Sellers' 'Lost' 1961 Directorial Debut 'Mr. Topaze' Was Restored From His Original Prints".
  6. "britmovie.co.uk / Mr. Topaze". Archived from the original on 5 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  7. "Mr. Topaze". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 28 (324): 60. 1 January 1961 via ProQuest.
  8. Crowther, Bosley (19 May 1962). "Screen: Sellers Stars in 'I Like Money'; Film Based on Play by Marcel Pagnol Comedian Attempts a Serio-Comic Role The Cast" via NYTimes.com.
  9. "Stanley Kauffmann on films". The New Republic. 28 May 1962.
  10. Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 687. ISBN   0586088946.
  11. Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 620. ISBN   9780992936440.