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35-642: Clive Stanley Donner (21 January 1926 – 6 September 2010) was a British film director who was part of the British New Wave , directing films such as The Caretaker , Nothing but the Best , What's New Pussycat? , and Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush . He also directed television movies and commercials through the mid-1990s. Donner was born in West Hampstead , London. His father

70-547: A costume designer whom he met while working on Alfred the Great and married in 1971, had died in 2005. Donner discusses the making of all his films in the book Six English Filmmakers (2014, Paul Sutton) ISBN   978-0957246256 British New Wave The British New Wave was characterised by many of the same stylistic and thematic conventions as the French New Wave. Usually in black and white, these films had

105-416: A documentary series about India. Donner's breakthrough directing role came with The Caretaker (1963), a film made with a low-budget funded almost entirely by financial contributions starting at £1,000 each from such individuals as Richard Burton , Noël Coward , Peter Sellers and Elizabeth Taylor , with the stars bypassing their standard fees and taking shares of the film's revenue. The movie, based on

140-509: 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. 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?

175-445: 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. 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

210-452: A new manager came in, Connery, and Rank released him from his contract. Donner directed some commercials and some short features based on Edgar Wallace novels. He did Some People (1962), a film about a group of alienated youths who form a rock band, starring Kenneth More and Ray Brooks . His television work during that time included episodes of Danger Man (1960) and Sir Francis Drake (1961–62), as well as Mighty and Mystical ,

245-417: A number of low-budget films, starting with The Secret Place (1957), a crime drama about a troubled youth, starring Belinda Lee , Ronald Lewis , and David McCallum . After this Donner says he turned down Rooney and a film which he said was a copy of Genevieve with gliders. Then he agreed to make Heart of a Child (1958) a melodrama starring Jean Anderson and Donald Pleasence . Donner says then

280-555: A philosophy of cinema which found expression in what became known as the Free Cinema Movement in Britain by the late 1950s. This was the belief that the cinema must break away from its class-bound attitudes and that the working classes ought to be seen on Britain's screens. Along with Karel Reisz, Tony Richardson , and others he secured funding from a variety of sources (including Ford of Britain ) and they each made

315-403: A series of socially challenging short documentaries on a variety of subjects. These films, made in the tradition of British documentaries in the 1930s by such men as John Grierson , foreshadowed much of the social realism of British cinema which emerged in the 1960s with Anderson's own film This Sporting Life , Reisz's Saturday Night and Sunday Morning , and Richardson's The Loneliness of

350-477: 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

385-560: A spontaneous quality, often shot in a pseudo-documentary (or cinéma vérité ) style on real locations and with real people rather than extras, apparently capturing life as it happens. There is considerable overlap between the New Wave and the angry young men , those artists in British theatre and film such as playwright John Osborne and director Tony Richardson , who challenged the social status quo . Their work drew attention to

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420-528: Is a comedy based on the television series Get Smart , which featured Don Adams reprising his role as secret agent Maxwell Smart. This was followed by the parody Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981) featuring Angie Dickinson , Michelle Pfeiffer , and Peter Ustinov . Stealing Heaven (1988) is a costume drama based on the 12th-century romance of Peter Abelard and Héloïse and

455-500: 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

490-401: 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

525-746: 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. 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,

560-589: 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

595-649: The New Statesman . In one of his early and most well-known polemical pieces, Stand Up, Stand Up , he outlined his theories of what British cinema should become. Following a series of screenings which he organised at the National Film Theatre of independently produced short films including his own Every Day Except Christmas (about the Covent Garden fruit and vegetable market), Karel Reisz's Momma Don't Allow and others, he developed

630-457: The King's Head Theatre , Islington was ultimately produced internationally. Donner directed the film Vampira (US: Old Dracula , 1974), a comedy horror film of the vampire genre that sought to piggyback on the commercial success of Young Frankenstein for its US release. He directed the made-for-television movie Spectre (1977), produced by Gene Roddenberry . The Nude Bomb (1980)

665-525: The Royal Army Educational Corps , and afterwards was hired by Pinewood Studios as a film editor, where the movies he worked on included Scrooge (1951), with Alastair Sim ; The Card (1952), with Alec Guinness ; Genevieve (1953), a comedy about a vintage car rally; The Million Pound Note (1954), with Gregory Peck ; and I Am a Camera (1955), with Laurence Harvey . Donner began his professional directing career on

700-457: The play by Murray Schisgal , starred Peter Falk , Jack Lemmon and Elaine May , but the addition of locations and characters to the original work led to criticism of the casting and direction, and the film was a commercial failure. Donner rounded out the 1960s with the 9th-century period piece Alfred the Great (1969), starring David Hemmings . In 1973, Donner's essay into theatre, directing Robert Patrick 's play Kennedy's Children at

735-539: The 1950s and foreshadowed some of what was to come. Among this group of critic/documentary film makers was Lindsay Anderson who was a prominent critic writing for the influential Sequence magazine (1947–52), which he co-founded with Gavin Lambert and Karel Reisz (later a prominent director); writing for the British Film Institute 's journal Sight and Sound and the left-wing political weekly

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770-837: The Long Distance Runner . By 1964, the cycle was essentially over. Tony Richardson's Tom Jones , Richard Lester 's A Hard Day's Night and the early James Bond films ushered in a new era for British cinema, now suddenly popular in the United States . What%27s New Pussycat%3F 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)

805-878: The atmosphere as stimulating. 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

840-506: 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 . 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

875-459: 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

910-529: 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

945-416: The play of the same name by Harold Pinter , was filmed in black-and-white with cinematography by Nicolas Roeg . Donner's next film, Nothing but the Best (1964), was a satire on the British class system starring Alan Bates and Denholm Elliott , based on a screenplay by Frederic Raphael . The film tells the story of Jimmy Brewster (played by Bates) as a lower-class striver who seeks to move up in

980-481: The reality of life for the working classes , especially in the North of England , often characterised as "It's grim up north". This particular type of drama, centred on class and the nitty-gritty of day-to-day life, was also known as kitchen sink realism . Like the French New Wave, where many of the filmmakers began as film critics and journalists, in Britain critical writing about the state of British cinema began in

1015-412: The role of his psychoanalyst, Dr. Fassbender. The success of the title song , performed by Tom Jones , added to the motion picture's success with audiences. Woody Allen , who wrote the screenplay and made his first screen appearance in the movie, hated the end result, commenting that the vision he had for the movie in his original script had been distorted. Donner's film Luv (1967), an adaptation of

1050-546: The system under the tutelage of his upper crust instructor Charlie Prince (Elliott). Donner's first large-budget film was What's New Pussycat? (1965), an American-financed comedy shot in France, starring Peter O'Toole and Peter Sellers . O'Toole played the womanizer Michael James, who does his best to remain faithful to his fiancée Carole Werner ( Romy Schneider ), while numerous women – Ursula Andress , Capucine , Paula Prentiss – fall in love with him, with Sellers playing

1085-544: Was Donner's last theatrical film. For television, Donner directed a film version of The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982) with Ian McKellen and Jane Seymour and productions based on two Charles Dickens novels, Oliver Twist (1982) and A Christmas Carol (1984), both starring George C. Scott . Donner died at age 84 on 7 September 2010 at a carer home in Virginia Water , Surrey, due to complications of Alzheimer's disease . His Australian wife, Jocelyn Rickards ,

Clive Donner - Misplaced Pages Continue

1120-477: Was a concert violinist and his mother ran a dress shop; his grandparents were Polish-Jewish immigrants. Donner began his filmmaking career while attending Kilburn Polytechnic. He began working in the film industry as a cutting-room assistant at Denham Studios , having gained the job after joining his father, who was at the studio to record the soundtrack for the film The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943). Donner did his eighteen months of National Service with

1155-473: 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

1190-464: 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

1225-442: 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

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