The Party

1968
Approved
1h 39m

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

45K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer1:59

Farce Quirky Comedy Satire Slapstick Comedy Romance

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

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

45K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

4,087

2,874

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 nomination total

Trivia
This film was improvised from a 56-page outline. Each scene was shot in sequence and built upon the previous scene. To aid in this experiment, the film's producers had a video-camera tube attached to the Panavision camera and connected to an Ampex studio videotape machine, allowing the actors and crew to review what they had just filmed. According to a contemporary article in Daily Variety this was one of the first productions to use a video camera in this matter. This eliminated the time and expense of developing the film and showing the "rushes" the following day. The cost of this new technology was $1100 per day, but director Blake Edwards said the system saved the production many times that amount by avoiding costly resets and re-shoots on following days.

Goofs
When Hrundi enters the house after being soaked from the garden sprinklers, the make-up around Peter Sellers's eyes begins to run visibly.

Quotes
Hrundi V. Bakshi: We have a saying in India...
Michelle Monet: Yes?
Hrundi V. Bakshi: Yes.
Michelle Monet: Well?
Hrundi V. Bakshi: Well what?

Connections
Edited into Men in the City 2 (2011)

Soundtracks
Nothing to Lose
Lyrics by Don Black
Music by Henry Mancini
Performed by Claudine Longet (uncredited)
[Michele sings the song at the party]

User reviews234

Review

Featured review

8/10

We have a saying in India

Is there a more iconic comedic prologue than The Party's, with Hrundi Bakshi (Peter Sellers, priceless), a bumbling actor involuntarily, repeatedly sabotaging some kind of schlocky adventure / period piece first by refusing to die, then by showing his wholly anachronistic watch and finally by blowing up the set while trying to tie his shoelaces? Because if there is, I can't think of one at the moment.

The movie belongs to veteran comedy director Blake Edwards and especially to Sellers, who provides an hilarious turn as Bakshi, a sweet, meek individual so clumsy and inclined to disaster, he is essentially the human version of a tornado. Material is droll, but at times so thin that with a lesser lead it would have collapsed - Sellers being who he is, the mere sight of him staring with awkward alarm at a toilet which refuses to stop flushing provokes laughter.

8,5/10