Starring Rex Harrison, Anthony Newley, Samantha Eggar, and William Dix
Directed by Richard Fleischer
Music and Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse
The enormous success of Mary Poppins in 1964 opened the floodgates for a tidal wave of epic family musicals. Doctor Dolittle may have been the most problematic of the movies that followed in its wake. Fox had tried to adapt the Doctor Doolittle book series since the 1920's. They finally got to it in 1963, when producer Arthur P. Jacobs bought the rights and convinced Rex Harrison it would be a splendid follow-up to My Fair Lady. Does it reach the heights of Harrison's previous musical, or should it be tossed into the loony bin? Let's begin at Puddley-On-the-Marsh, England, as young Tommy Stubbins (Dix) tries to find someone to care for his injured duck, and find out...
The Story: Tommy's introduced to Dr. Dolittle (Harrison) by his good friend, animal food peddler Matthew Mugg (Newley). Dolittle is an animal doctor who had once tended to people, but found animals to be far more congenial. Victorian beauty Emma Fairfax (Eggar) doesn't share his sentiments initially after her uncle General Bellows (Peter Bull) accuses Dolittle of stealing his horse. Dolittle actually fitted it with glasses. Emma doesn't appreciate how he treats humans, but Matthew thinks she's wonderful.
Dolittle's real interest is funding an expedition to find the Giant Pink Sea Snail. A friend from America sends him a rare llama-like animal with two heads on either side. He sells it to the circus, where it's the star attraction. Also at the circus is Sophie, a seal who misses her mate badly. He dresses her in women's clothing and tosses her into the sea. Fishermen think she's an actual human and accuse him of murder. Dolittle talks to Bellows' dog to convince them he's only trying to help animals, but now they think he's crazy and send him to an insane asylum.
The animals help Dolittle to escape. They join Emma, Matthew, and Tommy on the expedition to the Atlantic Ocean. They choose the floating Sea Star Island as their destination...and wash up there anyway during a storm. The well-read natives think Dolittle is the reason their animals are all sick, but it turns out to be the chilly waters. Dolittle's attempt to have them pushed further south first nearly gets them killed, then treated like gods. And then there's where the Pink Sea Snail turns up...
The Song and Dance: No matter how much Harrison complained, Bricusse did come up with a very charming score. There's some lovely cinematography, too, especially on the island and in England, and absolutely stunning costumes. Richard Attenborough, later known as a director, has a great cameo as the head of the circus who buys the two-headed llama. He even gets one of the film's best numbers. Some of Dolittle's interactions with the animals are genuinely funny, like his discussions with Polynesia the Parrot or how Rufus, Bellows' dog, is able to tell him details of his master's life at the trial. And I really don't know of many movies set during the early Victorian era; most tend to skip to the Civil War period or the years immediately following.
Favorite Number: Newley kicks things off with "My Friend the Doctor" as he tells Tommy what a wonderful man Dolittle is. Harrison gets two big patter numbers with his menagerie, "The Vegetarian" as he explains why he doesn't eat meat, and the Oscar-winning "Talk to the Animals," which shows how he can do just that. Alfred Blossom the circus owner is thrilled that "I've Never Seen Anything Like It" as he and his performers build the two-headed llama into the biggest animal attraction in England.
Matthew and Emma describe a world of "Beautiful Things" as he shows her around the circus and starts to fall for her. Dolittle's not nearly so lucky as he tries to tell the magistrate why humans should behave "Like Animals." Matthew's "After Today" has him boasting of what he'll do when he takes off for adventure, while all five leads sing about the "Fabulous Places" they hope to visit after they're on the ship. Dolittle and Emma dance around the idea that "I Think I Like You" once they get on the island. Matthew has more fun telling the kids stories of "The World of Doctor Dolittle."
Trivia: Filming this movie was an unpleasant experience for all concerned. Both England and the tropical island had constant rain delays. Harrison spent the shoot behaving like a jerk to everyone in firing range, insulting his co-stars, cutting down their roles, and making unreasonable demands. The animals were unruly and refused to pretty much do anything. Polynesia kept yelling "Cut!" and making people think she was directing. A goat ate Fleischer's script. Ducks couldn't swim and had to be rescued. The residents were even worse, with one almost blowing up the set.
20th Century Fox thought so much of the movie, they launched a huge merchandising campaign behind it, then treated the Academy Awards voters to huge dinners in order for the movie to get a Best Picture nomination. All they got out of it were Oscars for "Talk to the Animals" and the special effects and millions of dollars lost on unsold merchandise, including a million copies of the soundtrack.
Newley and Harrison were supposed to have a song reflecting their growing feelings about Emma, "Where are the Words," while Harrison had a ballad on his relationship with her, "Something In Your Smile." "Something In Your Smile" and Newley's version of "Where are the Words" are on the soundtrack album, but Harrison's vocals for "Words" and all of the footage has since been lost.
Richard Burton and Richard Harris were in contention for Dolittle early-on. Christopher Plummer was almost called in as a replacement when Harrison balked at the demands of the role. Other possible Dolittles included Peter Ustinov, Peter Sellars, Alec Guinness, Peter O'Toole, and Jack Lemmon. John Huston and Vincent Minnelli were in the running to direct.
What I Don't Like: People online have praised Harrison as Dolittle, but I think he and Newley are miscast. The doctor's supposed to be shy with humans and warm with animals, not cold and inconsiderate to both. Newley's trying way too hard to be upbeat with a man he didn't like and a bad Irish accent. Some of the antics with the animals push from "goofy" into downright idiotic, like Dolittle singing the sweet love ballad "When I Look In Your Eyes" to Sophie the seal dressed as a woman. His "Talk to the Animals" sounds nearly funereal for such a sprightly song. (Newley and Sammy Davis Jr., among others, would do it much better in later years.)
Eggar's role was added for the film. Most of the romantic triangle between Emma, Matthew, and Dolittle was cut, making her interest in him towards the end of the film far too sudden and leaving her with little to do. There's no reason for the movie to behave like she's in the wrong for pointing out what a jerk he is, either, and constantly punishing her for it. None of the leads have a dollop of chemistry, once again likely caused by Harrison's obnoxious behavior on the set.
The biggest problem is the extravagant length. You feel every minute of those 2 1/2 hours. The film moves slower than the Pink Sea Snail, and is often about as interesting to watch. The special effects won an Oscar and were much-touted at the time, but they now look annoyingly dated, especially that obviously mechanical sea snail. There's also the stereotypes being tossed around, not only for the natives (though they defy it by being book-smart), but also the Native who sends Dolittle the two-headed llama.
The Big Finale: The movie has a lot of fans online who either saw it in the theater or on cable or video as a kid and enjoyed it. If you can get them to sit for it, or are able to split it into several days' viewing, kids might be the best audience for this nowadays. They'll enjoy the animal antics and ignore the slow plot and out-of-place romance. For adults who didn't grow up with it, I recommend looking up the soundtrack and ignoring the rest.
Home Media: Easy to find on DVD and streaming. The Twilight Time Blu-Ray is expensive.
No comments:
Post a Comment