A story of friendship, celebrity, and the hilarious hijinks that happen when the two cross paths.
I first saw director George Roy Hill’s offbeat film The World of Henry Orient a year and a half ago. Although it wasn’t SUCH a long time ago, I decided that the film’s home video re-release was enough to prompt a revisiting. When I first saw the film, I can’t say that I was all that impressed by it. I thought the story was jumbled and unfocused before eventually veering into territory which went against what had come before. Likewise, I didn’t much care for it how saddled its iconic leading man with one of the most sketchily-drawn characters he ever played and the off-putting performance he gave as a result. So why did I choose to revisit The World of Henry Orient? To put it simply, it’s one of those films that, no matter how hard I tried, I was never able to shake off.
Reportedly based on a real-life incident which had happened to Tony Bennett, The World of Henry Orient centers on young teen Gil (Merrie Spaeth) and her best friend Val (Tippy Walker) who start to follow a renowned, egocentric concert pianist named Henry Orient (Peter Sellers) around New York City after the latter develops a crush on him. While stalking the bewildered musician provides the two girls with a number of fun escapades to engage in, the fun makes an abrupt stop with the appearance of Val’s parents (Angela Lansbury and Tom Bosley).
Two movies populate The World of Henry Orient. The first one is about a friendship taking place at the most delicate of life stages. The film has two great social misfits in Gil and Val, who can get lost in their own world where real life doesn’t touch them much. This is particularly true for Val, whose absentee parents are so rich, she wears a full-length mink coat as if it was a windbreaker. There’s something so magical and innocent in watching the two girls jump up and down, running all over the city and skipping over hydrants that calls to mind the carefree sensibilities those in their youth are afforded. The World of Henry Orient can be classified as coming-of-age in the most purest and gentle of ways. Gil and Val are two girls from opposite walks of life coming together, forming a bond and seeing each other through the most crucial moments of adolescence, from shaving legs to understanding their parents’ marital statuses. At the same time, there’s utter delight at watching the two spontaneously burst into improvised scenarios, perfectly picking up each other’s cues. Seeing them in their scenes fills the audience with such joy and will register with anyone who has ever had real friendship.
The second of the two plots is about an overrated celebrity desperately holding onto his fame. Not helping matters at all is the fact that he’s being driven mad by two schoolgirls who continuously show up, making him unable to focus on keeping his career intact. As a character, Henry is a self-absorbed individual who believes his own publicity more than anyone else, as evidenced by his refusal to practice, which results in him being mobbed by angry concert-goers after a terrible performance. All of it makes his unexpected “predicament” all the more fun to watch. It doesn’t help matters, or the film, much that the title character isn’t as interesting as the two featured ones, but Sellers (ever the pro) does what he can to make the struggling Henry look like the amusing fool he is. However, in the instances when all three show up in the same sequence, the film gives off pure magic, such as the moment when Henry catches sight of Gil and Val in an audience, causing him to throw off his entire performance.
The World of Henry Orient is chock full of great roles for some decent character actors of the day. Television actress Phyllis Thaxter is a warm presence as Gil’s mom, while Bosley gives one of his finest acting turns as a father realizing the kind of life he has made for his daughter. While it may not seem like it at first, Lansbury’s role is a good one and is eventually revealed to be the kind of monstrous mother who might’ve been friends with the actress’s Eleanor Shaw from The Manchurian Candidate. As Henry’s married paramour, Paula Prentiss has little to do other than act nervous that her affair with Henry will be discovered. Yet the actress’s skilled comedy timing saves her from her presence being throwaway. As for the star of the film, Sellers can’t decide on an accent for his character, alternating between nationalities from scene to scene. As a result, this almost manages to fully tear away and distract from the interesting and funny touches he does actually bring to the character.
Despite the presence of Sellers, Lansbury, and Prentiss, there’s no question that The World of Henry Orient belongs to its young stars. Spaeth and Walker both have such great chemistry on screen that the audience can instantly buy them as friends. Moreover, the two are able to wonderfully illustrate the moments where their characters experience growing pains through sensitivity and depth, giving the film touches of wisdom that would normally escape most movies of such an otherwise frothy nature.
Billed as a comedy, The World of Henry Orient is definitely more than a little multi-toned, and at times feels as if it doesn’t know where it’s going. In all honesty, the film’s true comedy can only be found in the number of ways the two girls manage to insert themselves into the life of the main character. The film gets a bit scary (on an emotional level anyhow) and loses some of its fun once Val’s parents enter the picture, mainly because their presence signals the real world and the melancholic darkness that comes with it. Through it all, however, there’s a certain kind of dreaminess, charm, and whimsy that carries the entire film, culminating in an ending which serves as a testament to the endurance of true friendship. It’s Val herself actually, who perfectly, if inadvertently, sums up the film when she says, “You know, I don’t know whether I ought to or not, but I feel awfully happy… in a sort of sad way.”
The World of Henry Orient is now available on DVD from Kino Lorber.
