The Millionairess ** (1960, Sophia Loren, Peter Sellers, Alastair Sim) – Classic Movie Review 1804

Director Anthony Asquith’s 1960 British romantic comedy film The Millionairess may be less than dazzling but at least has the huge virtue of bringing together Sophia Loren and Peter Sellers on screen. Loren stars as a ravishing millionairess called Epifania Parerga, sharing the screen with Sellers, who is merrily hamming away as an Indian doctor, Ahmed El Kabir, in this rickety 1960 movie version of George Bernard Shaw’s play, which isn’t really among his best anyway.

Set in London, it is a loose adaptation by screen-writer Wolf Mankowitz of Shaw’s 1936 play.

The millionairess is attracted to the London East End doctor, but each cannot marry the other till they meet their parents’ conditions. Dr El Kabir tells Epifania that he made a commitment to his late widowed seamstress mother that he will wed any woman who can survive on 500 rupees or 35 shillings for 90 days. Epifania tells the doctor that her late father said to satisfy conditions of his will she must get married again to a man who will turn £500 into £1,5000 also in 90 days.

It turns out that Epifania has found somebody in the London East End doctor that she just can’t buy. And that’s the story’s theme.

All seems set fair with the casting. Among the successes, Alastair Sim is a lawyer named Julius Sagamore and Dennis Price plays a lover called Dr Adrian Bland. But writer Wolf Mankowitz and director Asquith can’t seem to get the piece out of the theatre and fully on to the screen. And genial though both players Sellers and Loren are, each lifting the often flat material, neither star performance is quite rich enough to fill the bill entirely. But it is still quite a lot of fun to see Sellers and Loren performing together.

The stars had a hit with the comedy duet song ‘Goodness Gracious Me’, which frustratingly doesn’t appear in the film. George Martin commissioned David Lee and Herbert Kretzmer to write the song but the film’s producers did not agree to it being incorporated into the film, so it was released as a stand-alone single to promote the film and became a UK chart hit. 

Danny Kaye puts in an uncredited cameo as Tommy True.

Vittorio De Sica, Gary Raymond, Alfie Bass, Miriam Karlin, Noel Purcell, Virginia Vernon, Graham Stark, Diana Coupland, Pauline Jameson, Eleanor Summerfield, Willoughby Goddard, Basil Hoskins, Gordon Sterne, Tempe Adam, Wally Patch and Charles Hill also appear.

It was a hit as one of the most popular movies at the British box office in 1960, and also in the US and Canada, where it grossed $2.9 million.

It was shot at Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK.

Loren, then 24, was left ‘shocked and sobbing’ and offered a £20,000 reward after a chest of drawers at her hotel near Elstree, Hertfordshire, was forced open and a leather case containing diamonds, emeralds and rubies worth £185,000 taken. No one was ever charged and the jewels were never found.

Sofia Villani Scicolone, Sophia Loren, was born on 20 September 1934.

Gary Raymond was born on 20 April 1935 and has been married since 1961 to actress Delena Kidd with three children.

The cast are Sophia Loren as Epifania Parerga, Peter Sellers as Dr Ahmed el Kabir, Alastair Sim as Julius Sagamore, Vittorio De Sica as Joe, Dennis Price as Dr Adrian Bland, Gary Raymond as Alastair Fitzfassenden, Alfie Bass as Fish Curer, Miriam Karlin as Mrs Joe, Noel Purcell as Professor Merton, Virginia Vernon as Polly, Graham Stark as Butler, Diana Coupland as Nurse, Pauline Jameson as Muriel Pilkington, Eleanor Summerfield as Mrs. Willoughby, Willoughby Goddard as President, Basil Hoskins as 1st Secretary, Gordon Sterne as 2nd Secretary, Tempe Adam as Gloria, Wally Patch as Whelk Seller Tubby Isaacs, and Charles Hill as Corelli.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 1804

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