The World of Henry Orient

The World of Henry Orient
The World of Henry Orient movie poster
Directed by	George Roy Hill
Written by	Nora Johnson (novel and screenplay) Nunnally Johnson (screenplay)
Produced by	Jerome Hellman
Starring	Peter Sellers Paula Prentiss Merrie Spaeth Tippy Walker
Cinematography	Boris Kaufman Arthur J. Ornitz
Edited by	Stuart Gilmore
Music by	Elmer Bernstein
Distributed by	MGM
Release date	1964
Running time	106 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The World of Henry Orient is a 1964 comedy film based on the novel of the same name by Nora Johnson. It was directed by George Roy Hill and stars Peter Sellers, Paula Prentiss, Angela Lansbury, Tippy Walker and Merrie Spaeth. Filming started in June of 1963 and wrapped sometime in October of that year. The premiere was at Radio City Music Hall on March 19, 1964. In 1965 the film was nominated for a "Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy" Golden Globe Award and a "Best Written American Comedy" Writers Guild of America Award. The World of Henry Orient has influenced more recent films like Ghost World.

Synopsis

Concert pianist Henry Orient (Sellers) is having an affair with a married woman, Stella Dunnworthy (Prentiss), while two preteen private-school girls, Valerie Boyd (Tippy Walker) and Marian Gilbert (Merrie Spaeth), stalk Orient and write their fantasies in a diary. Much of the humor of the film derives from Orient's paranoia that the two girls, who seem to pop up everywhere he goes, are spies sent by the husband of his mistress. When Val's mother, Isabel Boyd (Angela Lansbury), finds their diary, she suspects that Henry has acted inappropriately with her daughter. Tom Bosley has a supporting role as Mr. Boyd.

The pianist's unusual surname, "Orient", is because Nora Johnson based the character of Henry Orient on Oscar Levant, a real-life concert pianist, raconteur and film actor. A region of Asia Minor is known as the Levant; Johnson was attempting a play on the words "Levant" and "Orient". In the film, the only comment on the pianist's unusual name occurs when his two teenage fans put on Chinese conical hats and address their idol as "Oriental Henry".

Musical adaptation

A Broadway musical adaptation of The World of Henry Orient opened at the Palace Theatre, New York in New York City on October 23, 1967. Renamed Henry, Sweet Henry, it starred Don Ameche as Henry Orient, Neva Small as Marian Gilbert, Robin Wilson as Valerie Boyd, Milo Bouton as Mr Boyd, Carol Bruce as Mrs. Boyd and Louise Lasser as Stella. The show ran for 80 performances and closed on December 31, 1967, receiving less than stellar reviews. George Roy Hill directed, with Michael Bennett handling the choreography. The music and lyrics were by Bob Merrill.

External links

• The World of Henry Orient at IMDb
• Complete list of actors who were considered for roles
• MGM site with stills, samples from the soundtrack and soundbites of dialogue