The Comedians (1967)

Set in the Haiti of "Papa Doc" Duvalier, The Comedians tells the story of a sardonic white hotel owner and his encroaching fatalism as he watches Haiti sink into barbarism. Complications ... See full summary »

Director:

Peter Glenville

Writers:

Graham Greene (novel), Graham Greene (screenplay)

Stars:

Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Alec Guinness

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Richard Burton	...	Brown
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Martha Pineda
Alec Guinness	...	Major H. O. Jones
Peter Ustinov	...	Ambassador Manuel Pineda
Paul Ford	...	Smith
Lillian Gish	...	Mrs. Smith
Georg Stanford Brown	...	Henri Philipot
Roscoe Lee Browne	...	Petit Pierre
Gloria Foster	...	Mrs. Philipot
James Earl Jones	...	Dr. Magiot
Zakes Mokae	...	Michel
Douta Seck	...	Joseph
Raymond St. Jacques	...	Captain Concasseur
Cicely Tyson	...	Marie Therese

Storyline

Set in the Haiti of "Papa Doc" Duvalier, The Comedians tells the story of a sardonic white hotel owner and his encroaching fatalism as he watches Haiti sink into barbarism. Complications include a friendship with a rebel leader, politically "charged" hotel guests, an affair with the wife of a European ambassador, and the manipulations of a conniving British arms dealer.

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Plot Keywords:

haiti | arms dealer | rebel | bribery | tears | 

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Taglines:

They lie, they cheat, they destroy...they even try to love.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA France

Language:

English French Haitian Spanish

Release Date:

31 October 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Los comediantes

Filming Locations:

Benin

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Maximillian Productions, Trianon Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

150 min 152 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

To get Elizabeth Taylor to do the film at a "bargain" salary, producer/director Peter Glenville told her that he had offered it to Sophia Loren. She promptly cut her customary $1 million salary in half and signed on.

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Goofs

In the last few shots in the movie, as the Character is leaving the airport, there is initially a departing Vickers VC10 airliner flying overhead from right to left, this changes to a close up, followed by a shot of the same airliner now flying into the distance - unfortunately this is different 4 engine Jetliner, probably a Boeing 707.

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Quotes

Dr. Magiot: Papa Doc allows us to study the theory of communism. If there were no communists at all, what help would he get from the United States?

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Connections

Referenced in Masked and Anonymous (2003)

User Reviews

The Iguana who came in from the Cold....

The comments by the reviewer from Dubai, UAE, are much to the point, also recognizing the subtle jibes to the actors' roles in previous films. That Graham Greene wrote both the book and the screenplay, and was on hand during the shooting in Dahomey (information from a brief trailer on the recent TCM showing), gives a depth and complexity to the film that remind one also of Bunuel and Tavernier, in whose hands ironic humor and deadly politics are inevitably a subtext.

Peter Glenville seems not to have been a prolific director, and even his handful of films are not well know to American audiences (possibly "Becket" is an exception, though it has not been replayed in years), but his few works stand out for their dramatic quality, literacy and superb casting. He favored several of the seasoned actors seen here (many Shakespearean trained), Guinness (Prisoner, Hotel Paradiso), Burton (Becket). Once again, when the points of the magic triangle of script, director and cast come together in balance, the result is a superior film (of course we cannot omit the cinematographer, as chosen by the director).

"Comedians" has an unfortunate title that may have contributed to its demise for a popular audience. Its blatant irony belongs in the category of films in which the political matrix is the setting for the revelation (or non-revelation) of character. To name some outstanding examples: "The Third Man," "Spy who came in from the Cold," "Day of the Jackal," "Night of the Iguana," "Wages of Fear."

In this film, the pacing and structure are subtly conceived: even though there is a lot of random killing depicted, the quiet exchange between Burton and Guinness during the latter's escape is the eye of the tornado, with all else raging around it. The young James Earl Jones and other black actors give strong support, and are a match for the sad ennui of Ustinov's diplomat. Taylor, who sports a German accent as Ustinov's wife (the only time she's been called upon to do so?), discharges her role creditably, due in no small part to her chemistry with Burton and to his personal gravitas.

In all, this film and the director Glenville really ought to be better known. It is a sad commentary that a movie made about dictators in 1967 could still be so prescient.

A four **** movie.