Fitzwilly (1967)

When Miss Vicki's father dies, she becomes the world's greatest philanthropist. Unfortunately, she is flat broke! Her loyal butler, Claude Fitzwilliam, leads the household staff to rob from... See full summary »

Director:

Delbert Mann

Writers:

Isobel Lennart (screenplay), Poyntz Tyler (based on a novel by)

Stars:

Dick Van Dyke, Barbara Feldon, John McGiver

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dick Van Dyke	...	Claude R. Fitzwilliam
Barbara Feldon	...	Juliet Nowell
John McGiver	...	Albert
Edith Evans	...	Miss Victoria Woodworth
Harry Townes	...	Mr. Nowell
John Fiedler	...	Mr. Morton Dunne
Anne Seymour	...	Grimsby
Norman Fell	...	Oberblatz
Cecil Kellaway	...	Buckmaster
Stephen Strimpell	...	Byron Casey
Helen Kleeb	...	Mrs. Mortimer
Paul Reed	...	Prettikin
Albert Carrier	...	Pierre
Nelson Olmsted	...	Simmons
Dennis Cooney	...	Assistant D.A. Elliot Adams

Storyline

When Miss Vicki's father dies, she becomes the world's greatest philanthropist. Unfortunately, she is flat broke! Her loyal butler, Claude Fitzwilliam, leads the household staff to rob from various businesses by charging goods to various wealthy people and misdirecting the shipments, all to keep Miss Vicki's standard of living. After Fitzwilly's mother died Miss Vicki helped raise him and he loves her like a mother and would do anything for her. With Fitzwilly's encouragement, Miss Vicki writes a "Dictionary for Dopes" which contains all possible phonetic spellings of a word, and gives the reader the correct one, and for that she needs a secretary. Juliet is the one who is hired, soon she is caught up in the intrigue and falls in love with Fitzwilly. They agree to carry out one more caper before they get married, to keep Miss Vicki comfortable for the rest of her days.

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Plot Keywords:

wealthy | dictionary | philanthropist | spelling | butler | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 April 1968 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

The One with the Fuzz

Filming Locations:

High Street, Moorpark, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mirisch Corporation, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First movie appearance of Barbara Feldon.

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Goofs

The glasses Juliet (Barbara Feldon) wears are empty frames.

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Soundtracks

"Deck the Halls"
(uncredited)
Traditional carol

User Reviews

Neat sophisticated Dick Van Dyke comedy.

Dick Van Dyke comedy that relies more on sophisticated comedy than slapstick. Van Dyke plays a sophisticated and proper butler. The old woman he works for is penniless but he keeps this from her allowing her to believe that she is rich and can give thousands of dollars to charities, which she does. The butler is also quite an educated brain and forms the household staff into a Robin Hood band which steals from the rich (namely insurance companies paying off department store thefts) to give to the old woman who in turn turns it over to the charities (minus household expenses). It is all rather organized and quite reminiscent in many ways to the butler role in "Candleshoe" and the gang in "Who's Minding the Mint," without the slapstick. Van Dyke is perfectly cast as the butler thief with good intentions who would do anything to make the woman happy. Barbara Feldon (99 of "Get Smart") arrives as the new secretary upsetting both the criminal acts and the private world of Van Dyke who seemingly for the first time gathers a love interest for someone besides the old woman. Rated G and briskly paced, but a little talky for kids used to Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. A neat film for those that love 1960's comedy and Dick Van Dyke.