The Adding Machine (1969)

Director:

Jerome Epstein

Writers:

Jerome Epstein (writer)
Elmer Rice (play)

Release Date:

23 September 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Comedy

Tagline:

The motion picture that adds up to an excursion into the absurd.

Plot:

An accountant whose job is about to be taken over by a computer starts to re-examine his life and his priorities. |

Plot Keywords:

Adding Machine | Afterlife | Electric Chair | Employment | Murder

Cast

Milo O'Shea	...	Mr. Zero
Phyllis Diller	...	Mrs. Zero
Billie Whitelaw	...	Daisy Devore
Sydney Chaplin	...	Lieutenant Charles
Julian Glover	...	Shrdlu
Raymond Huntley	...	Smithers
Phil Brown	...	Don
Paddie O'Neil	...	Mabel
Libby Morris	...	Ethel
Hugh McDermott	...	Harry
Bill Nagy	...	Lawyer
Carol Cleveland	...	Judy
Bruce Boa	...	Detective
Kenny Damon	...	Joe
John Brandon	...	First cell jailer

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:M

Company:

Associated London Films

Trivia:

Billie Whitelaw was cast after seven high profile US leading ladies passed.

A quirky tale of life and the afterlife

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I had been searching for this movie for over a decade after seeing it on late night TV in the 1980's. I finally had the opportunity to see it again on one of my satellite's movie channels. Although my memory was sketchy, I remembered it as an odd but intriguing commentary on life.

This movie stars Milo O'Shea as Mr. Zero, a man who lives on the periphery of life. Phyllis Diller, in a rare dramatic role, plays his harpy of a wife. Mr. Zero's only distraction from her shrewish tyranny lies in his fascination with the woman of ill repute working in a room across from their bedroom window. When Mrs. Zero finds him spying on her, she forces him to report her to the police. Thus, he is forced to personally cut off his only avenue of escape.

At work, he has spent 25 meaningless years adding columns of numbers, with the aid of Daisy Devore, played by Billie Whitelaw. Zero has been so shrunken by his life that he can't even admit to himself that he is attracted to Daisy.

His boss, who can't remember Zero's name even after being reminded of it, announces that Zero's reward for his years of faithful service is to be replaced by an adding machine. Later that evening, during a dreary gathering of acquaintances in their apartment, Zero is arrested for the murder of his boss.

After his trial and conviction, Zero is executed and finds himself in Heaven. Nothing is as he expects it to be in the afterlife and Zero must now examine his beliefs and his own character. Has he learned anything from his experiences, or will he spend eternity constrained by his own shortcomings?