The lion in winter becomes a kitty cat on a holiday in this variation of a George Bernard Shaw farce that probably doesn't work on stage other than as a spoof, a fractured fairy tale version of those Mr. Peabody views of history on the Rocky and Bullwinkle show on Saturday mornings. Beautiful Jeanne Moreau is the perfect age to play Catherine the Great in 1776 Russia, sparring with British nobleman Peter O'Toole on a state visit and dealing with the pompous Potemkin, played as an overdressed pumpkin by the hammy Zero Mostel as if he was Tevye's great grandfather as Potemkin's look-alike in a "Prisoner of Zenda" subplot.
Seemingly having prepared for his part by studying the over-acting of Peter Ustinov in another 1960's flop ("John Goldfarb, Please Come Home"), Mostel seems intent on giving two performances, obviously upset at losing the role of Tevye in the film version of "Fiddler on the Roof") by screeching every line as if telling Norman Jewison off for not casting him. "Tell him to cast Topol's son!", Mostel told his son Joshua when Jewisin offered the younger Mostel the role of King Herod in the film version of "Jesus Christ Superstar". Don't be surprised when a Russian dance erupts the story (what there is of one) that appears to be on uppers.
So deliciously bad, this cartoon like farce is outrageously over acted and an even bigger joke historically. It makes the 1945 farce "A Royal Scandal" seem closer to Dietrich's "Catherine the Great", even with Tallulah Bankhead's hysterical Southern drawl trying to pass as Russian. Moreau tries to add some dignity, but every scene she has with you either Mostel or O'Toole ends up with unintentional laughs. Perhaps some laughs were intended, but the goal for those laughs got sidetracked by the ultimate absurdity. All the slapstick eventually makes you long for a Blake Edwards or Mel Brooks version, giving this an absurd place in cinema's place in presenting the history of the world. Those two comic masters would have this subtle in comparison, and that's a quality those two comic director legends are not known for.
Seemingly having prepared for his part by studying the over-acting of Peter Ustinov in another 1960's flop ("John Goldfarb, Please Come Home"), Mostel seems intent on giving two performances, obviously upset at losing the role of Tevye in the film version of "Fiddler on the Roof") by screeching every line as if telling Norman Jewison off for not casting him. "Tell him to cast Topol's son!", Mostel told his son Joshua when Jewisin offered the younger Mostel the role of King Herod in the film version of "Jesus Christ Superstar". Don't be surprised when a Russian dance erupts the story (what there is of one) that appears to be on uppers.
So deliciously bad, this cartoon like farce is outrageously over acted and an even bigger joke historically. It makes the 1945 farce "A Royal Scandal" seem closer to Dietrich's "Catherine the Great", even with Tallulah Bankhead's hysterical Southern drawl trying to pass as Russian. Moreau tries to add some dignity, but every scene she has with you either Mostel or O'Toole ends up with unintentional laughs. Perhaps some laughs were intended, but the goal for those laughs got sidetracked by the ultimate absurdity. All the slapstick eventually makes you long for a Blake Edwards or Mel Brooks version, giving this an absurd place in cinema's place in presenting the history of the world. Those two comic masters would have this subtle in comparison, and that's a quality those two comic director legends are not known for.