What's New Pussycat (1965)

A playboy who refuses to give up his hedonistic lifestyle to settle down and marry his true love seeks help from a demented psychoanalyst who is having romantic problems of his own.

Director:

Clive Donner

Writer:

Woody Allen (original screenplay)

Stars:

Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, Romy Schneider

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Sellers	...	Dr. Fritz Fassbender
Peter O'Toole	...	Michael James (as Peter O'toole)
Romy Schneider	...	Carole Werner
Capucine	...	Renée Lefevre
Paula Prentiss	...	Liz Bien
Woody Allen	...	Victor Shakapopulis
Ursula Andress	...	Rita
Eddra Gale	...	Anna Fassbender (as Edra Gale)
Katrin Schaake	...	Jacqueline
Eléonore Hirt	...	Mrs. Werner (as Eleonor Hirt)
Jean Parédès	...	Marcel (as Jean Paredes)
Jacques Balutin	...	Etienne
Jess Hahn	...	Mr. Werner
Howard Vernon	...	Doctor
Michel Subor	...	Philippe

Storyline

Michael James, a notorious womanizer, desperately wants to be faithful to his fiancée Carole, but runs into serious problems since every woman he meets seems to fall in love with him. His psychoanalyst Dr. Fassbender can't help him either since he's busy courting one of his patients who in turn longs for Michael. A catastrophe appears on the horizon as all the characters check into the Chateau Chantelle hotel for the weekend not knowing of each other's presence.

---

Plot Keywords:

farce | chateau | hotel | title based on song | angel wings | 

---

Taglines:

How You Cats Will Laugh when you see the answer to the comedy question of the year!!!

---

Genres:

Comedy

---

Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chosen by Samuel L. Jackson as the film that influenced him most for AFI's "Private Screenings."

---

Goofs

When Michael arrives at Carol's apartment he's carrying a pot of flowers. The flowers he takes out of the car are a very light pink. After he enters the apartment, the flowers he's holding are completely different - a much darker, brighter pink and their shape and arrangement are also different.

---

Quotes

Michael James: Pussycat? I'm off. See you tomorrow.
Carole Werner: Have fun. You sure you're not meeting some dolly?
Michael James: Trust, my darling, trust.

---

Crazy Credits

The opening credits feature animated titles of the main seven cast members. Peter Sellers's credit appears backwards, so the film stops briefly to correct this.

---

Connections

Referenced in Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972)

---

Soundtracks

Dance Mamma, Dance Pappa, Dance
(1965) (uncredited)
Music by Burt Bacharach
Lyrics by Hal David

User Reviews

Feather-light entertainment

Some have "analyzed" this (movie) with the heavy, combat-boot tone of the cerebral and moral second-millennium spirit. They say it belongs to the past, the bad bad bad 60s, full of irresponsibility and partying, sexual license and depravity.

Well I say HA! --- HA! HA!

Forget all those (mostly young!) preachers and dive into a silly, inconsequential, wacky movie, full of unrealistic characters doing unrealistic things. It is colorful, full of joy and beautiful people, unpretentious and charming. And in the end, the guy gets the girl and they get married.

As a young boomer, watching this is like slipping into Hush Puppies. You may say what you want about or against the "guilty" innocence of that era, but it sure was comfortable! I miss those times. And a note for the moderns: we were not that innocent, we knew that some of this was dangerous ground... but what do you know, living is the thing that makes you die.

Details

Country:

France USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

22 June 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

What's New Pussycat

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Gross USA:

$18,820,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Famous Artists Productions, Famartists Productions S.A.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1