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The Comedians

  • 19671967
  • 2h 30m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
2.2K
YOUR RATING
The Comedians (1967)
Trailer for this film based on the novel
Play trailer1:19
1 Video
16 Photos
  • Drama
A cynical Welsh hotel owner secretly romances a diplomat's wife in Haiti, under the violent reign of the despot "Papa Doc" Duvalier.A cynical Welsh hotel owner secretly romances a diplomat's wife in Haiti, under the violent reign of the despot "Papa Doc" Duvalier.A cynical Welsh hotel owner secretly romances a diplomat's wife in Haiti, under the violent reign of the despot "Papa Doc" Duvalier.
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
2.2K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Peter Glenville
  • Writer
    • Graham Greene(novel "The Comedians")
  • Stars
    • Richard Burton
    • Elizabeth Taylor
    • Alec Guinness
Top credits
  • Director
    • Peter Glenville
  • Writer
    • Graham Greene(novel "The Comedians")
  • Stars
    • Richard Burton
    • Elizabeth Taylor
    • Alec Guinness
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 44User reviews
    • 26Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 wins & 1 nomination

    Videos1

    The Comedians
    Trailer 1:19
    The Comedians

    Photos16

    Richard Burton and Lillian Gish in The Comedians (1967)
    Elizabeth Taylor in "The Comedians" 1967 MGM
    The Comedians (1967)
    James Earl Jones and Georg Stanford Brown in The Comedians (1967)
    Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor in The Comedians (1967)
    Lillian Gish and Raymond St. Jacques in The Comedians (1967)
    Lillian Gish in The Comedians (1967)
    Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor in The Comedians (1967)
    Elizabeth Taylor and Peter Ustinov in The Comedians (1967)
    Richard Burton and Lillian Gish in The Comedians (1967)
    Lillian Gish in The Comedians (1967)
    Richard Burton, Lillian Gish, and Zakes Mokae in The Comedians (1967)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Richard Burton
    Richard Burton
    • Brownas Brown
    Elizabeth Taylor
    Elizabeth Taylor
    • Martha Pinedaas Martha Pineda
    Alec Guinness
    Alec Guinness
    • Major H. O. Jonesas Major H. O. Jones
    Peter Ustinov
    Peter Ustinov
    • Ambassador Manuel Pinedaas Ambassador Manuel Pineda
    Paul Ford
    Paul Ford
    • Smithas Smith
    Lillian Gish
    Lillian Gish
    • Mrs. Smithas Mrs. Smith
    Georg Stanford Brown
    Georg Stanford Brown
    • Henri Philipotas Henri Philipot
    Roscoe Lee Browne
    Roscoe Lee Browne
    • Petit Pierreas Petit Pierre
    Gloria Foster
    Gloria Foster
    • Mrs. Philipotas Mrs. Philipot
    James Earl Jones
    James Earl Jones
    • Dr. Magiotas Dr. Magiot
    Zakes Mokae
    Zakes Mokae
    • Michelas Michel
    Douta Seck
    • Josephas Joseph
    Raymond St. Jacques
    Raymond St. Jacques
    • Captain Concasseuras Captain Concasseur
    Cicely Tyson
    Cicely Tyson
    • Marie Thereseas Marie Therese
    Thomas Baptiste
    Thomas Baptiste
    • Haitian Soldieras Haitian Soldier
    • (uncredited)
    Make Bray
    • Haitian Soldieras Haitian Soldier
    • (uncredited)
    Robin Langford
    • Angelito Pinedaas Angelito Pineda
    • (uncredited)
    Dennis Alaba Peters
    • Césaras César
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Peter Glenville
    • Writer
      • Graham Greene(novel "The Comedians") (screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      To get Dame Elizabeth Taylor to do the movie at a "bargain" salary, producer and 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.
    • 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.
    • Quotes

      Petit Pierre: [to Brown] They are waiting for Major Jones. For some reason they believe that only white men are experts in killing.

    • Connections
      Featured in The Comedians in Africa (1967)

    User reviews44

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Impressive characters than actors
    Burton, Taylor, Guinness, and Ustinov are a heady combination but I will not remember the film for any one of their "acting" capabilities as much as the four wonderful main characters woven by Graham Greene and Peter Glenville. There is almost an unrecognizable James Earl Jones whose fabulous voice is overshadowed in this film by those of Burton and the suave Guinness.

    "I have no faith in faith," rants Brown (Burton) the anti-hero of the film--a typical Greene character (compare with Greene's 'The Burnt-out case'). Cynicism is turned into comedy. The splashes of Catholic motifs made in passing reference ("defrocked priest") hark back to Burton's earlier role in "Night of Iguana." Guinness' reference to looking like a "Lawrence of Arabia" recalls his own role as Prince Faisal in Lean's movie. Not having read Greene's book, I am not sure whether Greene introduced these clever details into the script to suit the actors or whether the details had previously existed in the book.

    The gradual unmasking of the Major (Guinness) is a treat creatively captured by Glenville and Greene. The final speech made by Burton to his group of ragged rebels seem to have a common "comic" thread with George Clooney's speech to his soldiers towards the end of the recent Mallick's "The Thin Red Line".

    Ustinov's diplomat and Taylor's vulnerable diplomat's wife, who admits to her lover that he is the fourth "adventure," are both comedians--Greene's likable misfits who cannot change their destiny and are strangely reconciled to accept their inevitable end. All the four main characters are "prepared" for their destiny they have designed for themselves as a consequence of previous actions in life. The closing shot of the film is a shot of a suggestive blue sky, redeeming the foibles of the comedians on terra firma.

    I admit that when I saw the film some 20 years ago, I did not appreciate the film as I do now. I was missing the forest for the trees. This film does not belong to Burton, Taylor, Guinness, Ustinov, Jones or Lillian Gish. It belongs to Greene, Glenville and the French cinematographer Henri Decae.

    I do not imply that Burton was not good--but George C Scott said one should evaluate a performance by remembering the character more than the actor. It is in that context that I remember the four main characters. Burton's kisses are different here than say in "Boom" or "Cleopatra"--only to add detail to the character. Taylor is strangely subdued only to add power to her smoldering role. Guinness gradual unmasking is pathetic yet endearing only to add more substance to the character. Decae's camera captures details that shocks--e.g., empty drawers in desks to collect bribes, public executions of rebels watched by school kids...

    I am surprised that this film, to my limited knowledge, has never been taken seriously for what it offers--a superb script, commendable acting, good direction, and some fine camera-work.
    helpful•27
    9
    • JuguAbraham
    • Apr 9, 2002

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 31, 1967 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • France
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • Haitian
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • Komedijasi
    • Filming locations
      • Benin
    • Production companies
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
      • Maximillian Productions
      • Trianon Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Gross US & Canada
      • $5,200,000
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      2 hours 30 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • 70 mm 6-Track
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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