The World of Henry Orient (1964)

One of the best films i have seen

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

*SPOILERS*The 60 year-old women on IMDb who recall this as a favorite childhood memory should perhaps re-watch this from the jaded 21st century point of view, knowing that the filmmakers squeezed as much sex as they thought they could get away with in this film.I recently watched this for the first time, and was surprised at the blatant and not-so-blatant innuendos.The first thing that struck me was the opening scene, where director Hill got as many up-skirt panty shots as possible. If you pay attention, he does this again later. Why were panty shots needed, George?One of the reviewers here asked about the necessity of Boothy. It was pretty obvious to me this was a closeted lesbian relationship.Paula Prentiss wants to commit adultery, and c**k teases Henry Orient quite a bit.Henry Orient becomes the sex fantasy of mother and daughter, with one having intercourse, and the pubescent one thinking about it to the point of tears.The end of the movies shows the pubescent girls putting on heavy make- up, including "lipstick the color of a scarlet gash".Now that I have all of you prudes up in arms, let me say this-- It was an enjoyable film, mostly due to Tippy Walker. She showed such promise I'm sorry she didn't get into more films.The music and cinematography were great.Many reviewers here say they wanted more Peter Sellers, and that he wasn't funny enough. I disagree. Just the right amount, and he was very funny, especially the accents.I watched this movie because it got 3 1/2 stars out of 4 on Xfinity. Sorry, but it doesn't hold up that well. And denying the constant message of sex, however undertone, is simply wrong.

This movie hasn't got that good of a rating. So I don't think it was really that good even when it was released. But with time it has really dated making it unwatchable. I couldn't even understand what we were supposed to like about the movie or where we were supposed to laugh.It is about two fourteen year old girls who are friends. One of them develops a crush on an mature guy, and they start following him. They meet him once. Then they meet him again. Then they meet him again. I know it is kind of repetitive, but so was the movie.Maybe it will be somewhat liked by the people of that time, but things have changed too much now. Give this one a miss.

If you go into this film expecting to see a lot of Peter Sellers, you will be disappointed. Make no mistake, he's in there and he's very funny but this film is not about his character, a mediocre pianist with a penchant for married women. Rather, it's about two 14-year old girls who are making the awkward transition from childhood to adulthood. One of the girls has an incredible crush on Orient and her friend is helping her worship him from afar. Henry Orient is the catalyst for their transformation when they learn a little too much about his "world".The acting is uniformly fine. Sellers' character is a rat but he's so clumsy and foolish you find him endearing. Angela Lansbury, as the coldly selfish mother of one of the girls, is extremely hissable. It's hard to believe that she's the same actress playing the warm, friendly Jessica Fletcher so many years later. Paula Prentiss is very amusing as Orient's exceedingly nervous married girlfriend. Tom Bosley plays Lansbury's kind-hearted husband. One of the final scenes in the film is between him and Lansbury and their daughter and it's a great one. There's a great deal of superficial dialogue but the subtext is unmistakable and it becomes the climax of the film. The best part is the two young actresses playing the girls. I have a fourteen year old daughter and she acts just like they do (almost anyway, she doesn't jump over fire hydrants). Their portrayal of giddy women/children is what the film is really all about.Highly recommended.

Two teenage girls stalk a pianist in "The World of Henry Orient," a 1964 film starring Peter Sellars, Angela Lansbury, Phyllis Thaxter, Tom Bosley, Paula Prentiss, Merrie Spaeth and Tippy Walker.Spaeth and Walker are the 14-year-old teens, and the writing for them isn't good - it's PERFECT, capturing what it's like to be that age and having your first crush. The object of their affections is vain, paranoid Henry Orient (Peter Sellars) a pianist who apparently specializes in somewhat ugly modern music whom the girls see kissing his married girlfriend (Prentiss) in the park. When they see him again, he recognizes them and becomes unnerved. Then they attend a concert -- he sees them from the stage and nearly goes into orbit. After that, the girls read all they can about him and start staking out his apartment and restaurants he frequents.The Prentiss character, Stella, lives in fear of her husband finding out about her non-affair - she refuses to go to Orient's apartment, and whenever she acquiesces, she ends up running out of the back of the restaurant while he's getting a cab. Finally Henry gets her to his place. He spots the girls outside, and Stella becomes convinced that her husband has hired two child detectives. The kids have told a storekeeper next to their stalking stoop that they're waiting for their mother, Jayne Mansfield, who has been kidnapped. It goes from there - and it's HILARIOUS.The teens are sensational, giggly, wildly imaginative and creative, swooning, and faking terminal illness and other events on the street as they race all over the gloriously photographed New York City. Val comes from a super-rich family and neglectful parents, played by the glamorous Angela Lansbury and Tom Bosley as her quiet, hard-working husband. Her story, despite all the humor, is a poignant one.Sellars is fantastic, sporting an odd accent, and using the most subtle of expressions and body language to show what he's thinking. Lansbury is terrific and looks great, Bosley is excellent, and Prentiss is a riot as a neurotic mess.But the young girls - what memories they brought back of fantasy, crushes, wild laughter, pranks, and complete devastation. Phenomenal direction by George Roy Hill, gorgeous cinematography, great music. A no-miss if you want to recapture days of record albums, sitting on your bedroom floor with your friends, scrapbooks dedicated to the love of your life, hating teachers, and complete, uninhibited, euphoric daring.