| Bedazzled | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster byTom Chantrell | |
| Directed by | Stanley Donen |
| Screenplay by | Peter Cook |
| Story by |
|
| Produced by | Stanley Donen |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Austin Dempster |
| Edited by | Richard Marden |
| Music by | Dudley Moore |
Production company | Stanley Donen Enterprises |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 103 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $770,000[1] |
| Box office | $1.5 million (US and Canadarentals)[2][3] |
Bedazzled is a 1967 BritishDeLuxe Colorfantasy comedy film produced and directed byStanley Donen inPanavision format. It was written by comedianPeter Cook and stars both Cook and his comedy partnerDudley Moore. It is a comic retelling of theFaust legend, set in theSwinging London of the 1960s. In the film, the Devil (Cook) offers an unhappy young man (Moore) seven wishes in return for his soul, but twists the spirit of the wishes to frustrate the man's hopes.
Stanley Moon, a short-order cook in aWimpy restaurant in London, is infatuated with waitress Margaret Spencer, but is too shy to approach her. Distraught, he attempts suicide by hanging but is interrupted by George Spiggot, a man claiming to be the Devil. Inreturn for his soul, George offers Stanley seven wishes. When Stanley accuses George of being delusional, he offers Stanley a "trial wish". Stanley wishes for a raspberryice lolly, and George takes him to buy one from a nearby shop. Finding it melted, Stanley confirms that George is the Devil.
George's heightened sense of pride causedGod to expel him from Heaven, and they are now in a game: If George is first to claim 100 billion souls, he will be readmitted to Heaven. His staff ofseven deadly sins, especially Lust and Envy, are helping him with minor acts of vandalism and spite to reach this goal. Agreeing to the deal, Stanley uses his wishes to try to satisfy his love for Margaret, but George twists his words to frustrate him. Whenever heblows a raspberry, Stanley undoes the effects of a wish.
Ultimately, George spares Stanley eternaldamnation, because he exceeded his quota of 100 billion souls and can afford to be generous. George ascends to Heaven, where God's disembodied voice rejects him again; when he gave Stanley back his soul, George did the right thing with the wrong motive. Thinking he can nullify this by reclaiming Stanley's soul, George tries to stop Stanley from burning his contract, but arrives too late.
Back at the restaurant, Stanley, now back to normal, asks Margaret to dinner; despite saying she is busy, she suggests meeting another night, and Stanley smiles. George tries to entice Stanley again, but Stanley says he would rather start a relationship with Margaret his own way. Frustrated, George leaves and threatens revenge on God by unleashing all the tawdry and shallow technological curses of the modern age while God laughs triumphantly.
Moore wrote the film's soundtrack, which was performed by the Dudley Moore Trio.[4] The title track, Moore's best known song, was performed within the movie by the fictionalpsychedelic rock band Drimble Wedge and the Vegetation, featuring Cook's character as the vocalist. The piece has since beencovered widely, including performances byTony Hatch andNick Cave. Moore recorded several instrumental versions.[5]
In 1968,Sphere Books published anovelisation of the Cook and Moore screenplay written byMichael J. Bird.[6]
Bedazzled was released on 10 December 1967 at the Plaza Theater in New York City and on 21 December 1967 at theCarlton Theatre in London.[7][8]
Upon its release, reviews forBedazzled were mixed. Writing forThe New York Times,Bosley Crowther called it a "pretentiously metaphorical picture" which becomes "awfully precious and monotonous and eventually ... fags out in sheer bad taste."[7] Crowther does, however, compliment Donen for his "colorful and graphic"mise-en-scène.[7]Roger Ebert’s review for theChicago Sun-Times was far more genteel, comparing the film's humour to that ofBob and Ray. Ebert enthusiastically calledBedazzled's satire "barbed and contemporary ... dry and understated," and overall, a "magnificently photographed, intelligent, very funny film".[9]
A January 1968 review inThe Monthly Film Bulletin panned the film, saying, "'Script by Peter Cook, based on an idea by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.' Well, it wasn't much of an idea in the first place and distinctly shop-soiled at that, but even the Faust legend still has more life in it than this tired farrago. The story is used simply as a series of pegs on which to hang sketches by Dud, Pete and Eleanor Bron, all of whom appear in virtually every scene. The wit is strictly fourth-form: 'Don't you know suicide is a criminal offence? You could be hanged for it,' says Spiggott when he finds Stanley rope in hand, after his unsuccessful attempt on his own life. The dialogue also has an embarrassing preoccupation with the Deity and keeps making pussyfooted little dabs at blasphemy like a naughty choirboy putting out his tongue at the vicar. The feebleness of the script would matter less if the performances were on a higher level, but the principals appear to have been given their heads and there is no sign of any control by director Stanley Donen The result, inevitably, is self-indulgent, amateurish and dull, and the one genuinely hilarious moment – three nuns on a trampoline – is repeated from an old television show. Perhaps the kindest thing is to put this one down to experience and hope that next time ambition will not run so far ahead of ability."[10]
In a retrospective review from 1989,Leslie Halliwell wrote thatBedazzled was a "camped-up version of Faust which resolves itself into a series of threadbare sketches for the stars. All rather desperate apart from the leaping nuns."[11] In the 1990s,The Virgin Film Guide said, "Cook and Moore brilliantly shift from character to character with just a change of voice (not unlikePeter Sellers), and the movie never flags".[12] TheTime Out Film Guide 2009 describes the film as a "hit and miss affair" which is "good fun sometimes", but suffers from a "threadbare" plot.[13]
In the 2010s,TheRadio Times Guide to Films gave the film three out of five stars, writing: "From the days when London was swinging and Peter Cook and Dudley Moore were a partnership made in comedy heaven, this Faustian fantasy has Dud as a cook lusting after waitress Eleanor Bron and being granted seven wishes by Pete, as a drawlingly engaging Devil hungry for Dud's soul. A briefly clad, briefly glimpsed Raquel Welch is one of the Deadly Sins, while Barry Humphries turns in a hilarious performance as Envy. Director Stanley Donen settles for quirky comedy instead of razor-sharp satire."[14]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes,Bedazzled holds an approval rating of 74% based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10.[15]
In 2000,20th Century Fox released an Americanremake of the same name, featuringBrendan Fraser as Elliot Richards (counterpart to Moore's role) andElizabeth Hurley as the Devil.
Novelization by Michael J. Bird of the film script by PC and Dudley Moore. Published 1968 by Sphere Books.
