After the Fox

source: After the Fox

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De Sica's very good film.He make fun of all the film industry,film critics and neo-realism.He makes fun of himself too.Very well written script form Neil Simon with help of old friend Zavattini.This film is close to the word "perfect". This film makes me to watch it at 3:00 am which I have an important exam at 9 am on that day.

For some reason, this film failed on it's release in 1966, and coincidentally marked the first in a long line of cinema flops for the star Peter Sellers, but now, on viewing it on DVD, I think it stands very comfortably amongst his more recognised work. The plot, written by Neil Simon is brilliantly fast-paced, the comedy lies everywhere, and there's terrific support from Maurice Denham, Britt Ekland, and of course Victor Mature sending up himself as a age-defying crummy actor. Why it flopped, heaven knows. Under the masterful direction of Vittorio de Sica, this map-cap farce makes great viewing, although it does take a bit to get the momentum up. Overall, very enjoyable.

A mess but one that's partly redeemed by a real star performance, "After the Fox" was a daft caper comedy made in Italy by none other than Vittorio De Sica with a screenplay by the American playwright Neil Simon and starring Peter Sellers as an incompetent Italian criminal, (lots of disguises and silly voices), though in the end it isn't Sellers who redeems the film but Victor Mature, wonderful as a vain, ageing movie star, talked by Sellers, posing as a Neo-Realist director, into making a movie as cover for a heist. Subtle it isn't and as a satire on the movie business it never rises above pantomime, (De Dica appears as himself). It's also only sporadically funny, proving that farce, even with Sellers in the lead, wasn't really De Sica's thing.

"After the Fox" is a fine and entertaining comedy with Peter Sellers at his best right after a couple of "Pink Panther" titles, as a master thief who finds the way through which the police will guard his millionaire robbery while he is accomplishing it. A good supporting cast with Akim Tamiroff, Martin Balsam and pretty Britt Ekland is there too. But what really surprised me is Victor Mature's convincing and funny performance as an aging star who refuses to accept the pass of time and his inevitable entering into more adult roles. I always had Mature has a just standard performer who couldn't help overacting and just helped in his career by his somehow interesting screen presence. In a likable character he does very good in this picture and is one of the highlights of the film. Good for Victor in one of his last roles!

Without a doubt Peter Sellers is the finest of them all, But Victor Mature steals this show. Gina Romantica and cast are so entertaining. I love this movie, we lost Peter too soon. We need him now, what a loss.

While certainly not one of his greatest works, Peter Sellers nonetheless shines as Aldo Vanucci, aka "The Fox". He underplays the role in his early scenes, as the scheming criminal, but pulls out all the stops when the character hits upon the idea to masquerade as "Fredrico Fabrizi" the great neo-realist. Much like the scheme inspires Vanucci, the disguise inspires Sellers, and his wildly inventive genius kicks into high gear. Equally funny is Victor Mature as aging, past-his-prime movie idol Tony Powell. It's a well-written part (by Neil Simon), but Mature really brings him to life, and rather than merely making him a buffoon, which would have been easy to do, he gives him a quality of sympathy; deep down, despite all his posturing and pompousness, Powell probably knows he's on the decline. All-in-all, a very funny film, with a truly inspired Sellers performance, even if it's not his best. Even a little really good Sellers goes a long way. He's sadly missed.

"Do you know how many good kisser are starving in Italy?" That's just one of the excellent lines from this underrated movie. The credits alone sound like the plot for a waco 60s jet-set movie: Vittorio De Sica directing a Neil Simon script? You've got to be kidding. True, the film sags and lags at parts, but between Peter Sellers, Victor Mature (truly awesome here), and the mouth-wateringly hummana-hummana Brit Ekland, the movie has enough going for it that it remains a favorite. And that incredible Burt Bacharach score! I swear that if you're depressed and listen to this music (available on CD as I write this), you'll be cured for life!