THE MILLIONAIRESS
UK, 1960, 90 minutes, Colour.
Sophia Loren, Peter Sellers, Alistair Sim, Vittorio de Sica, Dennis Price, Gary Raymond, Alfie Bass, Miriam Karlin, Noel Purcell, Graham Stark.
Directed by Anthony Asquith.
The Millionairess is based on a play by George Bernard Shaw and has a number of his themes, especially his more socialist-leaning films with an Indian doctor serving the poor in London and being put to the test about making money out of a small amount as well as living on a small amount of money. The Indian is played by Peter Sellers – a style that he made famous with his impersonations and which was to be reprised in Blake Edwards’ The Party.
Sophia Loren plays Epifania, one of the richest women in the world. She feels she must be married, alights on the Indian doctor, puts him to the test. Alistair Sim has an amusing role as a lawyer with Dennis Price as his associate. A number of British character actors round out the supporting cast which also includes Vittorio de Sica who made so many films with Sophia Loren in Italy.
The film was directed by Anthony Asquith, a very civilised British director who made such films as We Died at Dawn, The Way to the Stars as well as The Importance of Being Earnest and The Browning Version. His final films in the 1960s were The VIPs and The Yellow Rolls Royce.
Associated with the film is the song, ‘Goodness Gracious Me’, which Peter Sellers and Sophia Loren recorded in order to promote The Millionairess. The song became far more famous and popular than the film itself.
1. What was George Bernard Shaw satirising in this comedy: a man and a woman, money, medicine, ambition, love, appreciation, buying people’s affection?
2. How was Epifania’s father’s will and its conditions satirising people’s love for money and their readiness to do anything for it? The lawyer’s attitude? Epifania? Why did she obey her father rather than her own feelings of love?
3. How spoilt was Epifania? How were spoilt children satirised in her attempted suicide sequences? How melodramatic her attitude?
4. How did the simplicity of Doctor Ahmed el Kabir contrast with this? How impressive a man was he? Did Peter Sellers play the character for sympathy or for laughs? What illustrates this best? How well did he understand Epifania and what she stood for? Was his attraction to her overdone, too comic?
5. What did Epifania want from the doctor? Why did she keep coming back to him? How did she want to gain his liking and affection? By buying it?
6. Is there any merit in the doctor’s philanthropical gesture? Why did Epifania build the hospital? Did she want to own the doctor?
7. How were lawyers and psychiatrists satirised? In Mr Sagamore and Adrian? Did they deserve the satirical treatment?
8. How sincere a man was the doctor, his humanity and his principles helping to bring Epifania to her senses? Did they have a future together? From her words, what did she really long for most? Was she prepared to give everything up to get it? Did she get it?
