Doctor Dolittle (1967)

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

I remember enjoying this outrageous and delightful film when it opened in select reserved seat engagements Dec. of 1967. a blu-ray disc was finally issued late last Fall 2017. unfortunately according to info in the soundtrack album which i still have and the souvenir program the A++ HD transfer is of the general release print not the original cut used for the reserved seat engagements. I don't understand why when films originally released on exclusive roadshow engagements the blu-ray disc doesn't use the original cut.

"Doctor Dolittle" was something of an endearing movie for 1967. It captured two Oscars, for best music original song, and for best effects, special effects. But it received seven other nominations that year. The film had many problems in the making, and got mixed reviews. It did OK at the box office, but wasn't able to cover its bloated budget. The story is a simple one, and it combines an almost encyclopedic close- up look at real animals and birds, with a couple fantasy creatures. The search for a giant pink snail and a lunar moth are the fodder for such tales that stimulate the imaginations of young and old alike. Most of the roles were OK, but not special. That is, except for Anthony Newley whose Matthew Mugg did a yeoman's job of escorting Tommy Stubbins and we viewers through the film. He did this very nicely with song and dance and dashes of wit and humor here and there. Rex Harrison plays the main character, Dr. John Dolittle. Samantha Eggar is OK as Emma Fairfax and Richard Attenborough is very good as Albert Blossom. But the stealers of this show are the animals and birds. I tried to count the number of different critters but lost count half was through. There are a lot of animals and birds in the film, and many that have small roles of "talking" with Dr. Dolittle. The critters were supplied and trained by Jungleland of Thousand Oaks, California – later known as Jungleland USA. That former filming zoo and theme park entertained people for nearly four decades until it closed in 1969. During that time and before then, it was home to some famous animals of filmdom. Mr. Ed, the talking horse from the popular TV series of eight years (1958-1966) lived there. Bimbo the elephant from the 1950s TV series, "Circus Boy," was at home there. Tamba, the chimpanzee from the "Jungle Jim" movies was a resident of Jungleland. And Leo the Lion, the famous MGM mascot, lived there. This original film of the man who could talk to animals remains a fun movie for the family. Small children who often are enthralled by animals especially enjoy this film. I look for films like this for my grandchildren.

It wasn't until Eddie Murphy did his two versions of Doctor Doolittle acting as a straight man to some hip talking animals in a modern setting that Doctor Doolittle made some real money. I certainly suppose the film was done a bit too soon before the age of computer graphics.I remember the film flopped badly and was roasted by critics at the time of release. I saw it back in the day and have seen it a few times over the year on television. Maybe a simpler story of a Doctor in Puddlesby- by-the-Sea treating animals might have been better. Certainly computer graphics would have been easier than all the animals that director Richard Fleischer had to deal with and who ran the budget up so bad with their difficulties there was no way this film could have made money.Still Rex Harrison for all the difficulties encountered plays the fantasy doctor who's learned the animal languages and can speak with them plays it absolutely straight under some trying circumstances. Just read some of the trivia on the film and you'll see what he, Anthony Newley, young William Dix, and Samantha Eggar had to deal with.Anthony Newley and his song writing partner Leslie Bricusse contributed the score which included the Academy Award winning Talk to the Animals which Sammy Davis, Jr. enjoyed a hit record from. Rex sings it here in his talk/sing style perfected from My Fair Lady.However my favorite in the cast who is so infectious in his delivery of his one number, I've Never Seen Anything Like It In Me Life is Richard Attenborough. He plays the circus owner to whom Doctor Doolittle reluctantly parts with a two headed llama called a PushmePullyou to help pay the rent. Attenborough looks like he's having a ball doing this elaborate production number where in the end the whole circus is serving as his chorus. Doctor Doolittle might have been better done in the way it was done today. Still it does have some charm to it and more than little children might actually enjoy it now.

Firstly, let me say that I am a sucker for any epic made at Fox between about 1950 and 1977. During this period, artists such as Bernard Herrmann, John Williams, Richard LaSalle, L.B Abbott, Howard Lydecker, Irwin Allen, etc would give the studio a special identity it no longer has today. Maybe my love of Fox has blinded me of the various problems others have seen in Doctor Dolittle (1967)? Or maybe "the movie that almost killed Fox" title has partly blinded some of the greatness of Dolittle? Is it un-cool for some movie-fans to call Dolittle a classic? Well, I have got news for you, it is a classic, even better than The Wizard Of Oz (1939) in fact.Things in Dolittle would appear in 1960s Fox TV shows. When that giant whale first appears in the sea it resembles the whale seen in an episode of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. The inside of the giant snail would later be used in an episode of Land Of The Giants. When the ship sails in the storm it looks like an L.B. Abbott warm up for his Poseidon Adventure (1972) miniature effects. Was that island set used in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea? And so it goes. But it takes more than special effects to make a movie really special, yes, this film has great songs from Anthony Newley.