I first saw this movie when it came out in 1964. I must have been about 8 years old. I loved it then, and have watched it many times since. It is one of those rare, quiet films that not only succeeds as a comedy, amusing to both children and adults, but also as a touching drama, with many poignant moments.
The cast is uniformly excellent, with Peter Sellers and Paula Prentiss providing most of the comedy, as they try to have an illicit romance while being pursued all over New York by the love-struck teenagers, played with charming veracity by Merrie Spaeth and Tippy Walker.
I was particularly impressed by the way George Roy Hill was able to convey the thoughts and emotions of the two girls with such nuance and understatement. For example, when the clock strikes 6:00pm and the girls glance at each other we immediately know what they are both thinking. I sorely miss this kind of film-making.
I enjoyed George Roy Hill's later films such as Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid and The Sting, but for my money, this is his masterpiece.
The cast is uniformly excellent, with Peter Sellers and Paula Prentiss providing most of the comedy, as they try to have an illicit romance while being pursued all over New York by the love-struck teenagers, played with charming veracity by Merrie Spaeth and Tippy Walker.
I was particularly impressed by the way George Roy Hill was able to convey the thoughts and emotions of the two girls with such nuance and understatement. For example, when the clock strikes 6:00pm and the girls glance at each other we immediately know what they are both thinking. I sorely miss this kind of film-making.
I enjoyed George Roy Hill's later films such as Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid and The Sting, but for my money, this is his masterpiece.