The Statue

The Statue (1971)

The face was his... the body was his... but suddenly — hello "Charlie"

Bolt, a British linguist, develops a universal language, so he's a sudden sensation and receives a Nobel prize. An ambitious diplomat, capitalizing on Bolt's celebrity, arranges for the U.S. to commission a statue for a London square to honor Bolt's achievement. Bolt's Italian wife, a renowned artist, sculpts an 18-foot nude of Bolt. In a pique, because he's neglected her for years to do his work, she gives the statue a spectacular phallus, telling Bolt that he wasn't its model. Thinking he's a cuckold, Bolt goes on a jealous search for a man matching the statue. The diplomat, too, wants changes in the statue to protect his conservative image. Can art and love reconcile?

Date of release
1971-01-27
TMDB
5.0 / 10 (12)
Runtime
1h 24m
Genres
Comedy
Director
Rod Amateau

Casting

Interesting facts

The Statue is a 1971 British comedy film starring David Niven, Robert Vaughn, and Virna Lisi and directed by Rodney Amateau. John Cleese and Graham Chapman appear in early career roles as the Niven character's psychiatrist and a newsreader, respectively. Niven plays a Nobel Prize-winning professor who suspects his wife, played by Lisi, of infidelity when she makes and unveils an 18-foot statue of him with private parts recognisably not his own. The film is based on the play called Chip, Chip, Chip by Alec Coppel.

Production

"Charlie" by the Statuettes – lyrics by Norman Newwell, music by Riz Ortolani

"Skin" Sequence – choreography by Gia Landi, lyrics by Audrey Nohra, music by Luis Enriquez Bacalov

The film was the second in a proposed six-film slate from producer Joseph Shaftel which was going to cost £7 million in all and be distributed by Cinerama. The Statue, The Last Grenade, Goodbye Gemini (originally called Ask Agamemnon) and Say Hello to Yesterday were made. Masada and The Mind of the Assassin from Ken Hughes were not.

Dyan Cannon and Robert Culp were originally announced as supporting David Niven. "It's a fun role, in a fun picture", said Virna Lisi.

Filming began in Rome on 1 May 1970 at Cinecittà Studios.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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