A Global Affair (1964)

Interesting facts

• Filmed in: New York City
• Awards: 0 · Nominations: 1

A Global Affair is a 1964 American comedy film directed by Jack Arnold and starring Bob Hope, Michèle Mercier, Yvonne De Carlo and Elga Andersen.

Production

The production of A Global Affair was fraught with conflicts involving director Jack Arnold, Bob Hope and producer Hall Bartlett. Hope insisted on Arnold as the director, but Bartlett disagreed. Arnold also struggled with to elicit an engaging performance from Hope, whom he believed to be aloof, self-centered and unprofessional.

Hope, who required cue cards, was walked through the scenes without cameraman Joseph Ruttenberg rolling film until Hope memorized the lines to avoid scanning the cards. Critic Leonard Maltin noted that "Hope's annual screen endeavors became increasingly erratic ... Such films as Bachelor in Paradise (1961), Call Me Bwana (1963) and A Global Affair buried Hope's one-time reputation as a reliable movie laugh-maker."

According to Arnold, Hope "hated the producer" and would retire to his dressing room when Bartlett visited the set. Hope did not discover that the film had been shot in black-and-white, not in color as he had assumed, until after the film was completed. Arnold and Bartlett clashed over the editing of the film. Arnold accused Bartlett of making major alterations to the film and demanded that his name be removed as the director in the credits.

Bartlett delayed casting the female lead until three days into the shooting. When French actress Michèle Mercier appeared on the set, Arnold discovered that she could not speak a word of English. A translator was engaged and Mercier was coached to deliver her lines phonetically, delaying production.

A Global Affair was released with the Bartlett edits in January 1964.

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