{"id":30734,"date":"2013-04-12T11:28:08","date_gmt":"2013-04-12T18:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=30734"},"modified":"2020-12-13T12:28:07","modified_gmt":"2020-12-13T19:28:07","slug":"bedazzled-1967","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=30734","title":{"rendered":"Bedazzled (1967)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;You see, a soul&#8217;s rather like your appendix &#8212; totally expendable.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Poster-198x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-30735\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Poster-198x300.jpg 198w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Poster-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Poster.jpg 509w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA nebbishy short-order cook (Dudley Moore) enlists the help of the Devil (Peter Cook) in attracting the attention of a pretty waitress (Eleanor Bron) he has a crush on.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Comedy<\/li>\n<li>Dudley Moore Films<\/li>\n<li>Pact With the Devil<\/li>\n<li>Raquel Welch Films<\/li>\n<li>Stanley Donen Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary writes that &#8220;although [it&#8217;s] dated, Dudley Moore and Peter Cook&#8217;s irreverent Faust tale in mod clothing was much funnier than other British imports of its day&#8221;. He notes that it &#8220;combined the absurdity and breezy style of Richard Lester; the mixture of ridiculousness and sophistication of early Peter Sellers\/Alec Guinness\/Ian Carmichael\/Alistair Sim films; the verbal outrageousness and slapstick of the later Peter Sellers; [and] the lowbrow comedy of the <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=9097\"><em>Carry On<\/em> Series<\/a>,&#8221; while also drawing upon Moore and Cook&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Beyond_the_fringe\"><em>Beyond the Fringe<\/em> revue act<\/a>. He points out that while &#8220;Cook and Moore don&#8217;t do much visual comedy&#8230; much of the verbal repartee is brilliant&#8221;, and he praises &#8220;how adeptly their voices and mannerisms change as they change characters and move from class to class, in the various segments that comprise the film&#8221;. He argues that while the &#8220;vignettes aren&#8217;t particularly clever, [they] all have funny moments&#8221;, and points out that the &#8220;film dares make God, who no longer pays attention to human prayers and whose petty feud with Satan causes misery among mortals, into the villain of the piece&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m essentially in agreement with Peary&#8217;s review &#8212; though I disagree with his assertion that its &#8220;delight today is to catch a nostalgic glimpse of [the] once-wonderful comedy team&#8221;. Indeed, most modern viewers will never have heard of Cook-and-Moore (unless they&#8217;ve seen the duo in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=29268\"><em>The Wrong Box<\/em><\/a>), and will primarily be familiar with Moore from his later (solo) work, in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3042\"><em>10<\/em> (1979)<\/a> and the <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=42808\"><em>Arthur<\/em><\/a> films. Therefore, the film must stand on its own as a comedy &#8212; and to that end, I believe it still &#8220;works&#8221;. While it may not be uproariously funny, the very premise itself &#8212; that &#8220;Cook&#8217;s Satan is more of a prankster than Evil personified&#8221; &#8212; is clever enough to keep one consistently engaged; I found myself especially eager for the &#8220;inter-vignette&#8221; moments, to see where and how Cook would next be wreaking gentle havoc on the Earth (by, for instance, &#8220;ripping out the last page of Agatha Christie mysteries, scratching record albums, making grocery bags tear open, setting wasps loose on picnickers&#8221;:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Prank.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Prank-1024x451.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"282\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-57565\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Prank-1024x451.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Prank-300x132.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Prank-128x56.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Prank-768x339.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Prank-1536x677.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Prank-604x266.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Prank.png 1849w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; or &#8220;calling up women and revealing to them their husbands&#8217; infidelities&#8221;:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Prank2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Prank2-1024x447.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"279\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-57566\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Prank2-1024x447.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Prank2-300x131.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Prank2-128x56.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Prank2-768x335.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Prank2-1536x670.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Prank2-604x263.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Prank2.png 1837w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; as Peary writes in his <em>Cult Movies 2<\/em> review). It&#8217;s all good fun, and certainly worth a one-time look by film fanatics, especially given its (onetime?) cult status. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> Raquel Welch&#8217;s appearance here &#8212; as Lust personified &#8212; is brief but memorable. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Welch.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Welch-1024x442.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"276\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-57560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Welch-1024x442.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Welch-300x130.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Welch-128x55.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Welch-768x332.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Welch-1536x664.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Welch-604x261.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Welch.png 1863w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Peter Cook as George Spiggott\/the Devil<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Cook-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Cook-1-1024x469.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"293\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-57564\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Cook-1-1024x469.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Cook-1-300x137.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Cook-1-128x59.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Cook-1-768x352.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Cook-1-1536x703.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Cook-1-590x270.png 590w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Cook-1.png 1819w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Eleanor Bron as Margaret<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron-1024x448.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"280\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-57563\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron-1024x448.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron-300x131.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron-128x56.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron-768x336.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron-1536x673.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron-604x264.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron.png 1843w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron3-1024x451.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"282\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-57561\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron3-1024x451.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron3-300x132.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron3-128x56.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron3-768x338.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron3-1536x676.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron3-604x266.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron3.png 1843w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron2-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron2-1-1024x441.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"276\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-57562\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron2-1-1024x441.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron2-1-300x129.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron2-1-128x55.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron2-1-768x331.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron2-1-1536x661.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron2-1-604x260.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Bedazzled-Bron2-1.png 1847w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A clever, fast-paced screenplay<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a cult favorite. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cult Movie<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0061391\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1967\/12\/11\/archives\/the-screen-son-of-seven-deadly-sinsbedazzled-by-moore-and-cook-at.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/moria.co.nz\/fantasy\/bedazzled1967.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/bedazzled67.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/68325\/bedazzled#articles-reviews?articleId=253498\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/london\/film\/bedazzled-1967\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You see, a soul&#8217;s rather like your appendix &#8212; totally expendable.&#8221; Synopsis: A nebbishy short-order cook (Dudley Moore) enlists the help of the Devil (Peter Cook) in attracting the attention of a pretty waitress (Eleanor Bron) he has a crush on. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Comedy Dudley Moore Films Pact With the Devil Raquel Welch Films Stanley Donen Films Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: Peary writes that &#8220;although [it&#8217;s] dated, Dudley Moore and Peter Cook&#8217;s irreverent Faust tale in mod&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=30734\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30734"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57567,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30734\/revisions\/57567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}