Review of Waltz Of The Toreadors

Introduction

Another Peter Sellers boxset, this time from Carlton and another selection of movies to watch and review. This particular film is Waltz of the Toreadors, a period piece set in the early years of the 20th Century made in 1962 and featuring a memorable performance from Sellers.

General Leo Fitzjohn is retiring after many years of honourable service to his country. He gives the appearance of a sex-crazed lecher, but his home life belies that fact, with two whining daughters and a loveless marriage. His wife, Emily has taken to her bed, feigning illness and he takes refuge in his den, surrounded by memories of past glories. He spends his time reminiscing with his aide Robert or the family Doctor, and his only regret is the one true love of his life, the fair Ghislaine, who he encountered 17 years ago in Paris, and since then has been in love with her ever since their first waltz together. He regrets never having taken Ghislaine for his mistress and Ghislaine has remained a virtuous maiden, waiting only for him. But Ghislaine is closer than he thinks, for she has come to England to renew their love and persuade him to finally leave his nagging wife. The aging general feels the surge of youth as he attempts to express his passions, and is torn between his ailing wife and Ghislaine.

Video

Waltz of the Toreadors is presented on this Carlton disc in the unusual format of 1.66:1 letterbox. On a 16:9 television, the top and bottom of the picture is cropped, and to read the subtitles the film must be seen in 4:3 mode anyway. Carlton has done an impressive job of restoration and the film is almost pristine. A clear and colourful image is marred only in one scene by a hair in the shutter. Otherwise the film quality is typical of the period, a little soft perhaps but still watchable. The film itself is rather splendid to look at. Some wonderful locations coupled with lavish set design and period costumes show the care put into this film.

Audio

Sound is presented in DD 2.0 mono. The sound is perfectly adequate for a film of this vintage. It is a dialogue heavy piece, and the dialogue comes through clear. The music is suitable for the piece, being appropriately comedic or dramatic when required. And of course there is the eponymous waltz.

Features

What features?

Conclusion

If Peter Sellers had one problem, it was that he occasionally took his characters too far, and they became caricatures. You can see this graphically in the Pink Panther films. The early movies, The Pink Panther and A Shot In The Dark, had Clouseau as a bumbling detective to be sure, but the comedy was to be had in his arrogance, his inability to see the obvious and his pomposity. His accent and clumsiness were only apparent when the script called for it. It`s only in the later films that we saw Clouseau begin to rely on ridiculous disguises, an increasingly exaggerated accent and interminable pratfalls for comedy value. From character to caricature.

When I first started watching Waltz of the Toreadors, my heart sank. The character of Leo Fitzjohn the aging general, heavily made up and wearing a padded stomach, as he leered at the serving girls and harrumphed about his military triumphs seemed the epitome of caricature. The first few minutes, as Fitzjohn related some sexual conquest to his innocent and unworldly aide Robert, gave me the feeling that this film might be one of those tawdry sex comedies that the British Film industry was blighted with in the seventies. It`s a good thing that I stuck it out, and I have never been so glad to be proved wrong. For a few minutes later into the film, when Ghislaine appears in General Fitzjohn`s life you realise that the caricature that he portrays is one that allows him to present an image to society. When he is confronted with the one true love of his life, his real character begins to come through, and his regrets, his passions and his jealousies are all too apparent. There are some classic comedy moments as Fitzjohn tries to escape his loveless home with the fair Ghislaine and is torn with his obligations to his bedridden and tormented wife. This all culminates in a hilarious midnight rendezvous at an inn, interrupted by some carousing hunters. At this point, I was ready to label this a classic British farce and give it a fair mark. But the film unexpectedly took on some darker overtones, as Fitzjohn discovered a rival for his affections for Ghislaine, and what truly happened the night he danced that waltz with Ghislaine. This leads to a scene that you would least expect from a British comedy from this time, and the poignancy and drama of that one moment mark this film out as something special.

The Waltz of the Toreadors is a well-observed comedy about regrets and missed chances. While the frivolous and humorous goings on regarding Ghislaine`s return and Fitzjohn`s efforts to recapture his youth are typical of British farces and similar comedies. The fundamental backbone of this story is the bitter and loveless relationship between Fitzjohn and his wife, Emily. The way that their already uncomfortable relationship was rent asunder by the events of a dance is explored in a brutal and honest way that is divorced from the comedy. Peter Sellers has a well-deserved reputation for comedy, here he shows a gift for acting that is rarely seen. His performance as the general trying to recapture his youth is as funny as you would expect, but it is when he faces the lost years and the wife he neglected that Sellers gives perhaps his most poignant and measured performance. Margaret Leighton as Emily provides a balance as his spurned wife and ultimately the film is about their relationship. Dany Robin creates a great comic character in Ghislaine, but her character really serves to catalyse the bitter confrontation between Fitzjohn and his wife.

Hilarious in parts, incredibly moving in others, Waltz of the Toreadors has Peter Sellers` best acting role. I was pleasantly surprised by this film and impressed by the quality of the story. It`s well worth watching and I have no qualms in recommending this film.