Blake Edwards was one of the greatest directors of slapstick comedy in the sound era. He may be best known for The Pink Panther movies, where he worked with Peter Sellers, an actor of seemingly limitless talent. For me, their greatest collaboration was in “The Party” (1968). Sellers plays Hrundi V. Bakshi, an actor from India, who gets fired from the American movie production for a horrendous screw-up. He then accidentally gets invited to a celebrity party at the home of a studio executive. Most of the film is about his misadventures in the elaborate, high tech home where he continually tries to fit in, but constantly messes things up. It is essentially a one man show, equal to any of the greats of the silent era.
Here is a sample video I found on youtube. There are many more laughs to be found in the rest of the movie.
The ending of the movie involves hordes of party crashers running amok, and it feels unnatural and forced. But that is my only complaint about this unforgettable comedy.
