Main Cast: Marlon Brando, Sophia Loren, Sydney Chaplin, Tippi Hedren, Patrick Cargill
Release Year: 1967
Country: UK
Run Time: 108 minutes
Plot
Charles Chaplin wrote, directed, and scored this old-fashioned romantic comedy, which proved to be his last film. Wealthy American diplomat Ogden Mears (Marlon Brando) is sailing from Hong Kong to Hawaii, where he hopes to meet and reconcile with his estranged wife Martha (Tippi Hedren). However, while the ship takes on passengers in Hong Kong, a stowaway slips into Mears' suite. Natascha (Sophia Loren) is a White Russian countess who was forced to flee the country following the revolution and ended up in Hong Kong, where she earns a meager living as a dime-a-dance girl in a sleazy ballroom. When Mears discovers that Natascha is an uninvited guest in his quarters, she begs him to help her emigrate to the United States; when he refuses, Natascha tries a new tack, threatening to tell Martha that they've been sharing a stateroom if he doesn't cooperate. Mears grudgingly allows Natascha to stay with him and keep her secret until he can figure out a clever way to get rid of her. Margaret Rutherford has a showy supporting role as an eccentric passenger, and Chaplin gives himself a silent cameo as a bumbling porter (no fewer than four of his children also appear). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Michael Medwin - John Felix; Oliver Johnston - Clark; John Paul - Captain; Angela Scoular - Socialite; Margaret Rutherford - Miss Gaulswallow; Peter Bartlett - Steward; Bill Nagy - Crawford; Dilys Laye - Saleswoman; Arthur Gross - Immigration Officer; Balbina - French Maid; Anthony Chin - Hawaiians; Burnell Tucker - Hotel Receptiontst; Leonard Trolley - Purser; Len Lowe - Electrician; Marianne Stone - Reporters; Carol Cleveland - Nurse; Charles Chaplin - Old Steward; Geraldine Chaplin - Girl
Credit
Robert Cartwright - Art Director, Rosemary Burrows - Costume Designer, Charles Chaplin - Director, Gordon Hales - Editor, Charles Chaplin - Composer (Music Score), Lambert Williamson - Musical Direction/Supervision, Don Ashton - Production Designer, Arthur Ibbetson - Cinematographer, Charles Chaplin - Producer, Jerome Epstein - Producer, Vernon Dixon - Set Designer, Charles Chaplin - Screenwriter
Ambassador-designate to Saudi Arabia Ogden Mears (Marlon Brando) sails back to America after touring the world. He meets a Russian countess (Sophia Loren) in Hong Kong after she sneaks aboard to escape being forced into prostitution.
Chaplin was distraught by the film's failure and the difficulties in its production. His on-set conflicts with Brando stemming from ego clashes and their radically different approaches to acting are legendary.[citation needed]
This is Tippi Hedren's first feature film after her break with director Alfred Hitchcock. She had high hopes for the film, until she received the script. When she realized that she had a small part as Brando's estranged wife, she asked Chaplin to expand her role. Although Chaplin tried to accommodate her, he could not, as the story mostly takes place on a ship, which Hedren's character boards near the end of the film. In the end, she remained in the film and later said that it was a pleasure working for Chaplin.
It was filmed entirely at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, just outside London in 1966. The film was the second of Universal's European unit, following Fahrenheit 451.
