Sextette
Encyclopedia
Sextette is a 1978
Crown International Pictures
comedy
/musical
motion picture
that starred Mae West
. Other actors in the cast included Timothy Dalton
, Dom DeLuise
, Tony Curtis
, Ringo Starr
, Keith Moon
, George Hamilton
, Alice Cooper
and Walter Pidgeon
.
Directed
by Ken Hughes
and produced
by Daniel Briggs, Robert Sullivan
and Harry Weiss for the production company Briggs and Sullivan, the script
was dramatized for the screen, by Herbert Baker
, from the play
Sextet, which West herself had originally written. Costumes were designed by Edith Head
.
Filmed at Paramount
Studios
, Sextette was Mae West's final movie. Featured were cameos
by Rona Barrett
, Regis Philbin
and George Raft
, all of whom appeared as themselves. West had made her movie debut in Raft's Night After Night (1932
).
movie star
and sex symbol
Marlo Manners (Mae West) is in London
, England
, where she has just married for the sixth time. She and her new husband, Sir Michael Barrington (Timothy Dalton), then depart for a honeymoon suite at a posh and exclusive hotel that has been reserved for them by her manager, Dan Turner (Dom DeLuise).
The hotel is also the location of an international conference, where leaders have come together to resolve tensions and problems that threaten the survival of the world. As the chairman, Mr. Chambers (Walter Pidgeon) is trying to call the meeting to order, the delegates are crowding to the windows in an effort to catch a glimpse of Marlo when she arrives.
As they enter the lobby, Marlo, now Lady Barrington, and her nobleman husband are swarmed by admirers and reporters. When asked, "Do you get a lot of proposals from your male fans?" she quips, "Yeah, and what they propose is nobody’s business."
Once inside their suite, the couple are unable to go to bed and have sex because of constant interruptions due to the demands of her career, such as interviews, dress fittings and photo sessions, as well as the various men, including some former husbands, diplomat Alexei Andreyev Karansky (Tony Curtis), director Laslo Karolny (Ringo Starr), gangster Vance Norton (George Hamilton), and an entire athletic team from the U.S.
, who all want to have sex with her.
Meanwhile, the evil Turner desperately searches for an audiotape containing his client's memoirs, in order to destroy it. Marlo has recorded extensive details about her affairs and scandals, with a lot of dirt about her husbands and lovers. Ex-husband Alexei, who is the Russia
n delegate at the conference, threatens to derail the intense negotiations unless he can have another sexual encounter with her. Marlo is expected to work "undercover" to ensure world peace.
An adaptation of Mae West's
Broadway musical of the same name is considered by some to be one of the most embarrassing sex comedies ever made, which Variety
dubbed "a cruel, unnecessary and mostly unfunny musical comedy,", as an overweight 84-year old (at the time of filming) West maintained her sex kitten role while uttering stale quips as "I'm the girl who works for Paramount all day, and Fox all night" (an earlier version of the scene had much raunchier dialogue), and who croaked a duet with new sixth husband Sir Michael Barrington (a 32-year old Timothy Dalton
) a disco rendition of "Love Will Keep Us Together
."
Regardless of the quality of the film, the almost riotous acclaim afforded her by thousands of young fans, by which she was deeply moved when she appeared in her large diamond tiara and necklace at the openings of the film in Hollywood and in San Francisco (where she was called Queen of the World), was an unmistakable confirmation of her indestructible position as an American show business icon.
The film was not a box-office success; while it has been available on both VHS and DVD, as of February 2011, it was not available on home video other than as a digital download. Used VHS and DVD copies can of course be found.
In July 2011, Sextette is now available again as part Mill Creeks Entertainment's "Dangerous Babes", a budget priced 3-DVD set that includes 11 other Crown Pictures films.
s. One such persistent rumor is that Mae West could not remember any of her lines and had to wear a concealed earpiece under her wig to have her lines fed to her. Dom DeLuise, Timothy Dalton and other principal players have disputed that claim. Tony Curtis has given perhaps a more accurate assessment, commenting that she could not hear well, and thus required the earpiece. Retelling the story in an episode of the program The Dame Edna Experience
, he said that because of the frequency of her earpiece she accidentally picked up police radio frequencies, and at one point mistakenly stated, "There's a 608!"
Another rumor is that West had a cane concealed under her long gown so that she could walk, and there are tales that after one scene West stayed in an elevator waiting for hours for the crew to call her out.
Tom Selleck
is also said to have appeared in one sequence, uncredited and with little to no dialogue; West is credited for having launched his career through this film, saying she wanted him in it if he could talk. She had also famously said this of Cary Grant
in choosing him for one of her earlier films. Selleck is not listed in the Internet Movie Database
(IMDB) as having appeared in Sextette; it is likely that there is confusion between this film and Myra Breckenridge, in which he did appear and which IMDB indicates to be his first theatrical movie appearance, after a couple of earlier television appearances. In any event, Sextette would not have launched Selleck's career as he had made a number of other appearances by 1978, the year of this film.
1978 in film
The year 1978 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 1 - Bob Dylan's film Renaldo and Clara, a documentary of the "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour premieres in Los Angeles, California....
Crown International Pictures
Crown International Pictures
Crown International Pictures is an independent film studio formed in 1959 by Newton P. Jacobs Jacobs was a former branch head of RKO Pictures until 1947 when he formed his own company "Favorite Films"; a film releasing organisation. Jacobs became one of the first franchises for showing American...
comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
/musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
motion picture
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
that starred Mae West
Mae West
Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
. Other actors in the cast included Timothy Dalton
Timothy Dalton
Timothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...
, Dom DeLuise
Dom DeLuise
Dominick "Dom" DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death and the father of: actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise; actor David DeLuise; and actor Michael DeLuise...
, Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
, Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
, Keith Moon
Keith Moon
Keith John Moon was an English musician, best known for being the drummer of the English rock group The Who. He gained acclaim for his exuberant and innovative drumming style, and notoriety for his eccentric and often self-destructive behaviour, earning him the nickname "Moon the Loon". Moon...
, George Hamilton
George Hamilton (actor)
George Stevens Hamilton is an American film and television actor.-Early life:Hamilton was the youngest son of bandleader George "Spike" Hamilton and his first wife, Ann Stevens . He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and lived in Blytheville, Arkansas...
, Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
and Walter Pidgeon
Walter Pidgeon
Walter Davis Pidgeon was a Canadian actor, who starred in many motion pictures, including Mrs...
.
Directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Ken Hughes
Ken Hughes
Ken Hughes was a British film director, writer, and producer.-Personal history:Wife Charlotte Hughes living in LA...
and produced
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
by Daniel Briggs, Robert Sullivan
Robert Sullivan
Robert Sullivan may refer to:*Robert Sullivan *Robert Baldwin Sullivan, Canadian lawyer, judge, and the second Mayor of Toronto*Robert J. Sullivan, Jr. , American politician...
and Harry Weiss for the production company Briggs and Sullivan, the script
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
was dramatized for the screen, by Herbert Baker
Herbert Baker (screenwriter)
Herbert Baker born Herbert Abrahams in New York City 25 December 1920 died 30 June 1983 of cancer in Encino, California was a songwriter and screenwriter for television and films.- Biography :...
, from the play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
Sextet, which West herself had originally written. Costumes were designed by Edith Head
Edith Head
Edith Head was an American costume designer who won eight Academy Awards, more than any other woman.-Early life and career:...
.
Filmed at Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
Studios
Movie studio
A movie studio is a term used to describe a major entertainment company or production company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to film movies...
, Sextette was Mae West's final movie. Featured were cameos
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
by Rona Barrett
Rona Barrett
Rona Barrett is an American gossip columnist and businesswoman. She currently runs the Rona Barrett Foundation, a non-profit organization in Santa Ynez, California, dedicated to the aid and support of senior citizens in need.-Career and personal life:As a teenager, Barrett overcame a degenerative...
, Regis Philbin
Regis Philbin
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin is an American media personality, actor and singer, known for hosting talk and game shows since the 1960s. Philbin is often called "the hardest working man in show business" and holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera...
and George Raft
George Raft
George Raft was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s...
, all of whom appeared as themselves. West had made her movie debut in Raft's Night After Night (1932
1932 in film
-Events:*Cary Grant's film career begins*Katharine Hepburn's film career begins*Shirley Temple's film career begins*Disney released Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon in three-strip Technicolor film.*Santa, first sound film made in Mexico released....
).
Plot
The legendary AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
movie star
Movie star
A movie star is a celebrity who is well-known, or famous, for his or her starring, or leading, roles in motion pictures. The term may also apply to an actor or actress who is recognized as a marketable commodity and whose name is used to promote a movie in trailers and posters...
and sex symbol
Sex symbol
A sex symbol is a celebrity of either gender, typically an actor, musician, supermodel, teen idol, or sports star, noted for their sex appeal. The term was first used in the mid 1950s in relation to the popularity of certain Hollywood stars, especially Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte...
Marlo Manners (Mae West) is in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where she has just married for the sixth time. She and her new husband, Sir Michael Barrington (Timothy Dalton), then depart for a honeymoon suite at a posh and exclusive hotel that has been reserved for them by her manager, Dan Turner (Dom DeLuise).
The hotel is also the location of an international conference, where leaders have come together to resolve tensions and problems that threaten the survival of the world. As the chairman, Mr. Chambers (Walter Pidgeon) is trying to call the meeting to order, the delegates are crowding to the windows in an effort to catch a glimpse of Marlo when she arrives.
As they enter the lobby, Marlo, now Lady Barrington, and her nobleman husband are swarmed by admirers and reporters. When asked, "Do you get a lot of proposals from your male fans?" she quips, "Yeah, and what they propose is nobody’s business."
Once inside their suite, the couple are unable to go to bed and have sex because of constant interruptions due to the demands of her career, such as interviews, dress fittings and photo sessions, as well as the various men, including some former husbands, diplomat Alexei Andreyev Karansky (Tony Curtis), director Laslo Karolny (Ringo Starr), gangster Vance Norton (George Hamilton), and an entire athletic team from the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, who all want to have sex with her.
Meanwhile, the evil Turner desperately searches for an audiotape containing his client's memoirs, in order to destroy it. Marlo has recorded extensive details about her affairs and scandals, with a lot of dirt about her husbands and lovers. Ex-husband Alexei, who is the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n delegate at the conference, threatens to derail the intense negotiations unless he can have another sexual encounter with her. Marlo is expected to work "undercover" to ensure world peace.
Critical reaction
Mae West
Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
Broadway musical of the same name is considered by some to be one of the most embarrassing sex comedies ever made, which Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
dubbed "a cruel, unnecessary and mostly unfunny musical comedy,", as an overweight 84-year old (at the time of filming) West maintained her sex kitten role while uttering stale quips as "I'm the girl who works for Paramount all day, and Fox all night" (an earlier version of the scene had much raunchier dialogue), and who croaked a duet with new sixth husband Sir Michael Barrington (a 32-year old Timothy Dalton
Timothy Dalton
Timothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...
) a disco rendition of "Love Will Keep Us Together
Love Will Keep Us Together
"Love Will Keep Us Together" is a popular song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield in 1973. It was first released in the United Kingdom on Sedaka's 1973 LP The Tra-La Days Are Over, which was never released in the U.S. The song arrived in the U.S...
."
Regardless of the quality of the film, the almost riotous acclaim afforded her by thousands of young fans, by which she was deeply moved when she appeared in her large diamond tiara and necklace at the openings of the film in Hollywood and in San Francisco (where she was called Queen of the World), was an unmistakable confirmation of her indestructible position as an American show business icon.
The film was not a box-office success; while it has been available on both VHS and DVD, as of February 2011, it was not available on home video other than as a digital download. Used VHS and DVD copies can of course be found.
In July 2011, Sextette is now available again as part Mill Creeks Entertainment's "Dangerous Babes", a budget priced 3-DVD set that includes 11 other Crown Pictures films.
Rumors
Sextette became the source of several urban legendUrban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
s. One such persistent rumor is that Mae West could not remember any of her lines and had to wear a concealed earpiece under her wig to have her lines fed to her. Dom DeLuise, Timothy Dalton and other principal players have disputed that claim. Tony Curtis has given perhaps a more accurate assessment, commenting that she could not hear well, and thus required the earpiece. Retelling the story in an episode of the program The Dame Edna Experience
The Dame Edna Experience
The Dame Edna Experience is a British television comedy talk-show hosted by Dame Edna Everage . It ran for twelve regular episodes on ITV, plus two Christmas specials. The first seven aired for the first time in 1987, the next seven in 1989...
, he said that because of the frequency of her earpiece she accidentally picked up police radio frequencies, and at one point mistakenly stated, "There's a 608!"
Another rumor is that West had a cane concealed under her long gown so that she could walk, and there are tales that after one scene West stayed in an elevator waiting for hours for the crew to call her out.
Tom Selleck
Tom Selleck
Thomas William "Tom" Selleck is an American actor, and film producer. He is best known for his starring role as Hawaii-based private investigator Thomas Magnum on the 1980s television show Magnum, P.I.. He also plays Police Chief Jesse Stone in a series of made-for-TV movies based on the Robert B....
is also said to have appeared in one sequence, uncredited and with little to no dialogue; West is credited for having launched his career through this film, saying she wanted him in it if he could talk. She had also famously said this of Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
in choosing him for one of her earlier films. Selleck is not listed in the Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
(IMDB) as having appeared in Sextette; it is likely that there is confusion between this film and Myra Breckenridge, in which he did appear and which IMDB indicates to be his first theatrical movie appearance, after a couple of earlier television appearances. In any event, Sextette would not have launched Selleck's career as he had made a number of other appearances by 1978, the year of this film.
Cast (in order of appearance)
- Mae WestMae WestMae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
- Marlo Manners/Lady Barrington - Timothy DaltonTimothy DaltonTimothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...
- Sir Michael Barrington - Dom DeLuiseDom DeLuiseDominick "Dom" DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death and the father of: actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise; actor David DeLuise; and actor Michael DeLuise...
- Dan Turner - Tony CurtisTony CurtisTony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
- Alexei Andreyev Karansky - Ringo StarrRingo StarrRichard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
- Laslo Karolny - George HamiltonGeorge Hamilton (actor)George Stevens Hamilton is an American film and television actor.-Early life:Hamilton was the youngest son of bandleader George "Spike" Hamilton and his first wife, Ann Stevens . He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and lived in Blytheville, Arkansas...
- Vance Norton - Alice CooperAlice CooperAlice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
- Waiter - Van McCoyVan McCoyVan Allen Clinton McCoy was an accomplished musician, music producer, arranger, songwriter, and orchestra conductor. He is known best for his 1975 internationally successful song "The Hustle", which is still played in dance halls and on radio to this day more than thirty years since his death...
- Delegate - Keith MoonKeith MoonKeith John Moon was an English musician, best known for being the drummer of the English rock group The Who. He gained acclaim for his exuberant and innovative drumming style, and notoriety for his eccentric and often self-destructive behaviour, earning him the nickname "Moon the Loon". Moon...
- Dress Designer - Walter PidgeonWalter PidgeonWalter Davis Pidgeon was a Canadian actor, who starred in many motion pictures, including Mrs...
- Mr. Chambers - Rona BarrettRona BarrettRona Barrett is an American gossip columnist and businesswoman. She currently runs the Rona Barrett Foundation, a non-profit organization in Santa Ynez, California, dedicated to the aid and support of senior citizens in need.-Career and personal life:As a teenager, Barrett overcame a degenerative...
- Herself - Regis PhilbinRegis PhilbinRegis Francis Xavier Philbin is an American media personality, actor and singer, known for hosting talk and game shows since the 1960s. Philbin is often called "the hardest working man in show business" and holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera...
- Himself - George RaftGeorge RaftGeorge Raft was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s...
- Himself - Gil Stratton - Himself