Fantasmes

Cooke and Moore were possibly the finest comedians the UK has ever produced before Python and others followed Pete and Dud were the undisputed kings of the new cutting edge of comedy/satire in the UK.

But always just under the surface (and later out in the open) there was a sadness and dis-satisfaction to both Peter Cooke and Dudley Moore and I think some of that shows up in this film. Think of the old lady taken for all her money by the Devil and the cheery goodbye she still manages. Also part of the film seems to be dealing with the moral flexibility of people given their circumstance.

Stanley Moon (Moore) has limited opportunities as a short order cook all he desires is the love of Margaret one of the waitresses at the Wimpy he works in. But he is a good person, when after a botched suicide attempt he sells his soul to the devil (Cooke) he has all the opportunities in the world but it is easier for the devil to corrupt him.

Throughout the seven wishes (in accordance with 7 the mystic number, 7 days of the week, 7 deadly sins, 7 brides for 7 brothers..)Stanley can only think of his own needs and perhaps this is why they fail to make him happy. On his one opportunity to give a wish away to stop one of the devils petty tricks (sending a swarm of bee's to harass some flower children) he refuses saying 'Their mine and iv'e only got four left!' The other main theme of this film is more to the forefront dealing with Cooke and Moores attitudes towards religion and it's place in what at the time was the modern world. People were beginning to come away from the church and for the first time non-believers were becoming the majority. Part of the film lampoons religion particularly the bouncing nuns, but at the end it's god who wins out over the devil all be it by a technicality. In a way they showed the obvious contradictions and flaws in the Christian faith - religion nice idea but surely it cant be that way? If all of the above makes this film sound heavy going be assured it's not, and where as in others hands it may have become a pretentious mess it becomes a light hearted very funny comedy romp. If you just want a laugh on a Saturday night this will provide it, if you want to look deeper in and start divining meaning from every little aspect you can it's that sort of film.

Highly recommended 9/10 NOTE - AVOID THE REMAKE LIKE THE PLAGUE IT'S Awful

This is one of my personal favorites. Stanley Moon (Dudley Moore), a down-and-out Londoner who has a miserable job at the local Wimpy Burgers and has the hots for a beautiful waitress named Margaret Spencer, tries to hang himself, but then the Devil has to come in and save him. The Devil (played by Peter Cook) isn't all red and horned, but dressed in a nice tuxedo and wears Ray-Bans. He is interested in Stanley for the sole fact that George (the name he goes by) made a deal with God to get a hundred billion souls first before the other. In exchange for his soul, Stanley gets seven wishes, and of course George has to twist them all into nightmares, just for a cheap laugh. ("You just left me one little loophole. I had to take advantage of it, doctor's orders!") One of my favorite scenes is where Stanley and George are passing by as police officers, and with the snap of George's fingers parking meters expire, old ladies' grocery bags tear apart, and fires start in trash bins. Definitely a good movie if it's rainy outside, and you're all depressed -- it'll lift you up in no time!

If you have seen the Brendon Frazer / Liz Hurley version of "Bedazzled" I beg of you to check out the original version. Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, an already famous comedy team brought their expertise to this film, a reworking of the Faust legend.

Moore plays Stanley Moon, a grill cook at the Whimpy Burger, who is in love with Margaret Spencer (Eleanor Bron), a waitress there. When his attempt to go and ask for a date is thrarted by his own hesitation, he decides to end it all.

Enter George Spiggot a.k.a. The Devil (Peter Cook) who tells Stanley that he can be with Margaret, in exchange for his soul. Stanley agrees, and the rest of the film showcases Stanley's wishes and that there is no such thing as a sure thing.

The chemistry between Cook and Moore shows through as their script demonstrates. Bron is wonderful as Margaret, and Stanley Donen's direction only accents the well written script.

The only other big name in the supporting cast, Raquel Welch, projects sheer sexuality as Lilian Lust, the sexpot of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Concerning the remake, I wish it were more like the plotline of the original, because I think that Liz Hurley would have made a terrific Lilian Lust. Watch the two versions and you'll see.

All in all, you can't go wrong with the original. Check it out and enjoy.

P.S. Julie Andrews!!!!!!!!!!!!

A hapless loser (Dudley Moore) sells his soul to the Devil (Peter Cook) in exchange for seven wishes, but has trouble winning over the girl of his dreams (Eleanor Bron).

An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, Cook is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was closely associated with the anti-establishment comedy that emerged in Britain and the United States in the late 1950s.

Others have said Cook (and this film) are sort of a precursor to Monty Python, and I can see that. The mocking of religion is there, especially with the nuns on trampolines. The film does seem to run a bit long and get stale in places, but as a whole it is a breath of fresh air, a piece of film history ushering in a new era of comedy.

I came to "Bedazzled" with some trepidation, fearing an inconsistent, incoherent, over-indulgent sixties romp but was pleased at how well structured and directed it was. Seasoned Hollywood practicioner Stanley Donen taking on Britain's Anarchic Duo Pete and Dud looked from the outside a risky proposition but Donen does a fine job of guiding Cook's barbed, witty and funny screenplay into an enjoyable film entertainment.

Cleverly adapting the Faustian legend to modern day London it takes swipes at the convention of marriage, pop stardom, morality, religion (of course) and sex (also, of course) along the way. Framed by the device of the lovelorn Moore character's Stanley Moon's seven wishes, all to help him gain the heart of the remote Eleanor Bron character who works with him at the same greasy-spoon cafe, as granted by Cook's very chummy but always-one-step-ahead-of-him personification of the Devil, resplendent in his red socks, the film cleverly falls into a series of sketches like their TV series, taking in along the way personifications of the seven deadly sins for good (or bad) measure.

Most prominent amongst the latter of course as Lillian Lust is the new sex-bomb of the time, Miss Raquel Welch, who gets to flaunt her ample charms in a state of extreme undress in her barely (no pun intended) seven minute part. It being the swinging 60's and all, the sexism exhibited to females is pretty blatant and gratuitous which some today may find objectionable. Whilst I could have done without this cheap-thrill titillation, I found the rest of the film to be sharp, witty and amusing. Cook as the writer naturally gives himself the best lines, in particular his pop star spoof where he invents Neil Tennant twenty years in advance or when he topically sinks the Torrey Canyon oil tanker which was one of the main news stories in the U.K. that year, although the most memorable scene has to be Moore as a nun bouncing on a trampoline with a bunch of bopping Sisters behind him.

The chemistry between Cook and Moore is obvious but there's little sign of the spontaneous improvisation which sometimes prevailed in their TV shows ("Greta, Greta!") but it's no bad thing here as it keeps their performances sharp and to the point.

It's a pity there wasn't a follow-up to this film or indeed any other film collaboration between the two which is a shame because not only did I enjoy this outing but also I'm sure they could have repeated the success they enjoyed here (see what I did there!).