This film is part of Rentals
Mr. Topaze
Charming character comedy, unseen for decades, starring Peter Sellers as a school teacher corrupted by big business.
Director: Peter Sellers
Overview
Unseen for decades and described by Peter Sellers' biographer Roger Lewis as a lost classic, this gently melancholy, bittersweet character comedy sees the enigmatic Sellers in engrossing form as a poor, provincial French schoolteacher slowly corrupted by big business. A fine array of actors, including Herbert Lom, Billie Whitelaw and Leo McKern, provide support for Sellers – who also directed.
Meek teacher Topaze, expertly played by Sellers at the peak of his powers, is a quiet man at the heart of a noisy film, surrounded by other characters writ large. Scripted by Pierre Rouve from a play by Marcel Pagnol, and Sellers' only credited feature as director, it was shot just as his first marriage was disintegrating. Speaking at the time to Herbert Kretzmer, who wrote the lyrics to I Like Money, the song featured in the film, Sellers confessed that it was only work keeping him going. "I've never been so low in my life. The days were all right. The days I worked. I worked non-stop. I set out to lose myself in work," he confessed. Available for the first time in decades, Sellers' performance in this unjustly neglected film certainly validates those efforts.
Related
The Nature of Love The Nature of Love
Comedy 2023 112 mins Director: Monia Chokri
Sharp and sexy comedy that offers a fresh take on desire and fidelity in the 21st century.
Sick of Myself Sick of Myself
Comedy 2022 97 mins Director: Kristoffer Borgli
She just did what! Attention-seeking Signe will do anything to keep the focus on herself, in this wildly demented comedy.
La Chimera La Chimera
Action and Adventure 2023 132 mins Director: Alice Rohrwacher
Alice Rohrwacher’s fascinating new drama finds Josh O’Connor’s fish out of water delving into the world of stolen artefacts.
The Trouble with Jessica The Trouble with Jessica
Comedy 2023 89 mins Director: Matt Winn
An uninvited guest causes havoc at a dinner party in this highly entertaining and darkly comic satire.
Hotel Splendide Hotel Splendide
Comedy 1932 53 mins Director: Michael Powell
Music hall veteran Jerry Verno stars as a lowly clerk who gets more than he bargained for when he inherits a hotel, in Michael Powell's charming comedy.
Ballywalter Ballywalter
Comedy 2020 90 mins Director: Prasanna Puwanarajah
Seána Kerslake is superb as caustic cab driver, Eileen, who makes an unlikely connection with regular passenger and local comedian, Shane (Patrick Kielty), in Prasanna Puwanarajah’s charming debut.
Withnail & I Withnail & I
Comedy 1988 107 mins Director: Bruce Robinson
Richard E. Grant steals the show in the indomitable cult classic following two washed-up actors as they embark on a booze-filled getaway to the Lake District.
Bridesmaids Bridesmaids
Comedy 2011 125 mins Director: Paul Feig
Much more than a girls-being-bad comedy, this matrimonial farce finely captures female friendship in all its glory.
Duck Soup Duck Soup
Comedy 1933 69 mins Director: Leo McCarey
The Marx Brothers' lunatic satire of international relations finds Groucho in his his most memorable role as Rufus T. Firefly - leader of Freedonia. A comic masterpiece.
Citizen Ruth Citizen Ruth
Drama 1996 106 mins Director: Alexander Payne
Laura Dern is hilarious an addict unwittingly caught in the midst of America's culture wars, in Alexander Payne's superb first feature - previously unreleased in the UK.
Chasing Amy Chasing Amy
Comedy 1996 113 mins Director: Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith's quirky charmer features an early-career Ben Affleck as the comic-book artist who discovers the girl of his dreams is a lesbian.
The Associate The Associate
Comedy 1996 114 mins Director: Donald Petrie
Whoopi Goldberg plays an investment banker forced to invent a male superior in this unjustly forgotten, feminist workplace satire.
Lolita Lolita
Comedy 1962 153 mins Director: Stanley Kubrick
With an Oscar®-nominated screenplay by Nabokov himself, Kubrick filmed a tale that was once thought unadaptable.
The Optimists of Nine Elms The Optimists of Nine Elms
Drama 1973 106 mins Director: Anthony Simmons
Peter Sellers is superb in a warm, wistful family drama, in which two Battersea kids forge an unlikely alliance with a faded music hall star.
The Slappiest Days of Our Lives The Slappiest Days of Our Lives
Comedy 1953 73 mins
A young Peter Sellers voices this compilation film of silent slapstick footage, featuring Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and Laurel and Hardy.
Penny Points to Paradise Penny Points to Paradise
Comedy 1951 72 mins Director: Tony Young
The first screen outing for Goon Show stars Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe in a cheerful comic escapade set in Brighton.
Let's Go Crazy Let's Go Crazy
Comedy 1951 33 mins Director: Alan J. Cullimore
Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan shine in a series of sketches and multiple roles, in this madcap mixture of music-hall and anarchic comedy.
The Blockhouse The Blockhouse
Drama 1973 92 mins Director: Clive Rees
A rare serious performance by Peter Sellers drives this tale of eight men buried in a bunker for three years at the end of WWII.
Kensuke's Kingdom Kensuke's Kingdom
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 84 mins Director: Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry
Michael Morpurgo’s beloved novel is brought to life in this delightful, animated tale of a young castaway who discovers he’s not alone.
Unicorns Unicorns
Romance 2023 120 mins Director: Sally El Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd
Sally El Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd have created a moving romance between an Essex mechanic and a South Asian drag queen.
Call Jane Call Jane
Drama 2022 90 mins Director: Phyllis Nagy
Elizabeth Banks and Sigourney Weaver star in this confident directorial debut from Carol screenwriter Phyllis Nagy about a network of women providing safe abortions in 1960s America.
Kill Kill
Action and Adventure 2023 105 mins Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
A pair of commandos square off against savage bandits in this breathless action thriller set on a moving train.
Together with Lorenza Mazzetti Together with Lorenza Mazzetti
Documentary 2023 55 mins Director: Brighid Lowe
Brighid Lowe’s intimate documentary about the Italian-born artist and filmmaker who became a vital part of the Free Cinema movement in '50s Britain.
Phantom Parrot Phantom Parrot
Documentary 2023 85 mins Director: Kate Stonehill
A top-secret surveillance programme is revealed in this razor-sharp analysis of technology, human rights and structural racism.