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	~~{{short description\|1961 film}}~~
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	{{Infobox film		{{Infobox film
	\| name = Mr. Topaze		\| name = Mr. Topaze

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	[[Category:1960s English-language films]]		[[Category:1960s English-language films]]
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en>Foofbun at 08:24, 21 September 2022

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{{short description|1961 film}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Mr. Topaze
| image = Mr._Topaze_(1961_film).jpg
| caption = British quad poster by [[Tom Chantrell]]
| director = [[Peter Sellers]]
| producer = Pierre Rouve
| writer = Pierre Rouve [[Johnny Speight]] (script associate)
| based_on = the play ''[[Topaze (play)|Topaze]]'' by [[Marcel Pagnol]]
| starring = Peter Sellers [[Nadia Gray]] [[Herbert Lom]] [[Leo McKern]]
| music = [[George Martin]] [[Georges Van Parys]]
| cinematography = [[John Wilcox (cinematographer)|John Wilcox]]
| editing = [[Geoffrey Foot (film editor)|Geoffrey Foot]]
| studio = Dimitri De Grunwald Production
| distributor = [[Twentieth Century Fox]]
| released = {{Film date|1961|04|04|London|df=y}}
| runtime = 97 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget =
}}

'''''Mr. Topaze''''' (released in U.S. as '''''I Like Money''''') is [[Peter Sellers]]' directorial debut in 1961.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/i-like-money-v96040|title=I Like Money (1961) - Peter Sellers - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie|website=AllMovie}}</ref> Starring Sellers, [[Nadia Gray]], [[Leo McKern]], and [[Herbert Lom]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b09f6da|title=Mr. Topaze (1961)|publisher=}}</ref> His son [[Michael Sellers (actor)|Michael Sellers]] plays in the film in the role of Gaston. The film is based on the [[Topaze (play)|eponymous play]] by [[Marcel Pagnol]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PO-5-ttYn3UC&q=mr.+topaze+1961&pg=PT209|title=Mr Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers|first=Ed|last=Sikov|date=19 August 2011|publisher=Pan Macmillan|isbn=9781447207146|via=Google Books}}</ref>

Out of distribution for many years, a print exists in the [[British Film Institute]] National Archive, which makes it available for viewing on their website.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiewire.com/2016/04/peter-sellers-lost-1961-directorial-debut-mr-topaze-was-restored-from-his-original-prints-291515/|title=Peter Sellers' 'Lost' 1961 Directorial Debut 'Mr. Topaze' Was Restored From His Original Prints|first=Liz|last=Calvario|date=30 April 2016|publisher=}}</ref> The film was shown during the 2003 Cardiff Independent Film Festival.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britmovie.co.uk/forums/your-favourite-british-films/107929-mr-topaze.html|title=britmovie.co.uk / Mr. Topaze|publisher=|access-date=4 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905001006/http://www.britmovie.co.uk/forums/your-favourite-british-films/107929-mr-topaze.html|archive-date=5 September 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was released on [[Blu-ray]] and [[DVD]] on 15 April 2019 by the [[BFI]].

==Plot==

Mr. Topaze (Peter Sellers) is an unassuming school teacher in an unassuming small [[France|French]] town who is honest to a fault. He is sacked when he refuses to give a passing grade to a bad student, the grandson of a wealthy Baroness (Martita Hunt). Castel Benac (Herbert Lom), a government official who runs a crooked financial business on the side, is persuaded by his mistress, Suzy (Nadia Gray), a musical comedy actress, to hire Mr. Topaze as the front man for his business. Gradually, Topaze becomes a rapacious financier who sacrifices his honesty for success and, in a final stroke of business bravado, fires Benac and acquires Suzy in the deal. An old friend and colleague, Tamise (Michael Gough) questions him and tells Topaze that what he now says and practices indicates there are no more honest men.

==Cast==
*[[Peter Sellers]] as Albert Topaze
*[[Nadia Gray]] as Suzy
*[[Herbert Lom]] as Castel Benac
*[[Leo McKern]] as Muche
*[[Martita Hunt]] as Baroness
*[[Michael Gough]] as Tamise
*Anne Leon as Mrs. Tamise
*[[Billie Whitelaw]] as Ernestine
*[[Joan Sims]] as Colette
*[[John Neville (actor)|John Neville]] as Roger
*[[John Le Mesurier]] as Blackmailer
*[[Michael Sellers (actor)|Michael Sellers]] as Gaston

==Critical reception==
In ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Bosley Crowther]] wrote, "for the most part, Mr. Sellers keeps himself too rigidly in hand—and the blame is his, because he is also the fellow who directed the film. He avoids the comic opportunities, takes the role too seriously," concluding that, "As a consequence, he's just a little boring—and that's death for a Sellers character."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/05/19/archives/screen-sellers-stars-in-i-like-money-film-based-on-play-by-marcel.html|title=Screen: Sellers Stars in 'I Like Money'; Film Based on Play by Marcel Pagnol Comedian Attempts a Serio-Comic Role The Cast|first=Bosley|last=Crowther|date=19 May 1962|publisher=|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref>

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book | last = Lewis | first = Roger | title = The Life and Death of Peter Sellers | year = 1995 | publisher = [[Random House|Arrow Books]] | authorlink = Roger Lewis | location = London | isbn = 978-0-09-974700-0 }}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|0055201}}

[[Category:1961 films]]
[[Category:British comedy films]]
[[Category:CinemaScope films]]
[[Category:Films based on works by Marcel Pagnol]]
[[Category:Films directed by Peter Sellers]]
[[Category:Films set in France]]
[[Category:1960s business films]]
[[Category:20th Century Fox films]]
[[Category:1961 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:Films shot at MGM-British Studios]]
[[Category:1960s English-language films]]
[[Category:1960s British films]]

{{1960s-UK-film-stub}}

Mr. Topaze - Revision history

Kurt at 03:38, 20 July 2024

Kurt: /* External links */

Kurt: 1 revision imported

en>Foofbun at 08:24, 21 September 2022