A film of two halves. The first, in which the tiny country of Grand Fenwick goes to war with the USA, and finds a deserted New York, I'd file under 'cheerful nonsense'. This must be one of the first Peter Sellars films in which he plays multiple roles, which is fun, especially his Duchess. However the abduction of professor David Kossov and daughter Jean Seberg, and the 'Q Bomb', and the return to Europe, becomes progressively more silly, the romantic storyline between Sellars and Seberg is hollow and seems thrust upon them, and the ending increasingly desperate in terms of finding a decent resolution (the screenplay is by people I'd not heard of.)
Seberg had appeared in Bonjour Tristesse - A Bout de Souffle was just around the corner (she seems to be wearing the same stripy top).
A Columbia film, interestingly (the logo sequence one of the film's few funny moments). It was former publicist Walter Shenson's first film as a producer and the film was (I don't know why) a massive hit in the US (unbelievably, Maltin still rates it ***1/2). An exceedingly low budget film, its success warranted a sequel, The Mouse On the Moon, Wilder rest its soul (though this did bring Shenson together with Richard Lester, beginning an important partnership).
Apart from titles by Maurice Binder (and the director), didn't recognise any of the names behind the camera. With Leo McKern, William Hartnell.
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