Doctor Dolittle (1967) | |
| Director(s) | Richard Fleischer |
| Producer(s) | Mort Abrahams (associate), Arthur P. Jacobs |
| Top Genres | Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Film Adaptation, Musical |
| Top Topics | Animals, Book-Based |
Featured Cast:
Doctor Dolittle Overview:
Doctor Dolittle (1967) was a Adventure - Comedy Film directed by Richard Fleischer and produced by Arthur P. Jacobs and Mort Abrahams.
Academy Awards 1967 --- Ceremony Number 40 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Art Direction | Art Direction: Mario Chiari, Jack Martin Smith, Ed Graves; Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott, Stuar | Nominated |
| Best Cinematography | Robert Surtees | Nominated |
| Best Film Editing | Samuel E. Beetley, Marjorie Fowler | Nominated |
| Best Music - Scoring | Leslie Bricusse | Nominated |
| Best Music - Scoring | Lionel Newman, Alexander Courage | Nominated |
| Best Music - Song | Music and Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse | Won |
| Best Picture | Arthur P. Jacobs, Producer | Nominated |
BlogHub Articles:
Film Albums: Doctor Dolittle ( 1967 ) - The Mike Sammes Singers
By The Metzinger Sisters on Jul 30, 2022 From Silver Scenes - A Blog for Classic Film LoversWhen Doctor Dolittle was released in 1967, 20th Century Fox studios thought it would have received a much better box-office reception than it did. In fact, they were not the only ones who thought so. The music was so beautiful that The Lawrence Welk Show featured an episode that included many of the... Read full article
From the Archives: Doctor Dolittle ( 1967 )
By The Metzinger Sisters on Oct 12, 2020 From Silver Scenes - A Blog for Classic Film LoversRex Harrison performed with a number of different actresses throughout his long career but he probably never expected to act with this fine lady. In this scene from Doctor Dolittle ( 1967 ), Sophie is posing as a baby in order to be smuggled out of the circus so that the kindly doctor could return h... Read full article
Musical Monday: Doctor Dolittle (1967)
on Jan 13, 2020 From Comet Over HollywoodIt?s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals. In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals. This week?s musical: Doctor Dolittle (1967) ? Mus... Read full article
TV/Movie Set : Doctor Dolittle ( 1967 )
By The Metzinger Sisters on Oct 14, 2014 From Silver Scenes - A Blog for Classic Film LoversFor this edition of TV/Movie sets we will be looking at the beautiful home of Dr. John Dolittle, known to his friends simply as Doctor Dolittle or "that maahvelous man". Rex Harrison was the titular star in the extravagant 1967 musical based on the children's classic by Hugh Dowling. Dolittle was on... Read full article
TV/Movie Set : Doctor Dolittle ( 1967 )
By The Metzinger Sisters on Oct 14, 2014 From Silver Scenes - A Blog for Classic Film LoversFor this edition of TV/Movie sets we will be looking at the beautiful home of Dr. John Dolittle, known to his friends simply as Doctor Dolittle or "that maahvelous man". Rex Harrison was the titular star in the extravagant 1967 musical based on the children's classic by Hugh Dowling. Dolittle was on... Read full article
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Quotes from
Matthew: I told you 'Flounder' was a terrible name for a boat!
Polynesia: I speak over two thousand languages, including Dodo and Unicorn. I had a classical education.
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Facts about
- One of the fawns snacked on a quart of paint during a scene break and had to have her stomach pumped.
- Gub-Gub the Pig had to be replaced several times during filming since piglets grow so fast.
- Squirrels ate through several key pieces of scenery, costing the crew thousands of dollars in repairs.
- In the scene where Rex Harrison is singing in the field of sheep, he had to be sprayed down repeatedly for flies. Worse, the sheep urinated on him as well, forcing multiple retakes.
- One of the goats broke loose during a scene, got ahold of the director's script and ate it.
- The first several weeks of filming in Castle Combe were disrupted by torrential downpours, after the producers had ignored detailed climate reports warning about the area's weather patterns - and a homemade bomb, set by a disgruntled member of the town the crew was filming in.
Hugh Griffith was seriously favored for the part played by Richard Attenborough but the production team did not hire him because of his drink problem.
Rex Harrison was under contract to play the title character but after the departure of original scriptwriter and lyricist Alan Jay Lerner, Harrison tried to back out of the project. Christopher Plummer was hired as a replacement. When the studio successfully lured Harrison back they paid Plummer his entire agreed-upon fee of $300,000 to sit out the production of the film. Harrison was wary of Leslie Bricusse writing the score since he was an unknown quantity to him and, on his own, had English songwriters Donald Swann and Michael Flanders try their hand at songs for the film. Swann and Flanders signed a contract with Fox in February 1966 and completed at least four songs (Animalitarians/I Won't Be King/A Total Vegetarian/Goodbye to Sophie) which Harrison recorded as demos before Harrison heard and approved the Bricusse score for use in the film.
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