Doctor Dolittle (film)
| Doctor Dolittle | |
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Theatrical release poster by Tom Chantrell
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| Directed by | Richard Fleischer |
| Produced by | Arthur P. Jacobs |
| Screenplay by | Leslie Bricusse |
| Based on |
Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting |
| Starring |
Rex Harrison Samantha Eggar Anthony Newley Richard Attenborough |
| Music by | Leslie Bricusse Lionel Newman, Alexander Courage |
| Cinematography | Robert L. Surtees |
| Edited by |
Samuel E. Beetley Marjorie Fowler |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
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Release date
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12 December 1967 (World Premiere, London) US
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Running time
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152 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $17 million |
| Box office | $9 million |
Doctor Dolittle is a 1967 American musical film directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Rex Harrison, Samantha Eggar, Anthony Newley and Richard Attenborough. It was adapted by Leslie Bricusse from the novel series by Hugh Lofting. It primarily fuses three of the books The Story of Doctor Dolittle, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, and Doctor Dolittle's Circus.
The film had a notoriously protracted production with numerous setbacks along the way such as complications from poorly chosen shooting locations and the numerous technical difficulties inherent with the large number of animals required for the story. The film exceeded its original budget of $6 million by three times, and recouped $9 million upon release in 1967, earning only $6.2 million in theatrical rentals.
The film received mixed to negative critical reviews, but through the studio's intense lobbying, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and won awards for Best Original Song and Best Visual Effects.
In early Victorian England, Matthew Mugg (Anthony Newley) takes his young friend Tommy Stubbins (William Dix) to visit eccentric Doctor John Dolittle (Rex Harrison) for a sick duck that Tommy had found in the streets, Dolittle, a former physician, lives with an extended menagerie, including a chimpanzee named Chee-Chee (Cheeta), a dog named Jip, and a talking parrot named Polynesia (the uncredited voice of Ginny Tyler). Dolittle claims that he can talk to animals. In a flashback, he explains that he kept so many animals in his home that they created havoc with his human patients, who took their medical needs elsewhere. His sister, who served as his housekeeper, demanded that he dispose of the animals or she would leave; he chose the animals. Polynesia taught him that different animal species can talk to each other, prompting Dolittle to study animal languages so that he could become an animal doctor.
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