Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Doctor Dolittle (1967)
Director: Richard Fleischer
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
20th Century-Fox's lavish musical version of the much-loved Hugh Lofting stories almost bankrupted the studio when audiences stayed away in droves. In retrospect, it's not hard to see why, since the antics of Harrison's kindly veterinarian, who's learned 498 animal languages, fail to find any compelling dramatic shape over the lengthy running time, while resistible right-hand man Newley and vacuous love interest Eggar aren't much help. True, the Bricusse songs (including 'If I Could Talk to the Animals') have their charms, and the pre-CGI spectacle of some 1,500 live animals often works its magic on very young viewers, but you're mainly left with sympathy for Fleischer and his crew, since the whole thing was evidently a nightmare to shoot. Especially when one of the parrots learned to mimic the director's 'Cut!'Author: TJ
Cast & crew
Director: Richard Fleischer
Producer: Arthur P Jacobs
Cast: Rex Harrison, Samantha Eggar, Anthony Newley, Richard Attenborough, Peter Bull, Muriel Landers, William Dix, Geoffrey Holder full cast
Genre(s): Children's
Duration: 152 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Has David Cronenberg turned tame?
Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?
The 10 worst date movies
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made
Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films
Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas
10 unlikely badboy biopics
Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects
Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing
Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day
Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing






What do you think?
Post your review now