Bedazzled (1967)

Quite often, the world can be divided into two disparate camps: Conservative vs. Liberal, Christian vs. Muslim, Atheist vs. Deist, Lennon vs. McCartney. Yet never is the chasm so yawning, the differences so acute, the gap so untraversable as the one that separates those who “get” British comedy and those who do not.

Whether it is the absurdity, the higher brow references, the cloaked naughtiness or just the downright silliness of the comedy brand that has emanated from the shores of our Mother land to which some Americans protest, it is undeniable that the Brits put a lot more thought into the endeavors of the funny bone.

The spirit of it all can be seen through an excerpt from a sketch by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. Cook plays Sir Arthur Strieb-Griebling and he is being interviewed (by Moore) about his failing restaurant “The Frog & Peach”. To wit:

   Interviewer: Good evening. Don’t you feel, again, you’re at a disadvantage because of your menu? I mean-

   Strieb-Griebling: The menu! Oh dear! Yes, that is- Oh! This has been a terrible hindrance to us building up a business. The menu is the most- have you seen it?

   Interviewer: Yes I have.

   Strieb-Griebling: It’s the most appalling thing. You start with- what’s that?

   Interviewer: Spawn cocktail.

   Strieb-Griebling: Spawn cocktail. One of the most revolting dishes known to man. Then there’s only two other dishes really. There’s Frog a la peche, which is frog done in Cointreau with a peach stuffed in its mouth. And, ah, then, of course, there’s Peche a la frog, which is really not much to write home about. A waiter comes to your table. He’s got this huge peach which is covered in boiling liqueur, you see, and he slices it open to reveal about two thousand black tadpoles squiggling about. It’s one of the most disgusting sights I’ve ever seen. God, it turns me over to think of it. Squiggle, squiggle they go.

   Interviewer: Rather nauseating. Who does the cooking?

   Strieb-Griebling: My wife does the cooking and, luckily, she does the eating as well. An amazing creature. Of course, she’s not a well woman.

And so on.

Cook and Moore first teamed up on the stage in the early 1960s with Beyond the Fringe, an uproarious series of absurdist skits interspersed with political satire and musical bits. Cook’s mannered, erudite style blended well with Moore’s working class “everyman” take and the two branched off from fellow “Fringe” members Alan Bennett and Jonathan Miller to form the legendary duo.

Using improvisational techniques, Cook’s sharp but silly worldview and Moore’s remarkable musical prowess (he was classically trained), the two soon found themselves on the cutting edge of British comedy. They furthered their success with the television series, Not Only…But Also which included the hilarious “Dagenham Dialogues” where two confident but not so intellectual pub goers (Pete n’ Dud) would wax nonsensically about everything from nature (Pete’s belief that the whale is an insect and lives on bananas) to high art (in good paintings, according to Dud, the eyes always follow you). The art of “corpsing”, or cracking up your partner within the sketch, was perfected by these two. Tim Conway and Harvey Korman would use it to lesser effect on The Carol Burnett Show years later. 

In the ‘70s, Cook and Moore would hit again with the foul, deliberately raunchy “Derek and Clive” audio recordings, much sought after by the duo’s fans and appreciators of smutty comedy. In the midst of their success (1967) they found time to make a gem of film. With its Faustian overtones and general sense of subversively good humor, Bedazzled is the most memorable and ambitious of their collaborations.

Director Stanley Donen (Singin’ in the Rain, Two for the Road) needed to find a way to capture the small screen energy of Cook and Moore for the feature. No easy task considering the number of television acts which do not translate well to the big screen (think Martin Short or various other SNL alums). Cook’s episodic script lends an easy solution to the problem. Donen simply weaves together the scenes with a catchy ‘60s pop mentality (a la Richard Lester), allowing the duo to seamlessly bounce (or literally transport) from one scene to the next with reckless abandon. The glue is the premise.

Cook plays George Spiggott (a.k.a Beelzebub, Old Scratch, the Devil incarnate) who insinuates himself into the life of Stanley Moon (Moore), a lonely, put upon nebbish who works thanklessly at a Wimpy Burger where he holds an unrequited torch for a waitress, Margaret (Eleanor Bron). As Stanley breaks an overhead water pipe trying to hang himself, Spiggott waltzes into his flat and casually announces, “Good evening. I couldn’t help noticing that you were making an unsuccessful suicide bid”. Their friendship is off to a fine start.

Spiggott proposes a deal, Stanley’s soul for seven wishes. Entirely miserable and at his wit’s end, he agrees. The wishes primarily revolve around Stanley going through various personality changes and scenarios (he becomes a wealthy businessman, an intellectual, a pop icon, etc.) in order to woo Margaret. Through loopholes in his wishes, Spiggott undermines him at every opportunity, mischievously turning Stanley’s triumphs into bitter defeats. What else should the Devil do with his time?

Cook’s Satan is a loveable sort, more given to schoolboy pranks and good natured chicanery than to truly evil misdeeds. He pulls pages out of mystery novels and scratches LPs waiting to be shipped. He smashes produce and clips buttons off of shirts. He releases pigeons to shit on the heads of passersby. He sics wasps (the insects not the blue bloods) on hippies, hands out parking tickets and makes prank calls. He is, by his own admission, absolutely bored. Ultimately, he is in a race with God to collect one billion souls so that he may ascend back to heaven. He is well ahead and thus, spends his time with monkeyshines. He employs the seven deadly sins to do his bidding but they are essentially failures. “What rotten sins I have working for me”, he laments, “It must be the wages.”

The script culls from a variety of comedic sources. There is political humor. When Spiggott asks Stanley if he wants to be Prime Minister, he corrects himself and states that he’s already made that deal. There is double entendre (a staple of British humor) most notably with the appearance of Raquel Welch as “Lilian Lust”. There is an animation sequence with the two leads as “flies on the wall”. There is slapstick and physical comedy (nuns on trampolines!). But most rewarding is the playful skewering of religion and its sacred cows.

In the reality of Bedazzled, God is an aloof egoist. He has all but abandoned his flock, concerned only with the contest of soul collection against Satan. God watches idly as humans wallow in despair and loneliness, unwilling to assist them or give meaning to their lives. The Devil, on the other hand, is full of rambunctious energy. He befriends Stanley and gives him a reason to carry on. Spiggott provides Stanley with the only fun and camaraderie he has ever experienced. Sure, the price is his soul, but Stanley was going to give that up anyway through suicide. With the Devil, he was at least given a chance to live and love.

Peter Cook and Dudley Moore are both gone now. Their mark has been overshadowed by the funniest of all, the Monty Python troupe, but they deserve absolute retrospection and thanks. Without the “One Legged Tarzan Audition” there is no “Gorilla Librarian” sketch. Without “Pete N’ Dud” there is no “Nudge, Nudge, Wink, Wink”. And without the religious irreverence of Bedazzled there would perhaps be no Life of Brian. Cook and Moore’s subversive intellectualism, sharp verbal interplay and innovative improvisational techniques are the stuff of comedic genius.

If the growing political divide and increasing piety in America leaves you yearning for some quality satirical humor, take a break from the bad standup and toilet jokes with this gem from across the Atlantic. As the old saying goes, “God may have the answers, but the Devil has all the fun”.  

Comments

[Jan Armstrong]

Hi there,

This film is one of my favourites and one of my most treasured DVD's. Still holds up brilliantly today - and in fact, has even more relevance. Thank you for your tribute to it.

Cheers,

Jan
Australia