Bristling with sophistication and sly wit (not to mention an all-star cast), Joseph L. Mankiewicz's The Honey Pot is one of those acidly delectable movies that somehow missed out on mass audience acceptance during the late 1960s. Based in part on Ben Jonson's play Volpone (the play is in fact referenced during the early moments of the movie) with an unexpected twist during the film’s last hour owing to the Frederick Knott play which was the immediate origin for the script, The Honey Pot works just as well as its classical cousin. Its length and an overly gracious amount of talk probably did the movie in, but those in for a wickedly crafty little puzzle are in for a treat with this one.
Studio: MGM
Distributed By: Kino Lorber
Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HDMA
Subtitles: None
Rating: Not Rated
Run Time: 2 Hr. 12 Min.
Package Includes: Blu-ray
keep caseDisc Type: BD25 (single layer)
Region: A
Release Date: 09/08/2015
MSRP: $29.95
The Production Rating: 4/5
Hatching a scheme to see the reactions of three former mistresses when they’re fed the lie that he’s dying and considering one of them to be his heir, wealthy expatriate Cecil Sheridan Fox (Rex Harrison) hires an unemployed actor William McFly (Cliff Robertson) to stage manage his charade keeping wealthy Texas matron Mrs. Lone Star Crockett (Susan Hayward), financially strapped Princess Dominique (Capucine), and Hollywood star Merle McGill (Edie Adams) at bay while he carries out his plans. Each of the women has brought him an expensive keepsake from their time together (in fact, all three are various types of timepieces), but when one of the party is murdered, there are plenty of motives lurking around to put the glare of Inspector Rizzi’s (Adolfo Celi) magnifying glass on each of the remaining residents of Fox’s palatial Venetian palazzo.
Written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, the same man who won four Oscars writing and directing the sophisticated barbs and complicated characters in All About Eve and A Letter to Three Wives, it’s easy to see a great deal of that same skewering intelligence and spiky way with lines that distinguished those films also present here. The murder mystery which occupies the last half of the film isn’t nearly as clever or as intricate as Mankiewicz would juggle in his last film Sleuth, but it nevertheless contains its fair share of surprises and shocks but handled with a light touch and with tongue planted firmly in cheek. The film is more of a verbal rather than a visual feast though there are some views of the Venice canals and the use of a snaking camera through the lavish rooms of Fox’s palazzo that are breathtaking to behold. Those looking for intense action will likely become impatient with the film which as more of an intellectual exercise contains lots of witty banter while clues drop madly all around cleverly camouflaged in subtle ways but without a great deal of overt activity. Both of the deaths that occur during the film’s running time, in fact, happen off camera.
It’s a very rich and rewarding leading role for Rex Harrison who hadn’t had dialogue this good since My Fair Lady won him his Oscar. Three other Oscar winners also register solidly in the film: Susan Hayward as the plain spoken Texas millionairess (though her southern accent occasionally goes missing), Cliff Robertson as the jack-of-all-trades man Friday (who, we learn, also had three years of law school under his belt while working a plethora of other part-time jobs), and Maggie Smith in another of her early supporting roles as a nurse/companion to Hayward’s Lone Star but with objectives and scruples of her own. They’re definitely the shining lights of the movie. Less showy and also less memorable are the three other principals: Edie Adams as the fading Hollywood beauty, Capucine as a princess on the verge of bankruptcy, and Adolfo Celi as the blundering police inspector who definitely is not the one who solves the mystery.
Video Rating: 4.5/5 3D Rating: NA
The film’s theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 is accurately reproduced in this 1080p transfer using the AVC codec (the main credits are windowboxed for no good reason). It’s a clear and clean transfer offered here with excellent sharpness (except for a scene or two in lower light). Color is strong with accurate and appealing skin tones. Contrast has been consistently applied, and black levels are good if not great. The movie has been divided into 8 chapters.
Audio Rating: 4/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono sound mix is very much typical of its era. The volume level might have been set a trifle lower than necessary, but the dialogue is nonetheless easily discernible. Oscar-winner John Addison’s quirky score works well with the movie’s sly sense of style, and atmospheric effects are also melded to the dialogue and music without drawing attention to one over the other.
Special Features Rating: 1/5
Theatrical Trailer (2:40, HD)
Overall Rating: 4/5
The Honey Pot is one of the unfairly neglected sparkling comedies of the late 1960s (another the same year suffered an equally unfair slight: Two for the Road). The film looks the best I’ve ever witnessed for it on home video, so fans of the stars, its writer-director, or its idiosyncratic blend of comedy and mystery are in for a treat. Recommended!
Reviewed By: Matt Hough
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