The World of Henry Orient

The World of Henry Orient (1964) is an American comedy-drama you can watch online on iFILM. Directed by George Roy Hill and based on Nora Johnson's novella, the film stars Peter Sellers as Henry Orient — a concert pianist whose ego far outpaces his abilities and whose chief hobby is pursuing married women around New York City.

Two fourteen-year-olds, Val and Gil, spot him in Central Park and promptly decide he is the most fascinating man alive. They start trailing him everywhere — through restaurants, along sidewalks, into concert halls — disrupting his romantic schemes at every turn. Tippy Walker and Merrie Spaeth play the girls with a natural, unforced chemistry that anchors the film far more than the adult subplot ever could. Angela Lansbury and Tom Bosley appear in key supporting roles.

Hill made something richer than a fan-crush comedy. The girls' obsession is really a shelter — one is starved of a father's attention, the other of a mother who sticks around — and the film handles that quietly, without turning sentimental. Stream The World of Henry Orient (1964) online on iFILM.