Editing Doctor Dolittle (1967 film) (section)

==Production==
===Development===
As early as 1922, [[Fox Film|Fox Film Corporation]] made [[Hugh Lofting]] an offer for the film rights to Doctor Dolittle. Decades later, [[Walt Disney]] sought to obtain the rights to make a film adaptation of the novels. The Disney studio offered Lofting a [[flat rate|flat fee]] of $7,500 for the ancillary rights to the property, and the contract negotiations reached an impasse.{{sfn|Harris|2008|p=30}} In 1960, Lofting's widow Josephine gave a short-term option of the film rights to Helen Winston, a Canadian actress who had produced the film ''[[Hand in Hand (1961 film)|Hand in Hand]]'' (1960). 20th Century Fox signed a multi-picture production deal with Winston's company, Luster Enterprises, in April 1962, with plans to commence production in the following months. Winston had actor [[George Gobel]] in mind to portray Doctor Dolittle in the project.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Connelly |first=Mike |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/88386625/ |title=In Hollywood |date=June 30, 1961 |work=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]] |access-date=January 21, 2020 |page=11 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=July 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729235937/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/88386625/ |url-status=live}}</ref> She had completed a script with writer Larry Watkin by June 1962,{{sfn|Harris|2008|pp=30–1}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hopper |first=Hedda |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/374675461/ |title=Woman Producer Gets Doolittle Story |date=August 7, 1962 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |access-date=January 21, 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |url-access=subscription |archive-date=July 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729225741/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/374675461/ |url-status=live}}</ref> but Fox decided to cancel their option two months later.

[[Arthur P. Jacobs]] first heard that the film rights were available on December 5, 1963, which was before the release of ''[[What a Way to Go!]]'' (1964), his debut film as a producer. Jacobs met with the Loftings' attorney, Bernard Silbert, and expressed his intentions to produce ''Doctor Dolittle'' as a musical with lyricist [[Alan Jay Lerner]] and actor [[Rex Harrison]] attached. He acquired the rights on Christmas Day, with the condition that he find a distributor within six months.{{sfn|Harris|2008|p=32}} In January 1964, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that Lerner had signed on to write the script and compose the songs.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/01/06/archives/lerner-to-write-a-movie-musical-will-do-script-and-lyrics-for-dr-do.html |title=Lerner To Write a Movie Musical; Will Do Script and Lyrics for 'Dr. Dolittle' Stories |date=January 6, 1964 |work=The New York Times |access-date=January 21, 2020 |archive-date=August 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819032026/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/01/06/archives/lerner-to-write-a-movie-musical-will-do-script-and-lyrics-for-dr-do.html |url-status=live}}</ref> That March, Jacobs pitched his project to studio executive [[Darryl Zanuck]], and 20th Century Fox signed on as the distributor.{{sfn|Harris|2008|pp=45–6}} On March 22, Rex Harrison signed to star as Doctor Dolittle.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/03/22/archives/harrison-and-lerner-reunited-star-lyricist-todo-new-musicalwallis.html |title=Harrison and Lerner Reunite; Star, Lyricist to Do New Musical |date=March 22, 1964 |work=The New York Times |access-date=January 21, 2020}}</ref> Because Lerner's collaborator [[Frederick Loewe]] had retired, Jacobs hired [[André Previn]] to compose the musical score.{{sfn|Harris|2008|pp=45–46}} The film was given a budget of $6&nbsp;million.{{sfn|Medved|Medved|1984|p=118}}

After not producing a complete draft of the screenplay in over a year, Lerner, who was more focused at the time on his work on the Broadway musical ''[[On a Clear Day You Can See Forever]]'', was fired from the ''Doctor Dolittle'' project on May 7, 1965.{{sfn|Harris|2008|pp=77–80}} Jacobs considered replacing Lerner with the [[Sherman Brothers]], who had just won the [[Academy Award for Best Original Song]] for their work on ''[[Mary Poppins (film)|Mary Poppins]]'' (1964), but they were still under contract to Disney, so he hired [[Leslie Bricusse]], who was in high demand after his success with the stage musical ''[[Stop the World – I Want to Get Off]]''. Determined to make a good impression for his first screenplay commission, Bricusse proved agreeably productive from the start for Jacobs, suggesting numerous story ideas and adding a female leading character to the film during their first meeting on May 6. Zanuck decided to give Bricusse a trial run, at first only hiring him to complete two songs and the first twenty pages of a script. Two weeks after he was brought on to the project, Bricusse presented the song "[[Talk to the Animals]]", which he composed especially for Harrison.{{sfn|Harris|2008|pp=90–91}} By July, Bricusse had written a full script, including various song suggestions, that effectively blunted the book's racist content, and his adaptation received the approval of Josephine Lofting.{{sfn|Harris|2008|pp=124–125}}

For the director, [[Vincente Minnelli]] was initially attached to the project, but left before Bricusse was hired.{{sfn|Harris|2008|p=123}} [[William Wyler]], [[George Roy Hill]], and [[John Huston]] were considered, but [[Richard Zanuck]] settled on [[Richard Fleischer]].{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|p=39}}

===Casting===
Lerner's replacement by Bricusse gave Harrison the option of sitting out his contract, which gave him unusual leverage over the film. [[Sammy Davis Jr.]] was hired to play the character of Prince Bumpo, but Harrison demanded that Davis be fired from the project, as he wanted to work with "a real actor, not a song-and-dance man".{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|p=40}} Instead, Harrison suggested [[Sidney Poitier]], despite the fact that Poitier was not a musical performer. Jacobs and Fleischer flew to New York to meet with Poitier, who accepted the part on condition that he meet with and approve of Bricusse.{{sfn|Harris|2008|pp=127–28}} The producer and director then met with Davis to inform him that he would be released from his contract and, angered at the casting change, Davis threatened to go public and sue Harrison. Poitier considered leaving the project the next day, as he did not want to betray Davis, but he eventually decided to stay in the role.{{sfn|Harris|2008|p=128}} Just before shooting was set to commence, Fleischer and Zanuck reduced Bumpo's role, which had been drastically increased after Poitier was cast, in order to save money, and they informed Poitier that he would be released from his contract before he started filming his scenes.{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|pp=43–4}} [[Geoffrey Holder]] was cast as his replacement in the renamed role of William Shakespeare X.

For the role of Matthew, [[Bing Crosby]] and [[Danny Kaye]] were among those on the shortlist, but Bricusse's sometime-songwriting partner [[Anthony Newley]] was ultimately cast, which angered Harrison, who had suggested [[David Wayne]]. Harrison later showed contempt for Bricusse's script and lyrics and demanded to sing live on set, rather than lip-syncing to pre-recorded tracks, and he left the project at one point. After considering [[Peter Ustinov]], [[Alec Guinness]], and [[Peter O'Toole]] to replace Harrison, [[Christopher Plummer]] was cast as Doctor Dolittle.{{sfn|Harris|2008|pp=130–4}}{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|pp=40–1}} When Harrison agreed to stay, the producers paid Plummer his entire agreed-upon salary to leave the production.

Harrison suggested [[Maggie Smith]], his co-star in ''[[The Honey Pot]]'' (1967), for the role of Emma Fairfax.{{sfn|Harris|2008|p=128}} [[Barbra Streisand]] and [[Hayley Mills]] were approached, but salary negotiations broke down (Mills later claimed she pulled out because her sister [[Juliet Mills|Juliet]] wanted the role),<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/movie-star-cold-streaks-hayley-mills/|title=Movie Star Cold Streaks: Hayley Mills|first= Stephen|last= Vagg|date=March 19, 2022}}</ref> and [[Samantha Eggar]] was cast.{{sfn|Harris|2008|pp=128, 157}} Eggar's singing voice was overdubbed by Diana Lee, the daughter of playback singer [[Bill Lee (singer)|Bill Lee]].

===Filming===
In June 1966, [[principal photography]] was underway, with the scenes that take place in the fictional village of Puddleby-on-the-Marsh being shot in [[Castle Combe]], [[Wiltshire]]. All signs of modern life in Castle Combe, such as cars, television antennas, and [[Coca-Cola]] promotional signs, were removed or hidden, which irritated the locals,{{sfn|Harris|2008|pp=199–200}}{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|pp=44–45}} and, in an attempt to raise publicity for how the village was being treated, British Army officer (and future explorer) [[Ranulph Fiennes]] even attempted to blow up a concrete dam built by the production to block a stream.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.filmstories.co.uk/features/a-few-real-moments-of-deliberate-sabotage-on-the-set-of-movies/|work=Film Stories|title=5 real examples of deliberate sabotage on the set of movies|author=Simon Brew|date=April 23, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Petherick |first1=Sam |title=Sir Ranulph Fiennes admits he narrowly avoided prison after blowing up Dr Doolittle movie dam |url=https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/sir-ranulph-fiennes-admits-narrowly-1818913 |access-date=8 January 2025 |issue=Somerset Live |date=24 July 2018}}</ref> Additionally, the filmmakers did not realize that the animals trained for the production would be quarantined upon entering the United Kingdom, and, at considerable expense, they had to replace the animals to meet production deadlines. The producers ignored reports of the area's frequently rainy summers, and the weather continually interfered with shooting and caused health problems for the animals. As if that were not enough, [[Richard Attenborough]] was hired to replace [[Hugh Griffith]] in the role of Albert Blossom during the shoot.{{sfn|Harris|2008|pp=199–200}} Production costs soared to $15&nbsp;million.

In October, the shoot moved to [[Marigot Bay]] in [[Saint Lucia]]. This location had its own issues, and problems related to insects and frequent tropical storms delayed filming and left eight crew members bedridden due to vomiting, diarrhea, and high fever.{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|pp=46–7}} The Great Pink Sea Snail proved to be problematic not only because of its poor design, but also due to the fact that the island's children had recently been struck by a gastrointestinal epidemic caused by freshwater snails; mobs of angry locals threw rocks at the large prop. Within a month, the film had fallen 39 days behind schedule, and the production crew had to decamp back to [[California]].{{sfn|Harris|2008|pp=242–243}}

After reconstructing the sets on the Fox studio lot in California,{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|p=45}} the production budget reached $17&nbsp;million. Four months later, after principal photography was complete, Harrison insisted on re-recording his songs live on set. This infuriated conductor [[Lionel Newman]], but he gave in to Harrison's demands, even though it meant more work for him, since the orchestral arrangements had to be added later. Filming was finished by April 1967.{{sfn|Harris|2008|pp=282–283}}{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|pp=45–46}}

====Personality conflicts====
{{more citations needed section|date=September 2023}}
Personality conflicts added to the tension on the set. Anthony Newley was incensed by comments made by Harrison that he deemed [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]]. Harrison was apparently jealous of his Jewish co-star's participation in the project, and he demanded Newley's role be reduced and would disrupt scenes featuring Newley.{{sfn|Harris|2008|p=242}} Geoffrey Holder received racist abuse from Harrison's entourage.{{sfn|Harris|2008|pp=242–243}} The younger cast members grew to loathe Harrison for this abuse, and they retaliated by antagonizing him.{{sfn|Harris|2008|p=242}}

====Animal issues====
Over 1,200 live animals were used in the film, all of which required understudies. There are anecdotes of a goat eating Fleischer's script, and a parrot that learned to yell "cut".{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|p=44}}{{sfn|Medved|Medved|1984|p=121}} At one point, ducks were placed in a lake, but did not have their water-repellent feathers, as it was the wrong time of year, so they began to sink, and crew members had to jump in the water to save them.{{sfn|Medved|Medved|1984|p=122}} Animals also bit and defecated on the cast and crew, including Harrison.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}