Editing Doctor Dolittle (1967 film) (section)

===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]].