Elke Sommer Talks with the Cafe About Her Movies, Her Art, and How She Earned the Nickname "The Brute"

A glamorous international star by the time she was 23, Elke Sommer has played opposite leading men such as Paul Newman, Peter Sellers, Bob Hope, James Garner, and Glenn Ford. Born in Berlin in 1940, Elke's film career took off when acclaimed Italian director Vittorio De Sica cast her in the 1959 comedy Men and Noble Men (which starred, but wasn't directed by, De Sica). After going on to headline several European hits, MGM signed her to play Paul Newman's leading lady in The Prize (1963). She subsequently became one of the biggest international stars of the decade, appearing in films such as A Shot in the Dark (1964), The Art of Love (1965), The Money Trap (1966), and The Oscar (1966). She later branched out into singing, appearing in stage plays, guest starring on television, playing tennis and golf, and painting (one of her first loves). These days, Elke still plays golf with her husband of 20 years and supports the Amanda Foundation, a nonprofit organization that places homeless pets. Still, Ms. Sommer took time out of her busy schedule to drop by the Café for a chat.

Café:  A Shot in the Dark was one of the funniest comedies of the 1960s. Your performance as Maria the maid was a perfect complement to Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau. What was it like working with Sellers and director Blake Edwards?

Elke with Peter Sellers in A Shot in the Dark.

Elke Sommer:  Well, as young as I was at the time, I can say that this movie was one of the greatest experiences of my professional life. Blake Edwards was a very strict and tough director who knew exactly what he wanted. And this is helpful for a young actor because it shows you the way. But then, there was Peter Sellers. And he was not only an experienced actor but also a brilliant mind, a creative powerhouse who loved to improvise. He and I shared the same sense of humor so that we had a very close connection during the movie shoot, and I learned so incredibly much from his genius--and his courage when it came to improvising scenes. Courage that Sellers needed because Edwards was not amused. So, they started arguing. And in most cases, it was Peter Sellers who "won." And this explains why Blake Edwards is known for being one of the greatest directors of his time. He took his actors seriously and the result was one of funniest comedies of the 1960s--your words!

Café:  You made two films with acclaimed horror director Mario Bava: Baron Blood and Lisa and the Devil. How would you describe Bava as a director?

ES:  Mario Bava was one of the kindest, sweetest, and most fatherly men I ever knew. Actually, I called him my "papa." He was a very decisive director who told you exactly what he wanted and how he wanted it, and I clung to his every word and followed his orders to the letter. Because he was my "papa." And you do what your father says. 

Café:  You made a delightful--and glamorous--villain in the spy spoof The Wrecking Crew (we loved your death scene!). What are your memories of working with Dean Martin and Sharon Tate?

Elke with Sharon Tate.

ES:  Sharon Tate and I loved each other from the start and had a very close relationship. I wouldn't even call it a friendship, as it was more than that. I was a single child and Sharon was the sister I had never had. She left me with many wonderful memories and with an incredible gift: She got me acquainted with the music of Leonard Cohen and for that I will forever be grateful to her. Dean Martin was a close friend of mine. We had done twenty episodes of his Dean Martin Show together, dancing, singing, and acting together. So, working with him on The Wrecking Crew was just another experience of working with a great partner and a wonderful colleague. And the death scene that you are mentioning: You are right--I died in perfect beauty.

Café:  Of your English-language films, which one was your favorite and why?

ES:  The Oscar with Stephen Boyd--a movie that, in my opinion, did not receive the recognition it deserved. Tony Bennett had his first role in a motion picture in The Oscar and we became friends. We even went to the premiere together: he with his mother, and I with my mother. And he felt inspired by my paintings and started painting himself.

Café:  You appeared with most of the great comedians of the 1960s: Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Dick Van Dyke, and Peter Sellers. Who was the funniest and why?

Elke with Jack Benny.

ES:  Clearly Jack Benny because this genius had a genuine twinkle in his eye and his sense of delivery and timing was spot-on and his unbelievable ability to improvise did not distort the script, but contributed to the final product turning each and every scene into a piece of art. 

Café:  You appeared in a 1971 TV pilot for a sitcom called The Elke Sommer Show (aka Elke) co-starring Peter Bonerz. How did you feel when CBS didn't pick up the series?

ES:  Please don’t think of me as arrogant. I do remember Peter Bonerz, of course I do, but I do not remember that series, not at all. But please don’t hold this against me. I have been working in this business for more than fifty years and you would be amazed how many projects are planned or even started and never come to pass. It just happens and you move on. And, obviously, you forget--completely.

Café:  You've appeared in numerous stage plays, such as Woman of the Year, Irma La Douce, and Cactus Flower. You even won a Joseph Jefferson Award as Guest Artist in a Chicago production of Born Yesterday. What are some of your favorite stage roles and why?

ES:  I have two favorites. Same Time, Next Year because, in my opinion, it is one of the greatest plays ever written, leaving the actors incredible room to create very real characters over an entire lifetime. And Born Yesterday because this is, in a way, the play of my career. It was my first huge success on stage, I played the role of Billie Dawn under the direction of great and famous artists like Leland Ball and Vernon Schwartz, and I played it under my own direction, not only in the U.S. but also abroad in my own productions.

Café:  You became interested in art at a young age and had your first painting exhibition at age 24 in Beverly Hills. How would you describe your artistic style and who were your greatest influences?

Elke Sommer's painting Elephant Girl.

ES:  As strange as it may seem, I have never felt influenced by anyone. I love art and I started loving art at the tender age of four. As to my artistic style, this is kind of hard to explain. I take a white canvas and draw my ideas with a pencil. Then I mix my own acrylic colors and fill them in before edging the pencil lines with black acrylic color. Then I take black watercolor and wash the black lines with a sponge until they are medium to dark gray and use very hard brushes in different colors to create these beautiful shadows where I want them to be. The result is a painting that looks like a stained glass window, like the lead glass windows that we all know from churches. I got the idea for this technique from an old gentleman by the name of Amandeo Mendici, who was already in his late 70s when I was just 20. He showed me his technique, which was different from what I just explained, and I reversed it, so to speak. 

Café:  You played tennis with greats like Ilie Natashe and Billie Jean King. In fact, Sports Illustrated nicknamed you "The Brute." Were you really that competitive on the court?

ES:  Yes, I was. I loved playing tennis and I was really good at it--not good enough to be a professional, but good enough to play celebrity tournaments and win a lot of them. They called me “The Brute” because of my topspin backhand, which must have been…well, brutal. 

Café:  How did you meet your husband Wolf Walther?

ES:  I was in New York City starring in Tamara and had to stay there for four months. So, I had to find an apartment but they were excruciatingly expensive, tiny and loud. As I knew the managing director of the Essex House, I wanted to talk to him about renting a room but the hotel had a new managing director, a man by the name of Wolf Walther. So we met. For him, it was love at first sight. For me, it took a little longer, but not much longer. As you may know, Tamara is a play, in which the audience follows the actor of their choice, and as you may also know, my husband is 6'5" and hard to miss. I saw him every night in the audience, following me. Every night. And that was the beginning of the greatest love story of my life, still unfolding and getting better by the day.

Café:  Do you have any upcoming appearances that you'd like to share with your fans?

ES:  I am constantly receiving offers, but so far, there hasn't been anything that interested me. I am dreaming of a role that’s really different. I would love to play an old hooker or a toothless street person. When this dream part comes along, I will shout it from the mountaintops. Until then, I can finally enjoy what I have, time with my husband and with our dog and my beautiful houses here in Beverly Hills and in Germany--life in a pure and unobstructed form.

You can learn more about Ms. Sommer by visiting her web site at www.elkesommeronline.com.

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CMBA Comedy Classics Blogathon: A Shot in the Dark

It's ironic that A Shot in the Dark, the second Panther Panther film, turned out to be the one that established the formula for the film series. It was based on the French stage play, L'Idiote, which didn't even feature Inspector Clouseau. The play was adapted for Broadway in 1961 as A Shot in the Dark and starred Walter Matthau and Julie Harris. After Peter Sellers agreed to play the lead in a 1964 film version, the actor had second thoughts. He asked Pink Panther director Blake Edwards to take over the film.

Initially, Edwards declined, but finally relented on the condition that it be revamped as a Clouseau vehicle. Sellers enthusiastically agreed and convinced the film's backers. Edwards and William Peter Blatty (who would later write The Exorcist) completely rewrote what Edwards could come to call "the unintentional Clouseau" film.

Clouseau: "You've been cutting flowers."

As with all of The Pink Panther movies, the plot is just a framework for the gags. When a murder occurs at a millionaire's country estate (where everyone seems to be having an affair), Clouseau is sent to investigate. The obvious suspect is the maid Maria (Elke Sommer), who is found in possession of the murder weapon. However, Clouseau becomes smitten with her on first sight and becomes determined to prove her innocence.

Herbert Lom with eye twitch.

A Shot in the Dark introduces several elements that would define the Pink Panther formula. Herbert Lom makes his first appearance as Commissioner Dreyfus, who is slowly driven (literally) insane by Clouseau's incompetency. Burt Kwouk makes his debut as Clouseau's valet Kato, who attacks his boss at the most inconvenient times to "strengthen Clouseau's reflexes" (or so the French detective says). A Shot in the Dark also marks the first appearance of the running gag of a killer failing to assassinate Clouseau (often at the expense of innocent bystanders). This is even the film in which Sellers perfected Clouseau's unique mangling of the English language (in a French accent). In the documentary, The Pink Panther Story, Blake Edwards recounts a weekend in which Sellers inexplicably disappeared during the production. When he returned, Sellers told Edwards that he'd met a concierge whose voice was perfect for Clouseau.

Although there are classic comedic routines in other Pink Panther films, A Shot in the Dark features three of my favorites. The first occurs when Clouseau tracks Maria to a resort that turns out to be a nudist camp. The sight of Clouseau navigating among the camp members--with a guitar hanging strategically in front of him--is brilliant visual comedy. Equally amusing in a more subtle way is the running gag of Clouseau being arrested and carted away to jail for selling balloons without a licence, hunting without a license, painting on a sidewalk without a license, and--of course--indecent exposure while fleeing from the nudist camp. Of course, Sellers isn't responsible for all the best scenes. Herbert Lom's eye ticks and muffled manic laughs are funny on their own, but the part where an irritated Dreyfus accidentally cuts off one of his fingers is a classic.

Kato stops to answer the phone
during martial arts practice.

Yet, while Lom and Kwouk are fine supporting players, A Shot in the Dark--like all Pink Panther films--belongs to Sellers. He can generate laughs simply from walking into closets, destroying a rack of billiard cues, spinning a globe, or mispronouncing a word. Paired with a director like Edwards, who understood the dynamics of physical comedy, it's no wonder that the Pink Panther movies became immensely successful.

What is amazing is that additional Pink Panther films were made at all after A Shot in the Dark. Despite their successful partnership, Sellers and Edwards frequently clashed when working together. In fact, they swore they'd never work together again after A Shot in the Dark. Yet, four years later, they made The Party, a fairly funny film with Sellers as a small-time Indian actor mistakenly invited to a posh Hollywood party.

Clouseau in disguise!

Ironically, that same year saw the release of Inspector Clouseau, which starred Alan Arkin and was directed by Bud Yorkin. It proved that audiences weren't interested in a Clouseau movie without Sellers--though it still left the door open for future Pink Panther films. Seven years later, Edwards and Sellers rebooted the franchise with The Return of the Pink Panther (1975). Its worldwide success surprised everyone--save Edwards and Sellers--and set the stage for two direct sequels and a slew of spinoff and remakes.
None of them can match A Shot in the Dark for laughs per minute and originality. In 2000, when the American Film Institute saluted great screen comedies, it ranked A Shot in the Dark at #48 among the all-time comedy classics. I might have ranked it even higher.

My 100 Favorite Films: From 90 to 81

Last month, I covered 100-91 of my favorite movies. This month, the countdown continues with a mix of suspense, comedy, horror, and romance! (An underlined title means there's a hyperlink to a full review at the Cafe.)

Gene Tierney's Ellen--so lovely
and apparently normal.

90. Leave Her to Heaven - Gene Tierney as a possessive, cold-hearted murderer? It's brilliant casting in a film with some genuine chilling moments (e.g., the drowning scene). It may be Tierney's best performance, as she slowly reveals her character’s true nature. Her most impressive feat, though, is that despite what her character has done, we never doubt that she really does love her husband.

89. A Shot in the Dark - Peter Sellers first appeared as Inspector Clouseau in a supporting role in The Pink Panther. But he perfected Clouseau in this perfect farce, which amazingly was based on a stage play without Clouseau. The scene of Clouseau bungling through a nudist camp is a comedy classic--but Sellers is just as funny trying to walk through a door. Herbert Lom is delightful as Chief Inspector Dreyfus...who would have thought he could be so funny?

88. Dracula Has Risen from the Grave - As many of you know, I'm a fan of Hammer's horror films. This fourth entry in the studio's Dracula series features well-developed characters, a lively story, interesting themes, and stunning color photography (the director was award-winning cinematographer Freddie Francis). It's not my favorite Hammer vampire film, but closely edges out Kiss of the Vampire and Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter.

Uncle Charlie and his favorite
relative.

87. Shadow of a Doubt - Alfred Hitchcock collaborated with Thorton Wilder to create this fascinating portrait of a "Merry Widow" killer hiding out with his sister's family in a small California town. Alternatingly charming and creepy, Joseph Cotten gives his finest performance, but it's the naturalness of the supporting players--especially Teresa Wright as Cotten's niece--that makes the film work. Its power, though, comes from its theme of evil laying underneath of the surface of small town Americana.

86. Enchanted April - Four British women, who desperately need a break from their monotonous lives, rent an Italian villa. During the month they spend together, they learn about each other, gain insight into themselves and their loved ones, and emerge with a new outlook on life. This uplifting film makes its points subtly and benefits from an ideal cast featuring Miranda Richardson and Joan Plowright. I love how the London scenes are photographed in drab, brownish tones, while the color seems to explode when the story shifts to Italy. As for the setting, my wife and I want to take a vacation there!

85. 12 Angry Men – I read the play in high school long before I saw the film adaptation—and yet, knowing the plot’s outcome didn’t lessen its impact at all. I’m always amused when a film critic notes that a movie adaptation of a play failed to “open it up.” To me, a movie can take place entirely in one room—as this one mostly does—and be utterly gripping. Henry Fonda shines as an Everyman forced to take a stand against the rest of a jury, but there are many superb performances in this insightful examination of our justice system.

Does her daughter Bunny
really exist?

84. Bunny Lake Is Missing – A young American woman, recently transplanted to London, claims that her daughter has been kidnapped…but no one can remember having seen the girl. Director Otto Preminger’s last great film surprisingly recalls his first classic, Laura. Both films begin as conventional crime dramas dealing with kidnapping or murder. But an unexpected plot twist takes each film in a different direction. An underrated gem.

83. A Matter of Life and Death (aka Stairway to Heaven) – Because of a Heavenly mistake, an RAF pilot (David Niven) survives a crash and falls in love. Unwilling to go to Heaven, he argues before a celestial tribunal that he should be allowed in live out his life on Earth. This perceptive, haunting fantasy from Michael Powell and Emeric Pressberger lingers long after the closing credits. The incredible set design and Powell’s use of color are justifiably famous, but it’s the performances—especially those by Niven and Roger Livesey as his friend-turned-lawyer—that give the film its heart.

Lady and the Tramp dine to the
lovely song "Bella Notte."

82. Lady and the Tramp – Disney’s canine twist on Romeo and Juliet is an animated delight, with brilliant animation, sparkling characters, and memorable songs (courtesy of Peggy Lee and Sonny Burke).  What I love most about it is the film’s “dog’s-eye view” of the world, such as the way that Tramp gets his dinner.

81. Whistle Down the Wind - In rural England, three children discover a fugitive in their barn and come to believe that he is Jesus. This unique film works as both a religious allegory and an intelligent look into the world of children. Hayley Mills and Alan Bates give powerful performances. Based on the novel by Hayley's mother, Mary Hayley Bell, who also wrote the screenplay. Andrew Lloyd Webbers transformed it into a stage musical that never made it to Broadway.

Next month, I'll count down 80-71, which will include the first of multiple list appearances by Errol Flynn, plus a made-for-TV horror film, Dirk Bogarde, and Sam Peckinpah.