Champagne for Caesar Reviews

An unjustly neglected, extremely funny jab at the media empire and the world of big business. Beauregard Bottomley (Colman) is an unemployed genius who holds a Ph.D., skims the encyclopedia for enjoyment and never forgets a thing he's read. He applies for work at a soap company owned by Burnbridge Waters (Price) but is rebuffed by the suds magnate. Beauregard is so annoyed by the treatment he receives at Waters's hands that he decides to bankrupt the company by becoming a contestant on the popular radio quiz show it sponsors. Broadly handled but squarely on-target in its satire of the media, CHAMPAGNE FOR CAESAR is nimbly helmed by director Whorf and benefits considerably from its talented cast. Colman's typically understated style meshes nicely with Holm's, and they provide an appropriate foil for Price's deliberate hamminess as the megalomaniacal mogul. Listen for Mel Blanc as the voice of the champagne-loving parrot, Caesar. Denied a full run upon its initial release and broadcast on television in truncated form, this unexpected if modest delight is likely to halt your late-night channel surfing and leave you howling.