Peter Sellers makes authority look ridiculous by getting its voices and manners right. We rate his quieter performances most highly: the restraint in Dr. Strangelove is funnier, and more unsettling, than the extravagant clowning around it.
Fi1m perspective
In Dr. Strangelove (1964), Peter Sellers makes President Merkin Muffley’s attempts to sound reasonable both funny and oddly comforting. We laughed, then felt uneasy about how quickly a little decency had won us over. The surrounding military confidence has made us grateful for a man who can manage a civil conversation. Sellers gives Muffley enough concern for us to take him seriously, without making him any less absurd.
The voices came first: Sellers developed his mimicry in variety and radio, gaining prominence on The Goon Show (1951–1960). His film breakthrough was The Ladykillers (1955), followed by work with the Boulting brothers and the role of Clare Quilty in Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita (1962). Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther (1963) gave him a bumbling policeman to play across a series. His gift for parodying officials gave those voices something useful to do.
Kubrick gets the fullest use of that skill in Dr. Strangelove, where Sellers also plays Group Captain Lionel Mandrake and the doctor of the title. Each man responds differently to absurdity, and Mandrake’s restraint and Muffley’s concern leave room for the film’s more extravagant behaviour. We prefer the quieter work, though the contrast matters: three equally broad turns would have been exhausting. The broadest clowning can still crowd the sharper jokes, but Sellers does not make restraint look like the dull option.
Anthony Harvey’s editing is essential to this. He allows us time to enjoy the three performances while keeping them inside the same frightening comedy; the film never settles into a succession of Sellers turns. Laurie Johnson’s purposeful military music helps by taking the proceedings seriously. We can admire the impersonations, but Harvey keeps returning our attention to the danger, which is why this remains such a strong use of an actor who could so easily become the entire attraction.
The later career was uneven, but Being There (1979), with Sellers as Chance, offered another use for his dramatic restraint. That performance is worth remembering whenever the voices and mannerisms threaten to dominate our idea of what he could do. For a first encounter, choose Dr. Strangelove, and give Muffley as much attention as the doctor.
Biography
Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers) was a British actor and comedian. He was born on 8 September 1925 in Southsea, Hampshire, England, and died on 24 July 1980 in London.
Sellers rose to prominence on the BBC radio series The Goon Show. He appeared in numerous films, including The Ladykillers (1955) and I'm All Right Jack (1959). He played three roles in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) and Inspector Jacques Clouseau in The Pink Panther (1963) and subsequent films in the series. Other notable performances include Clare Quilty in Lolita (1962) and Chance in Being There (1979).
