The Last Impresario

Studio: FilmBuff
Directed by Gracie Otto

Dec 09, 2014 By Mike Hunchback Web Exclusive

The Last Impresario begins with an explanation of just how it came to be made: director Gracie Otto met Michael White at party, got talking, and soon realized just how many famous people White knew. Or, as Lorne Michaels describes it in the film, “When he walked into a party it was like a scene from Hello Dolly, everybody knew him.” Otto discovered that White was a producer of both film and theatre and decided she needed to make a film telling his story.

Documentaries can be tricky, and The Last Impresario is unfortunately a fine example of a documentary that reveals a natural path in its subject but decides to avoid it. Up front it’s obvious that The Last Impresario is based far too much on that initial party impression because, boy, do the talking heads roll by fast in this one. Everyone from Kate Moss to Julian Sands to Naomi Watts has screen time praising White, and the way-famous interviewees don’t usually offer any of the film’s more interesting moments. Though when The Last Impresario steers into actually telling stories, it starts to work.

Censorship was rampant in England in the early 1960s, and White appears to have really loved challenging the stifling nature of his surroundings. White started producing stage plays in this era, one of which was Son of Oblomov starring Goon Show genius Spike Milligan—who would improvise every night, which was literally illegal due to England’s laws restricting the performance of any work that the Lord Chamberlain had not read and approved. Not long after, White saw a Footlights showcase, with John Cleese, and gave the comic his start by bringing their show to a much larger venue.

“He trusted us—he thought we had talent,” Cleese says, referring to White producing Monty Python and The Holy Grail. The Last Impresario seems to be taking a turn for the better when Cleese explains the origins of White‘s involvement—only to last for a mere minute or two. John Waters crashes in next with another welcome topic: White’s connection to the Odorama classic Polyester, but again very briefly. It’s apparent that Michael White was incredible when it came to pushing the boundaries of content in 1960s England, and in varied mediums. Among his other produced works are URGH! A Music War, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Shock Treatment —White cared about supporting truly anti-establishment artists, and it’s a shame that this characteristic isn’t at the film’s core. Whether it was comedic anarchy of Monty Python or the anti-crown avant-garde—he also worked with the likes of Yoko Ono and John Cage—White saw the value in elevating material that with lesser support would have probably languished.

The Last Impresario will satisfy those who want to hear even just a tidbit about the many different stars it features, but it never ceases to be too scattered to achieve much more.

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