Fitzwilly (1967)

(On Cable TV, September 2022) There’s at least a conceptual chuckle in Fitzwilly’s premise—the idea of a butler engaged in larceny in order to keep his eccentric charge living in luxury despite a non-existent trust fund. Things get more amusing when a too-smart college-assistant joins the household, uncovers the various illegal machinations and falls in love with the devious butler. The charmingly amusing swindles grow alongside the lead’s growing concerns that the charade is coming to an end, which sets up a nicely droll finale. With Dick Van Dyke in the lead role, Fitzwilly is never less than pleasant. (Barbara Felton is also remarkable in glasses and turtleneck, but I digress.)  But I’m not sure I laughed at any point in the film—it’s all quite cute and charming, but not exactly as funny as it could be. The one thing it has in its favour is being dressed up in peak 1960s style: sets, fashions and even attitude seem to exist in a very narrow band of years. Otherwise, though, Fitzwilly struggles to be anything more than adequate—it’s certainly watchable, but there’s little here that would justify a rewatch even a few years later. Maybe Delbert Mann’s direction just isn’t flashy enough to take advantage of Van Dyke’s skills or premise’s possibilities—or maybe it’s just a low-key comedy content with just being what it is.