Rhinoceros

The play is given to Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, and they carry it off with all the expertise you could wish. O’Horgan directs with an eye toward silent comedy and screwball, and knows what he’s doing, witness the long take of the last man on Earth pondering his prospects at home (cf. Gist’s An American Dream for the view from an L.A. rooftop by the freeway).

Mostel’s Dalian transformation (cf. Burton & Ure in Richardson’s Look Back in Anger) is also one of the great set-wrecking scenes, Canby’s rant at AFT is something sim’lar.

Karen Black leads the vivid support. There’s even a song, “What Did You Do to Yourself?”, and a dream sequence (rhinoceros keeps man in cage, enjoys Daisy).

Jay Cocks (TIME), “upbeat, frantic vulgarization”. TV Guide, “long dialog passages... missable.” Film4, “pitiful”.