An over-talkative comedy-drama-murder mystery, disappointingly directed in a rather bland style by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. In fact, the movie lacks the very essential wit and flair that everyone – from producer Charles K. Feldman on down – expected that Mankiewicz would certainly bring to this venture. Solid performances from just about everyone in the cast – particularly Rex Harrison, Susan Hayward, Maggie Smith, Edie Adams and Capucine – plus the movie's A- 1 technical credits certainly help, but the movie seems far too ponderous and slow-moving – mostly because Mankiewicz has unwisely chosen to add dialogue of his own invention to that of Frederick Knott's stage play, "Mr. Fox of Venice", which was itself based on a novel by Thomas Sterling based on a play by Ben Jonson. Thus, The Honey Pot is awash with dialogue. If this were not off-putting enough, Mankiewicz has chosen to direct the movie mostly in super-boring, TV-style close-ups.
The above is my view of the 131 minutes version. At 150 minutes the movie would surely be unwatchable.
The above is my view of the 131 minutes version. At 150 minutes the movie would surely be unwatchable.