Blake Edwards

CHAPTER 8 The Carey Treatment (1972)

Directed by Blake Edwards —A Blake Edwards and William Belasco Production

From a traditional auteur perspective, The Carey Treatment may appear to be a complicated film to discuss with its troubled production history. Due to differences during production with James Aubrey, the head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and William Belasco, the film’s producer, Edwards quit after the completion of principal photography and sued, unsuccessfully, to have his name removed from it, and left Hollywood. Ironically, the film’s first opening credit boldly labels it as “A Blake Edwards and William Belasco Production.” What the credits present as a promising partnership was an experience so bitter for Blake that it was the only film he directed that he would never discuss with us.

Ken Wales, however, did talk with us about the film’s origin and production history:

Well, Bill Belasco was a friend of Aubrey’s and kind of a semi-agent. Aubrey brings him in to produce stuff at the studio. Somehow, Belasco wants to do a film with Blake. When Aubrey or somebody says, “Well, Ken Wales is his producer, so…,” Belasco says, “Well, so what?” So, Blake came to me and said, “I’m in a terrible spot. I’m trying to get things back on track so we can maybe do something with Julie there [Paramount]. They’re just insistent that Belasco be the producer and I don’t know what to do,” and I said, “Blake, it’s very simple. Let me step aside.” He said, “Well, I don’t want to do that to ...