When tax avoidance meets Shakespeare, the Venice Film Festival gets a farcical surprise.
PANIC BUTTON
A businessman plans to solve his tax problems by financing a film version of "Romeo and Juliet". He hires Maurice Chevalier and Jayne Mansfield to play the title roles, and Akim Tamiroff to direct. The finished film is shown at the Venice Film Festival, where it's considered a witty parody and awarded a Golden Lion.
Quick Answer
Panic Button is a 1964 American comedy film directed by George Sherman and Giuliano Carnimeo about a businessman who tries to dodge taxes by producing a doomed 'Romeo and Juliet' TV pilot, only to see it become an accidental hit at the Venice Film Festival.
Programmer's Pick
Jayne Mansfield as Juliet and Maurice Chevalier as a washed-up Romeo? That’s the kind of miscasting only a tax dodge could justify. 'Panic Button' is campy, self-aware, and gleefully skewers both filmmaking and festival pretensions.
— SassyFlix Programmer
Overview
Details & Specs
- Directors
- George Sherman, Giuliano Carnimeo
- Writers
- Stephen Longstreet, Ron Gorton, Enrico Bomba, Giuliano Carnimeo
- Release
- 1964
- Runtime
- 1h 30m
- Country
- United States of America
- Language
- English
- Genres
- Comedy
- Also Known As
- Let's Go Bust, Een Amerikaan te Rome, Rynnästyttö ja huijariagentti
Why This Matters
This film is notable as one of several foreign productions Jayne Mansfield undertook after losing her 20th Century Fox contract in 1962, reflecting a transitional phase in her career.
Cast & Crew
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Why Cult
Maurice Chevalier and Jayne Mansfield take on Shakespearean roles in a deliberately mismatched pairing that’s as playful as it is absurd.
The plot’s madcap detour to the Venice Film Festival delivers a satire of art-house cred and festival politics.
A broad parody of independent filmmaking, with an eccentric Stanislavski disciple at the helm and a plot built on creative disaster.
With its offbeat humor and self-aware antics, the film lands squarely in psychotronic and camp territory.
Scene Gallery
Questions from the Vault
Who directed Panic Button? +
Panic Button was directed by George Sherman and Giuliano Carnimeo.
How long is Panic Button? +
Panic Button has a runtime of 90 minutes.
What genre is Panic Button? +
Panic Button is a comedy film.
Where can I watch Panic Button? +
Panic Button is available to stream on SassyFlix.
