Syniks
20-03-2006, 17:17
When actor-director Anthony Newley approached him with a strange-sounding project in the late 1960s, little did Herman Raucher suspect that he would wind up co-writing a movie that four decades later would be honored as having ...
The Worst Movie Title Ever.
Yes, folks, we have a winner -- or loser or however you'd characterize a title that was singled out as being more awful than any other in cinematic history.
Worse than "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar" (the runner-up).
Worse than "Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?"
Worse than "C.H.U.D."
Ladies and gentleman, we bring you: "Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?"
Topping a poll of more than 500 Tribune readers, "Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?" has attained immortality at last, something that couldn't be said when this bawdy farce came and went from theaters in 1969.
Newley died in 1999, so we tracked down his co-writer, Raucher, 77, at his Connecticut home to accept this award.
"Oh, my goodness," he said.
He explained: "It was Tony's title. I thought he was a little mad. But he was a little mad. Tony was one of the most talented people I'd ever worked with."
So the pair wrote the movie, and, in those days when the studios actually let the creative folk run wild, Universal didn't insist on changing the title.
"They just let it go," Raucher said. "I don't know why."
Others were less lenient. "The New York Times wouldn't print the whole title," he said. "They wouldn't allow us to use the words `Mercy Humppe.' So it was simply called in the ads `Hieronymus Merkin.'"
The movie died -- not helped, Raucher said, by its X rating. Still, Raucher, who would achieve far greater success two years later with the movie of his autobiographical novel "Summer of '42," retains a soft spot for "Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?"
"I was very proud of it," he said. "If all the people remember is its crazy title, I guess we earned that recognition."
By Mark Caro
Tribune entertainment reporter
Published March 20, 2006
The Worst Movie Title Ever.
Yes, folks, we have a winner -- or loser or however you'd characterize a title that was singled out as being more awful than any other in cinematic history.
Worse than "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar" (the runner-up).
Worse than "Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?"
Worse than "C.H.U.D."
Ladies and gentleman, we bring you: "Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?"
Topping a poll of more than 500 Tribune readers, "Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?" has attained immortality at last, something that couldn't be said when this bawdy farce came and went from theaters in 1969.
Newley died in 1999, so we tracked down his co-writer, Raucher, 77, at his Connecticut home to accept this award.
"Oh, my goodness," he said.
He explained: "It was Tony's title. I thought he was a little mad. But he was a little mad. Tony was one of the most talented people I'd ever worked with."
So the pair wrote the movie, and, in those days when the studios actually let the creative folk run wild, Universal didn't insist on changing the title.
"They just let it go," Raucher said. "I don't know why."
Others were less lenient. "The New York Times wouldn't print the whole title," he said. "They wouldn't allow us to use the words `Mercy Humppe.' So it was simply called in the ads `Hieronymus Merkin.'"
The movie died -- not helped, Raucher said, by its X rating. Still, Raucher, who would achieve far greater success two years later with the movie of his autobiographical novel "Summer of '42," retains a soft spot for "Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?"
"I was very proud of it," he said. "If all the people remember is its crazy title, I guess we earned that recognition."
By Mark Caro
Tribune entertainment reporter
Published March 20, 2006