I first this during it's theatrical release days. I was 14 at the time and had read the book by Terry southern and Mason Heffenberg from which this movie was adapted by Buck Henry. I saw this when it was making the Drive-In circuit and since there is nudity in this movie it must have been rated R but 14 year-old's had no problem getting into Drive-In features. I had mostly forgotten much about this and then a few years ago when DVD's started replacing videos I found a video of this in a nice hard shell case on wide screen format at less than half price so I bought it, watched half of it and forgot about it again. A few days ago I decided to watch it in it's entirety for the first time in 38 years. One of the most amazing films ever made in the fact that so many talented people could get together and turn out such waste of money, film, time and talent. Marlon Brando, Richard Burton, Charles Aznavour, James Coburn, Walter Matthau, John Huston, Ringo Starr, john Austin, Elsa Martinelli, Anita Pallenberg and Sugar Ray Robinson are among the cast with Ewa Aluin in her first film role as Candy. Haley Mills was offered but turned down the role as Candy. Actor Christian Marquand somehow got the nod to direct this mess. He had acted in European films and had been in several English language films like The Flight of the Pheonix, The Longest Day and Lord Jim but only directed this and another forgettable film in his brief directorial career before he returned to acting. Respected Cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno brought a lot of credentials to this film. He had done cinematography for several Fellini films as well as for directors Stanlry Kramer, John Huston, Arthur Hiller and Edward Dmytryk. He must have had a mental lapse of the skills he had acquired while filming this or he just sold the filmmakers his name to put on the credits but one of the two must have happened. I can't believe he would want to sully his resume with this product. Douglas Trumball, who as a Special Effects artist would do 2001 A Space Odysessy, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Silent Running, Star Trek the Motion Picture and Bladerunner produces what can be passed off as special effects here. It is interesting seeing Burton and Brando in comedic roles. Burton in the films beginning as the poet has some good lines and it's funny hearing him talk about a "fearsome poetry loving tribe" in Africa. Brando as the guru who travels the country in a specially equipped semi trailer gives a pretty good performance with what he's got to work with. Coburn is in his In Like Flint character. Starr is over the top in his Mexican gardener role with the pigeon English speak and English accent and his natural comedic talent is misused. Walter Huston make a cameo. Anita Pallenberg is good. Sugar Ray Robinson is way out of place here but actually isn't too bad at his role. John Austin is typical John Austin in his dual role as "Daady" and "Uncle." Elsa Martinelli is forgettable. Charles Aznavour is in a Fellini-type character and is unfunny. Matthau looks lost and out of place and is unfunny. Buck Henry has a pathetically unfunny cameo role. Aulin is awful. The Dave Crusin scored soundtrack is horrible. The two Steppenwolf songs could have been utilized better or left out altogether. The original Byrds-Crusin closing song is forgettable. This movie is like a film school project gone wrong. If you saw this film while you were high it still wouldn't be funny and would probably scare you instead. The overall ineptitude of this film and the monumental waste of talent does warrant some kind of perverse redeeming value to it however.