Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?
Heironymus Merkin, the most talented movie star who ever sang, danced and loved girls, girls, girls.
1969 | 107m | English
Popularity: 0.2 (history)
| Director: | Anthony Newley |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Anthony Newley, Herman Raucher |
| Staring: |
| Heironymus Merkin is an internationally successful singer approaching middle age who retells his life story in a series of production numbers on a seashore in front of his two toddlers and aged mother. Merkin's promiscuous relationships with women are explored, particularly Polyester Poontang and the adolescent Mercy Humppe. Merkin is constantly surrounded by a Satan-like procurer, Goodtime Eddie Filth, and an angelic 'Presence' who interrupts Merkin's biography with cryptic Borscht Belt-level jokes to denote births and deaths in Merkin's life. Newley periodically steps out of character to complain about his 'Merkin' role with an unseen director, two screenwriters, the film's producers and a trio of blasé movie critics who are turned off by the story's eroticism and lack of plot. | |
| Release Date: | Mar 19, 1969 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Anthony Newley |
| Writer: | Anthony Newley, Herman Raucher |
| Genres: | Comedy, Music |
| Keywords | autobiographical |
| Production Companies | Universal Pictures, J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $2,100,000
Budget: $500,000 |
| Updates |
Updated: Jan 30, 2026 Entered: Apr 27, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Anthony Newley | Heironymous Merkin |
| Joan Collins | Polyester Poontang |
| Bruce Forsyth | Uncle Limelight |
| Milton Berle | Goodtime Eddie Filth |
| Stubby Kaye | Fat Writer |
| George Jessel | The Presence |
| Connie Kreski | Mercy Humppe |
| Alexander Newley | Thaxted |
| Tara Newley | Thumbelina |
| Patricia Hayes | Grandma |
| Ronald Rubin | Skinny Writer |
| Louis Negin | Producer Peter |
| Tom Stern | Producer Ron |
| Judy Cornwell | Filigree Fondle |
| Margaret Nolan | Little Assistance |
| Yolanda | Trampolena Whambang |
| Lynda Baron | Salesgirl |
| Ronald Radd | Critic Bentley |
| Rosalind Knight | Critic Bentley |
| Victor Spinetti | Critic Sharpnose |
| Julian Orchard | Red Cardinal |
| Desmond Walter-Ellis | Philip Bluster |
| Bernard Stone | Icicle Ike |
| Sally Douglas | Automation Bunny |
| Roy Desmond | The Mask |
| Joyce Blair | Oat-O-Rinos Girl |
| Bruce Boa | Car Salesman |
| Berry Cornish | Fran |
| Mike Higgins | The Prompter (uncredited) |
| Robert Hutton | Insurance Agent |
| Laurie Leigh | Toothpaste Mother |
| Aleta Morrison | Harriet |
| Eve Pearce | Floor Wax Housewife |
| Muriel Young | Liz Harper |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Anthony Newley | Original Music Composer, Writer, Director |
| Herman Raucher | Writer |
| Bernard Gribble | Editor |
| William Constable | Art Direction |
| Scott Slimon | Set Decoration |
| Herbert Kretzmer | Lyricist |
| Richard Williams | Opening Title Sequence |
| Otto Heller | Director of Photography |
| Peter Hutchinson | Special Effects |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| George Fowler | Associate Producer |
| Anthony Newley | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
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| 2024 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
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| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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| 2025 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 2025 | 11 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| 2025 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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