This bitter farce is set in 1910 France and focuses on General Léon Saint-Pé and his infatuation with Ghislaine, a woman with whom he danced at a garrison ball some 17 years earlier.
[2] The cast included Welsh character actor Hugh Griffith as the General and Beatrix Lehmann as Mme St Pé, with Brenda Bruce as Ghislaine and Trader Faulkner as Gaston.
"This farce," added The Times, "has a bitter, some will say sour, flavour, but even those who resent its hard realism will be highly amused in spite of themselves, for a resourceful wit is supported by a brilliant sense of the theatre.
Then in 1974 Trevor Howard starred opposite Coral Browne (Mme St Pé), Zena Walker (Ghislaine) and Ian Ogilvy (Gaston) in a revival at London's Theatre Royal Haymarket.
It was directed by Stuart Burge, and starred Hugh Griffith as the General and Mildred Natwick as Mme St Pé, reprising their roles from the West End and Broadway productions respectively, as well as Beatrice Straight as Ghislaine.
A 1962 feature film, Waltz of the Toreadors, directed by John Guillermin, transported the setting to England and anglicised the lead characters' names to General Leo and Emily Fitzjohn.
Wolf Mankowitz was nominated for a BAFTA for Best British Screenplay and Sellers was awarded the Silver Shell for Best Actor at the San Sebastián International Film Festival.