The Academy Award-nominated title song by Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (lyrics) is sung by Tom Jones.

[2] The film poster was painted by Frank Frazetta, and the animated title sequence was directed by Richard Williams.

arose from Charles K. Feldman, the producer, overhearing Warren Beatty, who was original choice for the lead role, answering the phone to a girlfriend and saying "what's up pussycat".

Notorious womanizer Michael James wants to be faithful to his fiancée Carole Werner, but most women he meets become attracted to him, including neurotic exotic dancer Liz Bien and parachutist Rita, who accidentally lands in his car.

His psychoanalyst, Dr. Fritz Fassbender, is unable to help, since he is pursuing patient Renée Lefebvre, who in turn longs for Michael.

Carole, meanwhile, decides to make Michael jealous by flirting with his nervous wreck of a friend, Victor Shakapopulis.

One night, Fassbender goes to the Seine, fills a rowing boat with kerosene and wraps himself in the Norwegian flag, preparing to commit suicide in the style of a Viking funeral.

Simultaneously, Rita parachutes into Michael's open-top sports car and the two check into a small country hotel, though he resists her attempts to seduce him.

A rumor also circulates locally that an orgy is taking place at the hotel, so side characters such as the petrol station attendant also surface.

Warren Beatty wanted to make a comedy film about male sex addiction and hoped Charles K. Feldman would produce it.

[6] Eventually, Beatty threatened to quit the production to stop this erosion, but the actor's status in Hollywood at that time had declined so severely that Feldman decided to let him leave and gave the part to Peter O'Toole.

[10][11][12] The film was released in New York City on June 22, 1965, and opened in Paris in January 1966 as Quoi de neuf, Pussycat?

[1] In addition to the title theme, songs featured were "Here I Am" by Dionne Warwick and "My Little Red Book" performed by Manfred Mann.

He criticized the script, the directing and the acting and described the film as "the most outrageously cluttered and campy, noisy and neurotic display of what is evidently intended as way-out slapstick".