The Wedding Party is an American independent black-and-white comedy farce co-directed, written, produced, and edited by Brian De Palma, Wilford Leach, and Cynthia Munroe. It was shot in 1963 (on a budget of about $43,000) as a collaborative project involving Sarah Lawrence College theater professor Leach and two of his students (De Palma and Munroe). Due to a legal dispute over rights and final cut, it was not released until April 9, 1969, in New York City, after De Palma’s Greetings (1968) and after Robert De Niro had started gaining notice. The on-screen copyright year is 1966. It was later distributed by companies including Troma Entertainment and Ajay Film Company.

The film follows Charlie (Charles Pfluger), a young groom who arrives at the wealthy Fish family’s estate on Shelter Island, New York, two days before his wedding to Josephine (Jill Clayburgh). He is accompanied by his groomsmen and friends Cecil (Robert De Niro) and Alistair (William Finley).

Charlie quickly develops cold feet amid the eccentric, judgmental relatives, social rituals, and pressures of the pre-wedding events (stag party, rehearsal, dinner, etc.). His friends encourage him to bail, and he considers sabotage or other ways out, while the story satirizes wedding etiquette and social pretensions (including title cards quoting a fictional etiquette book, “The Compleat Bridegroom”). The tone is manic, experimental, and influenced by the French New Wave and Richard Lester-style comedy, with quick cuts, speeded-up sequences, and an improvisational feel.

It is an early, formative work for De Palma (he later noted realizing on this set that he knew more about filmmaking than his mentor Leach) and marks the screen debuts of De Niro and Clayburgh, plus early appearances by future De Palma collaborators Finley and Salt. It is often viewed as a messy but interesting precursor to De Palma’s later style and as a historical curiosity rather than a polished classic.

In the 1960s, Julie Newmar (born Julia Chalene Newmeyer; August 16, 1933) became an indelible pop culture icon, defining the decade’s fusion of space-age glamour, high camp, and female empowerment. Already an accomplished Broadway dancer and Tony Award winner, she reached global stardom on television by delivering a masterclass in seductive, witty, and physically imposing performances.

Before putting on the catsuit, she starred as Rhoda Miller, a sophisticated female android, in this sci-fi CBS sitcom My Living Doll (1964–1965). Leveraging her classical dance training, she perfectly executed the rigid, emotionless movements required of a robot, which she considered some of her finest and most challenging acting work.

Her most famous role came as the villainous love interest in the campy ABC hit series Batman. Appearing in just 13 episodes over the first two seasons (1966–1967), her sultry chemistry with Adam West’s Batman permanently defined the character. She even famously customized her skintight black Lurex bodysuit, lowering the belt to emphasize her hips, creating a look later preserved by the Smithsonian Institution.

Her unique, statuesque presence (standing 5’11”) made her a highly sought-after guest star. She memorably played the pregnant tribal queen Eleen in the 1967 Star Trek: The Original Series episode “Friday’s Child,” and made appearances on hit shows like Get Smart, The Twilight Zone, The Monkees, and Bewitched.

She spent the early 1960s starring in major national theatrical tours, playing the ultimate seductress Lola in Damn Yankees (1961) and the title character in Irma la Douce (1965). At the end of the decade, she stepped away from Batman to star in the Western adventure film Mackenna’s Gold (1969).

Beyond her acting, Newmar’s sharp intellect saw her emerge as an early fashion innovator; she actually patented a precursor to shaping pantyhose during this era, paving the way for her second career as a multi-millionaire real estate entrepreneur and lingerie designer.

Einstein and Elsa toured the active Warner Bros. lot, where he received demonstrations on sound recording and early cinematic special effects. Footage shows Einstein in the driver’s seat with Elsa as a passenger, pretending to drive past projected backdrops in a practical effects demonstration.

The rare silent film was rediscovered decades later in boxes belonging to a co-inventor of Kodakcolor and premiered publicly 87 years after it was shot.