What's Up Tiger Lily? (1966)

WHAT'S UP, TIGER LILY?, Woody Allen's first directorial effort, started life as a low-grade Japanese James Bondian spy drama called KEY OF KEYS. Executive producer Henry G. Saperstein bought the film and hired Allen to dub in an entirely new soundtrack, featuring brand-new dialogue (cowritten by the new voices) that turns the story into a riotously ridiculous search for the perfect egg salad recipe; Saperstein also added scenes with the Lovin' Spoonful to give the film a hip 1960s feel wholly out of touch with what is occurring onscreen. Allen did shoot some new scenes for the film, in which he describes the genesis of the idea and its place in film history, claiming that the first film to do this was GONE WITH THE WIND. The new story features the Japanese cast playing such characters as Phil Moskowitz, Terry Yaki, and Suki Yaki, battling to find out just the right amount of mayonnaise to mix in with chopped eggs. Many of the jokes are about food and sex, two things that Allen would go on to explore more and more in his films.