Sellers is just magnificent here. Way, way out of his comfort zone. Easily his best performance after "Being There" and in some ways much more challenging. And how many confrontation scenes (that's what this is - a stomach-turning confrontation between two perverts) do you see where the characters deliberately do not face each other? Excellent POV shot from Mason's character - Kubrick was brilliant even from his early days.

hobbs, agree completely. The staging of this scene, Quilty NOT looking at Humbert makes the line of questioning even MORE unnerving, it makes the innuendo even MORE indirect, yet MORE threatening. Plus Humbert being unable to see - and therefore read - Quilty's face elevates the unpredictable nature of the conversation. Humbert can't tell how serious or comical or whatever Quilty is being in the very real way humans pick up on body language to interpret communication. Re Being There: What an unbelievably great role and highlights the brilliance of Sellers who played to the character's understated, naive nature throughout, never once going outside Chauncey's nature. That must have been so hard, especially how incredible Sellers was with physical comedy, but he was true to the character throughout which speaks both to his commitment to the craft and his understanding of character with a narrative.