Large cut out of the budget??

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

I have to wonder how much of that bit was Peter Sellers ad-libbing, and how the rest of the cast managed not to ruin every take by busting out laughing.

According to the Behind the Scenes story, most of what he did was improvised and yes the crew and cast were cracking up. Some of crack ups can be seen in the movie.

Trivia: 55% of the total budget for the movie went to pay Sellers' salary.