On a sunny day in Cannes, filmmaker Gracie (daughter of Barry) Otto introduces a frail man with a speech impediment, a man known by all. Before the opening credits, she has you hooked. Who is this crumpled pensioner, why does everyone know and love him, and what has ruined his health? She doesn't let go as we dive headlong in to the life of Michael White: 'probably the most famous person you've never heard of'.

Not unless you're Michael Douglas, David Bowie, Kate Moss, Mick Jagger, John Cleese, Wallace Shawn, Yoko Ono, Richard O'Brien, Barry Humphries or Naomi Watts who, along with scores of A-listers and royalty, knew White well. The last of his kind, he was the producer behind stage hits like Oh! Calcutta! and Crazy For You!, film hits like White Mischief and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, sensations like My Dinner With Andre, phenomena like The Rocky Horror Show. White knew no fear, happily crossing moral and financial boundaries to get a risky, or risqué, project made: commercial sensibilities were for someone else. “He'd take something small and introduce it to the world,” said Ana Wintour, another of the impresario's intimates.

With his life laid open, it's hard to imagine a world without Michael White. His London salon in the 1960's and 70's launched a multitude of careers, including Australia's Nell Campbell and former Channel 9 weather girl, Lyndall Hobbs. He introduced artists to society, then recorded every moment with an Instamatic camera. It is a riveting portrait of a playboy producer who shaped over five decades of entertainment and emerged relatively intact.

Never a great talker, it is Otto's unfettered access to White's friends that brings scorching detail to his life and times. It is an enthralling account. While a heavy diet of drink, drugs and gambling did his reputation no lasting harm, three strokes have left White leaning on two walking sticks. Convinced 'there's no advantage in growing old' and clearly frustrated by his physical state, the 88 year old continues to party like he was 28. He is The Last Impresario and they simply don't make 'em like that any more.

// COLIN FRASER

Previewed at Event Cinemas, George St, Sydney, on 11 June 2014