Directed by:
Nunnally JohnsonCinematography:
Charles G. ClarkeCast:
Dan Dailey, Ginger Rogers, David Niven, Tony Randall, Barbara Rush, Rachel Stephens, Franklin Pangborn, Hal Taggart, Franklyn Farnum, Clancy Cooper (more)Plots(1)
Based on Ed Chodorov's successful play, this psychiatric spoof tickled many funnybones. It was Randall's film debut, after having played on Broadway in "Inherit the Wind" and having done a good run on TV as pal to "Mr. Peepers." Niven is a sedate psychiatrist who keeps his medical practice and his domestic life apart, then is shocked to see that they are coming together. Rogers is the bored wife of film star Dailey. She complains that often-drunk husband Dailey is paying too much attention to Rush. This stuns Niven because Rush is his intended; the two of them are about to take an ocean voyage and be married by the captain aboard the liner. Enter Randall, another patient. Randall is having a fling with a nutty girl who he reveals is also Rush. Niven is beside himself and considering going back for more analysis. He manages to hold his heart and temper somewhat in check, gets Rogers and Dailey back together after a struggle, and plans to go on his cruise. On the ocean liner Niven waits for Rush, and when she doesn't arrive he tells the steward to put his luggage ashore. Just as he's about to get off the boat, Rush arrives to say goodbye to him. Seeing Niven changes Rush's feelings about him, and now she wants to stay. Niven is suave, Rogers (she seems to like playing women who consult psychiatrists, as she did in LADY IN THE DARK among others) is energetic, but the best comedy comes from Randall and Rush, both of whom fairly explode off the screen with their eccentric characters. Chodorov had been one of the writers blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee and was not allowed to have his name on screen. As a symbol of solidarity, Johnson asked that his writing credit be erased as well. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Dan Dailey
USA
Best movies:
The Mortal Storm (1940)
It's Always Fair Weather (1955)
A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950)
Ginger Rogers
USA
Best movies:
The Green Mile (1999) - a.f.
Producers' Showcase (1954) (series)
The Barkleys of Broadway (1949)
David Niven
UK
Best movies:
Un cadavre au dessert (1976)
The Brain (1969)
The Dawn Patrol (1938)
Tony Randall
USA
Best movies:
Barbara Rush
USA
Best movies:
Hombre (1967)
The Young Philadelphians (1959)
Strangers When We Meet (1960)
Rachel Stephens
Best movies:
Ten North Frederick (1958)
From the Terrace (1960)
Desk Set (1957)
Franklin Pangborn
USA
Best movies:
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
Stage Door (1937)
Carefree (1938)
Hal Taggart
USA
Best movies:
The Graduate (1967)
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
Inherit the Wind (1960)
Franklyn Farnum
USA
Best movies:
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Clancy Cooper
USA
Best movies:
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)
The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
Joel Fluellen
USA
Best movies:
A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
Roots: The Next Generations (1979) (series)
The Chase (1966)
Monty O'Grady
USA
Best movies:
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
North by Northwest (1959)
Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)