En busca del amor

Witless remake of "Three Coins in the Fountain" with songs looks like a glossy, Saran Wrapped time-capsule in Easter egg colors; for connoisseurs of vintage cars and pre-groovy fashions and hairstyles, it's a must, although no audience is likely to be enthralled with this inane plot. Three American honeys (one a very naïve virgin) are on the lookout for men in Madrid, available or not. With its uneven mix of on-location footage and interiors likely shot on the Fox lot, the movie isn't very useful as a travelogue, though the ladies are certainly lovely to look at. Titian-haired Ann-Margret gets to sing on the beach in a bikini; baby-voiced Pamela Tiffin falls for girl-chaser Anthony Franciosa; while faux-jaded Carol Lynley has eyes for her much-married boss, Brian Keith (leading to the only strong scene in the movie, a showdown in the ladies room between Lynley and neglected wife Gene Tierney). Edith Sommer's screenplay, via John H. Secondari's novel "Coins in the Fountain", is weighed down with soap opera-ish confrontations laden with some real howlers (Tierney: "How dare you feel sorry for me, you little tramp!"). The clothes and cars and hairstyles are a '60s dream, but I didn't believe the match-ups at the finale--only the fact that Ann-Margret's singing and dancing at a party would definitely silence the crowd. ** from ****

I so enjoy teasing a friend of mine about his long-time and, let's face it, abject adoration of the Swedish bombshell, Ms. A-M. This one was shown on American Movie Classics recently, "formatted" (Why do they bother?!?), which reduces one's visual pleasure by approximately 50%! But even without a forty-foot wide screen to celebrate her astonishingly talented assets, Annie is something to behold. When she waggles that tush...well, it's no wonder she performs almost all of her musical numbers indoors on studio sets. The censorious Spanish would have had her arrested! It rivals "Viva! Las Vegas" as her finest hour!

As an artifact of times long gone, this is still fairly enjoyable. Today's young ingenues seem like such tired-out, world weary ladies of the evening compared to the virginal Miss Tiffin, the ambitious Miss Lynley and the incomparable Miss Margret. (Eat your heart out, J. Lo!) And with Brian Keith and Gene Tierney on hand to attest that those beyond their thirties could still care for each other (though it takes the scriptwriters until about the final sequence to maneuver them to that realization), one can regretfully observe that we've come a long way from the bright and beautiful early Sixties, and there's not much to crow about on that score.

I liked this one, too. Beautiful locations and great stars! I was a kid when this came out, but it was neat to see a movie about young women who weren't all in a "Bachelor in Paradise" situation. You know, just old men with young girls! (Although, I guess Maggie had to figure her way out of a similar situation! Didn't we all?)

Oh well, Madrid was beautiful! I loved Ann-Magret singing "The Pleasure Seekers" and the end song when she sings "your standing there and your grinning, like you don't know you not winning and all the time we're beginning the next time" (It just came to me- its called "The Next Time!)

I did wish that Pamela Tiffin's character's wasn't so dumb- but then, all of her characters in films were dumb.

Granted ---this movie is sooo 60's! But, I thought it was a fun film. Granted, there was a mad attempt to recapture the 50's here (DID NOT WORK)---but it was easy on the eyes and entertaining----PLUS Ann-Margret was indeed Ravishing! ---especially in that PINK ruffled dress singing the title tune! Worked For Me!!!

When servicemen of the sixties were polled over who was their favorite female star, Ann-Margret was it. To them, she must have been a tantalizing tease with big, red hair, and when she shook her head, it looked like it was on fire. She must have kept them pretty happy with those moves of hers. The camera always seemed fixated on her gyrating behind. She was irrepressible; even if you knew better, you couldn't take your eyes off her. (Elvis Presley at one point fretted that she might steal "Viva Las Vegas" right out from under him.)

In "The Pleasure Seekers" she plays Fran Hobson, a sometimes-working singer/dancer holed up in Madrid who, between gigs, passed the time dreaming of landing Mr. Right. He comes in the form of a young Spaniard doctor (Andre Lawrence) whose own dream is to render medical service to the poor, a dream which doesn't include a wife. He changes his mind, of course. What man in a uniform wouldn't?

Hers is not the most interesting romantic entanglement. That one belongs to nifty Carol Lynley as Maggie Williams who harbors impure designs on her boss (Brian Keith) only to be publicly humiliated for them by his wife (a not-so-well-aged Gene Tierney). Lynley ends up with Gardner McKay (whom I would confuse with Richard Beymer if I wasn't paying attention).

"The Pleasure Seekers" belongs to a long tradition of movies with three single women in the leads seeking husbands as far back as I can remember as the 1932 release "Three On A Match" with Joan Blondell, Ann Dvorak, and Bette Davis. With this one, director Jean Negulesco is actually remaking his 1954 "Three Coins In A Fountain" which won the Academy Award for best song. The musical efforts in this movie by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen are respectable enough. How could you not like Ann-Margret serenading the object of her desire with "Something to think about" or her bouncing her way through "Everything Makes Music When You're In Love" in a tight bikini?

With my favorite Italian actor in the whole wide world Vito Scotti as the girls' next-door neighbor; Anthony Franciosa; and ditzy Pamela Tiffin to round out the sublet. By the looks of the leads, you'd think they were cast for their hair color. Negulesco might have called this one "The Blonde, the Brunette, and Big Red."