Un domingo en Nueva York

... AKA the unraveling of the motion picture production code and the sexual revolution that began in earnest in the 60s. Most films about sex in this era are pretty unwatchable today because they are trying to shock you with controversies that are long dead, and plus they take such a mechanical view of sex.

This film is different. It stars Cliff Robertson as an airline pilot, Adam, who has a swinging bachelor pad. But he also has a 22 year old sister (Jane Fonda), Eileen, who thinks she is the last virgin in New York. After breaking up with her boyfriend she goes out in search of a stranger with which to lose her virginity. She finds a likely candidate, but then she finds out that in 1963 lots of men don't mind being the second guy, but their Victorian values reveal themselves when they discover they are about to be the first.

And Adam's swinging 60s libertine view of sex? That becomes "not with my sister you don't!" when he discovers Eileen's plan. If you ever want to know what things were like on the dating scene when women still had no real career paths and were expected to quit those jobs anyways and be housewives when they married , just as all of that was about to change, watch this film. Plus it has some of the finest actors of the era who are mainly known for drama in a very funny comedy.

The plot of "Sunday in New York" is very adult. At the same time, it's a mainstream release in 1963, meaning that although adult the studio would have to pull its punches in the film. In other words, while the story clearly is about sex, they don't mention sex nor is the film especially risque by today's standards.

When the story begins, Eileen (Jane Fonda) arrives unexpectedly in New York City to spend some time with her brother. As for him, Adam (Cliff Robertson) is a womanizing pilot...and he has his latest conquest coming to the apartment. Not surprisingly, Eileen's arrival throws a monkey wrench into his plans. So, Adam spends most of the rest of the film trying to get some alone time with one of his girlfriends....and Eileen vacillates between wanting to stay pure or getting laid.

The acting is very nice, with four excellent leads. The story is also interesting, as it challenges some of the traditional views of women held at the time...and has a clever script. Not a must-see but an enjoyable time-passer.

I saw this when it appeared in 1963 and loved it. Bought the LP as soon as I could find it because of the wonderful Peter Nero score. Bought the VHS as soon as it appeared. Watched it with my grown children last night (in their thirties) and they enjoyed it, and laughed at all the right places. With excellent dialog and a classic story and one of the best movie soundtracks ever, to us this holds up very well. Am trying to start a campaign to have the movie issued as a DVD and the soundtrack on CD. Whoever owns the rights is missing out. This is absolutely comparable to 'You've Got Mail', 'Sleepless in Seattle', and 'When Harry Met Sally'.

One of the best romantic comedies I've ever seen. Jane Fonda has just been dumped because she wouldn't have sex before marriage and decides to spend a week in New York to forget her problems. She meets a guy on a bus and before long they're having coffee together. One thing leads to another and they're in her brother's apartment in bathrobes and her ex walks in! He assumes the guy is Jane Fonda's brother, and that's when the movie starts getting incredibly funny. It's like a screwball comedy with Cary Grant, and played very well by all the actors. Her real brother ends up playing someone else. Rod Taylor is really charming and cute and the brother is hilarious with a whole other subplot concerning his girlfriend and how all of their dates fall through. I'd never heard of this movie until it was on TCM and I'm surprised it's not more well-known. A real hidden gem, highly recommended!

Was Jane Fonda really this young? In this coy 1963 sex farce written by comedy veteran Norman Krasna (Alfred Hitchcock's "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", "Indiscreet"), she plays Eileen Tyler, a 22-year-old girl from Albany paying an unexpected visit to her airline pilot brother Adam in the Big Apple. She is reeling from a fight with her fiancé Russ who is giving her undue pressure to put out before they marry. Adam assures her that waiting for the wedding night is the right thing to do and then deceives her into thinking he is doing the same. Naturally, he turns out to be a womanizer planning to shag his girlfriend that day. Feeling like the only virgin in the world, Eileen meanwhile engages in a flirtation with a reporter named Mike Mitchell. Complications ensue with mistaken identities and morality questions thrown in to make the plot more interesting.

As if you couldn't tell from the swinging title tune sung by Mel Torme, the film is an idealization of early-1960's Manhattan single life that merely toys with the idea of premarital sex well before the concept of free love came into vogue. Guided by TV director Peter Tewksbury, there is a mechanical sitcom feel to the proceedings, but the real NYC locations help and the three leads are game players. Fonda is adorably adroit in a preview of her bouncier work in "Barefoot in the Park", and Cliff Robertson plays Adam's double-standard hypocrisy with agility. However, it's Rod Taylor, fresh from filming Hitchcock's "The Birds", who shines the most as Mike in a deft turn. Jazz pianist and composer Peter Nero supplies the loudly intrusive soundtrack. This film (released just a week before JFK's assassination) has yet to make it to DVD.