En busca del placer

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."

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.

Frivolous, silly, unrealistic, take your pick, any of those adjectives could fit The Pleasure Seekers (20th Century Fox, 1964). However, if you like escapist fare, if you like films that offer nothing more than pure entertainment, and if you like films that feature incredibly beautiful actresses, then this film is definitely for you, and for me.

I've probably seen The Pleasure Seeker at least ten times; it's truly one of my cinematic guilty pleasures. However, this is the kind of film that made me love movies. Its Hollywood at it's superficial best. It's mesmerizing Ann-Margret breaking out in song and dance accompanied by that invisible orchestra. It's beautiful cinematography, capturing magnificent Spanish landscapes and romantic old towns. It's gorgeous people having sex, without taking off their clothes.

What it's not is a great movie; don't get me wrong it's not a bad movie, far from it. It's just pretty predictable, and slightly unbelievable, yes, a little sexist, but it's fun to watch and well, it has Ann-Margret breaking out in song and dance in bikinis and tight dresses. But I digress. So what is the movie about? It's about the romantic adventures of three delectable girls who share an apartment one summer in Madrid, Spain. Ann-Margret plays a struggling nightclub singer and dancer, who's been unlucky in love. Her roommate, super sexy Carol Lynley is the efficient and smart secretary her boss can't do without, literally, They are joined by the scrumptious Pamela Tiffin, who plays Lynley's naive but adorable friend visiting from America, and on the prowl for a husband.

The film progresses through each girl's roller coaster relationship with their prospective love interest. Ann-Margret falls head-over-heels for a Spanish doctor (handsome Andre Lawrence) whose dedication to providing medical care for the people of his village threatens their relationship. Tiffin's adorable dingbat character falls for a smooth talking gigolo (Tony Franciosa, Hollywood's favorite 1960s cad) who of course, manages to break her heart, and finally, Lynley has the most-complicated situation of the three, as she finds herself in a love triangle between her boss (older gray fox Brian Keith) and a slacker journalist (Gardner McKay). If she chooses Keith, she could find herself as his permanent mistress, but if she chooses McKay, does she really love him, or is she merely settling?

Thanks to cinematographer Daniel L. Fapp (West Side Story, Let's Make Love, Our Man Flint among many others) The Pleasure Seekers is a vivid feast, and the three gorgeous actresses are the main course. There is one particularly awesome shot, where the girl's entire apartment can be seen, as they frolic about in various stages of undress going from one bedroom to another (sort of reminiscent of Jerry Lewis' revolutionary open apartment shots in 1961's The Ladies Man).

Veteran director Jean Negulesco (How to Marry A Millionaire, Johnny Belinda, three Coins in The Fountain, of which this film is a remake) takes the simple plot and creates an enjoyable quickly paced film that takes advantage of the witty dialog, and his stars, (male stars included), good locks and sex appeal. One-time screen heartthrob Gene Tierney has a cameo role as Brian Keith's neglected wife. Still a beauty, this would be Ms. Tierney final film as she was suffering through the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

I'm so glad vintage film channels such as Turner Classic and Fox Movie Channel have resurrected this film Its a slice of American film history, and an example of how movies don't always have to teach a lesson, or expose the dark side of life. Sometimes we just want to escape into our fantasies, our dreams of romance, and that's where The Pleasure Seekers succeeds. Oh, and did I mention that Ann-Margret dances and sings in a bikini?

The hair, the clothes, the accents, the song and dance numbers by Ann-Margret -- really, what's not to love in this film? Yeah, it's silly, yeah, it's little outdated in gender relations, but who cares? The styling is excellent, Ann-Margret sings her heart out, and the guys are cute. I wanted to buy this DVD the first time I saw the film, but haven't been able to find it for sale anywhere. Please, powers that be, make this film available for sale!!!!!!

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!!!