L'amour coûte cher

Huge names in this! José ferrer, who had already starred in caine mutiny and moulin rouge. Jim backus is probably best known as thurston howell III, and mad mad world, of course. Gena rowlands made a ton of films with peter falk, and was married to cassavetes. Keep an eye out for ed platt (the chief), werner klemperer was colonel klink! And one of the secretaries is nancy kulp, who will go on to be miss hathaway! Fun scene right at the start, where husband and wife don't speak, but have a perfectly choreographed routine, from getting dressed to eating breakfast. The first words spoken by them come at eight minutes in! The issues of the day are jim thinks they will be making big changes at work, and ginny thinks she might be "with child". It's okay. Kind of slow in the middle, picks up again at the end. It's more interesting for the big names, even though some of these actors weren't so big yet! Directed by josé ferrer. And mrs. Mason was played by henny backus, jim's real wife!

Ferrer and Gena Rowlands (in her big screen debut) think she may be expecting after nine years of marriage. They're overjoyed about it, but there's trouble at work. Ferrer's company has just been taken over, and despite the statement of the new management that they don't expect to make changes, except to promote people, Ferrer reads the winds and concludes he's going to be fired.

The audience is quickly assured that he is not going to lose his job. Indeed, he's going to be promoted. This turns the movie into a comedy. In support, a lot of the roles are taken by players who would later distinguish themselves in TV comedies, like Edward Platt, Werner Klemperer, Nancy Kulp, and Jim Backus. Ferrer, who also directs, plays his role absolutely straight The result is a peculiar study of 1950s middle-class anxiety in an insulated environment.

This 90 minute movie could have been over in 30 seconds, if Jim Fry had just gone up to his boss and asked why he wasn't invited to the luncheon.

As it stands, it feels like they really had to struggle to stretch this story out to an hour and a half. The first ten minutes is nothing but opening credits and a long pointless scene of Fry and his wife silently getting out of bed, having breakfast, and getting ready for the day. I was hoping their cars would crash when they pulled out of their garage in that weird way, so there would be some action.

There is no romantic spark between Jose Ferrer and Gena Rowlands, and the ending of the movie is blatantly spelled out for the audience about thirty minutes before the movie actually ends. For a "comedy," there are almost literally no laughs.

But on the plus side, I grew up in the 1950's, and I enjoyed seeing all the old appliances and cars and their dashboards and work desks without computers and even smoking in the office. So there's that.

Any movie with...

Mr. Howell Mel The Chief Klink Ms. Hathaway Dr. Joe Early Otis Campbell can't be all bad.

The 1950's corporate ethos is on full display in this time capsule of mid-20th century America. The normally affecting Jose Ferrer is serviceable but comes across in this film like a recent graduate of the Jack Webb school of acting. Stiff. Jack Lemmon, or an actor with a greater ability to work in a lighter touch, would have been a better choice. In spite of the less than ideal casting of Ferrer, the movie is generally well acted and nicely shot in black and white. Sit back and watch your favorite TV character actors perform on the big screen before making their bones on the tube.

Although this film is a little light-hearted comedy, it is well worth seeing, for many remarkable features. One is the sheer talent of everyone involved!

Mel Ferrer, who directed and acted as its main star, has far more legendary talent in both areas than this film shows. Gena Rowlands is a fabulous actress and although this is her first film, you can already see the fine acting talent she was about to become.

Rather fascinating to see is Richard Deacon, who has played in so many films and sitcoms I've lost count, in the role of the obstetrician, and Nancy Kulp, who was deeply loved as the gawky bank secretary in "The Beverley Hillbillies", and Ed Platt, who was legendary as "the Chief" in "Get Smart".

The story itself revolves around a misunderstanding. Jim Fry, played by Ferrer, believes that he is about to get the sack, when in fact he is actually about to be promoted. A series of events worsens his fears with each passing day, and he very nearly causes a catastrophe. Although this film is obviously limited in its scope and storyline, seeing all these wonderful and deeply loved actors all together in this one film transforms this little piece of fluff into a genuinely remarkable experience, which no lover of films and TV sitcoms should miss!

The best parts of the film, in my opinion, occur in the parts of the film when Ferrer and Rowlands are together. They play a very sweet couple who, after nine years of marriage, have their morning routine worked out so well it's a symphony of timing and choreography. Several other subsequent films have tried to mirror this routine but no-one has yet achieved the perfection of this original one.

This film gets a thoroughly deserved 9 out of 10 from me. It doesn't get a higher score only because of the limitations in its scope.