La femme sans mari

This movie came under the radar for me - I had never heard of it. Turner Classic Movies gave me the chance, as usual, to experience a film I would probably have never watched, otherwise.

"One" is a wonderful period piece, with great acting, and a simple but engaging plot.

Granted, Janet Leigh's crude supporting character is a bit grating - the humor is jarring - but everyone else is cast perfectly.

The San Francisco locale is used effectively, but sparingly.

Interestingly, director Stuart also directed "Willy Wonka" the year before; he certainly knew how to work with actors.

In San Francisco, 27 year old Amy Brower (Trish Van Devere) is puzzled when her husband walks out on her. He wants a divorce after four years of marriage. Apparently, he went to Mexico with a 19 year old girl and he's cutting her off financially. She's still trying to save her marriage while adjusting to her new life.

It's definitely another time. It may be a different time but there are echoes to today. It's post 60's. It's women's lib. It's single gal adventures and tribulations. It's divorce American style. This reminds me of a couple of famous divorce/single woman/feminist movies later in the decade. This story meanders around and threatens to derail a couple of times. Amy frustrates me a little by trying to keep her marriage for too long. At a certain point, she needs to face reality. She should change her outlook after the big cry and Howard. By the time of the climatic meeting, it's a little anti-climatic. The final ending leaves me with mixed feelings.

Somebody's always saying goodbye, as an Anne Murray song goes. Here, Trish van Devere's husband has left her. After arguments and differences, the last straw was when she threw his copy of Milton out the window of their New York apartment. Being alone was the last thing she expected to be after her four years with James, but now she's alone. Of course, she's got girlfriends (like Jane Elliott) who want to hook her up, but she's so depressed and in shock. Oh, and yeah, she needs a job now. The employment place maybe has something, if she's nice to him. But he's a creep. There's the old man who runs the grocery store, whose wife died a few years ago. He's nice to talk to, played by Melvyn Douglas. She takes a job as a lifeguard, of all things! Between all her highs and lows and meeting a possible suitor in Monte Markham, she tries to find her independent soul. While the film does reflect the loneliness and despondency of her situation, it does not wallow in it and therefore manages to entertain the viewer while relating to her pain. The supporting cast is very good, but the film belong to Ms. Van Devere. Watch "One is a Lonely Number" and learn that you need not feel weak and dependent on another, and that as one you can be strong.

This is a little-known, but rewarding seriocomic film about the tribulations of a young woman in the throes of a divorce. Van Devere plays a 27 year-old wife who watches (in a hilariously pretentious opening sequence) as her husband packs his things and walks out on her. Completely unprepared for this, she must jump the hurdles of a society who, at that time, didn't make things easy for a single woman. She "gets a job, gets a lawyer and gets laid" as the leader of a woman's league advises her. None of these things come easy or without pitfalls, however. She must tolerate a slimy employment recruiter and take on the unlikely task of being a lifeguard. She can't decide whether to have her lawyer castrate her husband or let him off easy. She finds the dating game to be more than a little daunting. She must get her feet wet and take the plunge in a new world (symbolized not too subtly by her occupation and an imposing diving board.) The film is a bit soapy, trite and pat at times, but thanks to the eventually endearing work of Van Devere (who's in virtually every scene), expert pacing and some excellent supporting players, it comes off as very enjoyable and pleasant. Douglas, who in this period was building an impressive resume of excellent supporting performances, shines as an elderly produce shop owner who is fond of the young lady. Leigh, in her last really glamorous big screen appearance before turning gaunt, gets off several snappy lines as the women's league leader. Elliot, legendary for her work on "General Hospital", is a very bright, attractive presence as Van Devere's best friend. Markham has one of his best big screen roles as a man trying to break through Van Devere's defenses. The film is a fascinating time capsule of early '70's fashions/hair and viewpoints on women and their roles at the time. As a lifeguard, the leading lady has to do a whole myriad of things that no one would do today (actually, no one her age could probably even BE a lifeguard today!) including rubbing lotion on a beached whale of a woman and putting a swimsuit on a naked child! The film raises questions as to how much women gained or lost in the sexual revolution, but also shows how much things have changed. To it's credit, the film avoids a lot of things (heart-tugging deaths, extraneous problems of the friends, loud confrontations, etc...) that would be inserted into a film today, giving it a much more realistic atmosphere. The musical score is effective, but the choice of song for the seduction scene is excruciatingly awful. Viewers will want to keep a mute button handy for that!

"One is a Lonely Number" ("Two is a Happy Number") is a film about a woman's experience coming to terms with the end of her marriage. In many ways, it's like Dr. Kubler-Ross' Stages of Grief and you see the lady (Trish Van Devere) work through the stages until she finally arrives at accepting that it is, indeed, over. While this would NOT make for a fun or good date night film, it is mildly entertaining and a bit brave in addressing this sad topic. Sadly, up until the end it was a very good film (I might have scored it a 7 or 8) but the ending seemed a bit dumb and poorly handled. You could do better...you could do a lot worse. This sort of film has the term 'time-passer' written all over it and is a nice chance to see Van Devere acting without her husband and usual on-screen partner, George C. Scott.