VALUTAZIONE IMDb
6,9/10
1898
LA TUA VALUTAZIONE
Aggiungi una trama nella tua linguaAn uptight IRS agent is ordered to investigate a rural family in debt to the government...but the family - including lovely daughter Mariette - help him loosen up.An uptight IRS agent is ordered to investigate a rural family in debt to the government...but the family - including lovely daughter Mariette - help him loosen up.An uptight IRS agent is ordered to investigate a rural family in debt to the government...but the family - including lovely daughter Mariette - help him loosen up.
- Regia
- Sceneggiatura
- Star
- Premi
- 3 candidature totali
William Smith
- Barney
- (as Bill Smith)
Robert Carson
- Party Guest
- (non citato nei titoli originali)
Gordon Carveth
- Townsman
- (non citato nei titoli originali)
Gene Coogan
- Townsman
- (non citato nei titoli originali)
Recensioni in evidenza
If you are the sort of person looking for a realistic film or one with a strong and believable plot, then this film is NOT for you. Nope--you'll hate it. However, for those who like sweet, slightly screwball comedies, then you'll have a nice time watching this slight film.
Tony Randall works for the IRS and he investigates a very nice farmer who never realized he needed to file an income tax return. However hard he tries to convince them of the seriousness of his visit, everyone in the family is thrilled to have company. They dote on him and treat him like one of the family,...and have plans on getting him hitched to their daughter, Debbie Reynolds. That's really about all the plot there is. But the film gets high marks for a fun script and decent acting. A really nice little curio from the late 1950s.
Tony Randall works for the IRS and he investigates a very nice farmer who never realized he needed to file an income tax return. However hard he tries to convince them of the seriousness of his visit, everyone in the family is thrilled to have company. They dote on him and treat him like one of the family,...and have plans on getting him hitched to their daughter, Debbie Reynolds. That's really about all the plot there is. But the film gets high marks for a fun script and decent acting. A really nice little curio from the late 1950s.
The premise is funny where straight well-educated Tony Randall is sent to get Paul Douglas and family to pay up their taxers. Douglas is a nice rural type who has never bothered to file taxes in over 20 years! Una Merkel is his farm wife and Debbie Reynolds plays the eldest of his children. Naturally, Randall falls for Reynolds.
A vicious neighbor played by Philip Ober wants the Douglas homestead. He sends the IRS after the family. With Fred Clark and Charles Lane at the head of the IRS, you'd think the family is in for lots of trouble.
Reynolds musical ability is put to task briefly.
The film falls apart in a rather lengthy drunken sequence when Lorenzo Charlton (Randall) gets bombed out and parades around singing a Cole Porter tune. Other silly scenes is a brawl between Randall and a jealous suitor of Reynolds with his friends.
The ending is contrived. Get out your civil war documents and watch the interest build up. Mainly for the silly at heart.
A vicious neighbor played by Philip Ober wants the Douglas homestead. He sends the IRS after the family. With Fred Clark and Charles Lane at the head of the IRS, you'd think the family is in for lots of trouble.
Reynolds musical ability is put to task briefly.
The film falls apart in a rather lengthy drunken sequence when Lorenzo Charlton (Randall) gets bombed out and parades around singing a Cole Porter tune. Other silly scenes is a brawl between Randall and a jealous suitor of Reynolds with his friends.
The ending is contrived. Get out your civil war documents and watch the interest build up. Mainly for the silly at heart.
Energetic romp overseen by that veteran of slapstick George Marshall. This is not his best, but he does keep things moving. Enjoyable for the most part if you can get past owlish Tony Randall as the answer to a maiden's dream (Debbie Reynold's). He certainly looks the part of an IRS collections tiger, but it's a stretch in the romance department. Lots of barnyard innuendo as earthy farmer Paul Douglas and his obstreperous family manage a living outside the money economy. He barters things in shrewd fashion, while enjoying life's simple pleasures. That is, until snobby neighbor neighbor Philip Ober sics the IRS on him in an attempt to grab his property after Douglas refuses to sell.
Really clever premise, with a provocative subtext that pits the older agrarian way of life against the modern complexities. Bureaucrat Randall must collect a lifetime of back taxes from throw-back Douglas who, of course, has never dealt in money. But Randall, all officiousness, has never encountered the likes of the artful farmer and his bursting-with-life family that keep him perpetually off-balance. At the same time, comely daughter Reynolds works her wiles in typical spirited fashion. Some funny set-ups, especially when the barnyard critters turn on the hapless bureaucrat.
However, some of the slapstick goes on too long for my liking, suggesting that Marshall is indeed past his prime. Nonetheless, Douglas is near perfect as the good-natured hick, while Reynolds manages the spunk without too much excess. Look for outlaw biker Bill Smith as a muscle-bound rowdy, and of course the great Fred Clark in one of his typical bah-humbug roles. All in all, there are some genuine guffaws, but in some ways the movie is more interesting than anything else. Come to think of it, comedy aside, the movie can be viewed as a must-include at any hippie or Libertarian film retrospective.
Really clever premise, with a provocative subtext that pits the older agrarian way of life against the modern complexities. Bureaucrat Randall must collect a lifetime of back taxes from throw-back Douglas who, of course, has never dealt in money. But Randall, all officiousness, has never encountered the likes of the artful farmer and his bursting-with-life family that keep him perpetually off-balance. At the same time, comely daughter Reynolds works her wiles in typical spirited fashion. Some funny set-ups, especially when the barnyard critters turn on the hapless bureaucrat.
However, some of the slapstick goes on too long for my liking, suggesting that Marshall is indeed past his prime. Nonetheless, Douglas is near perfect as the good-natured hick, while Reynolds manages the spunk without too much excess. Look for outlaw biker Bill Smith as a muscle-bound rowdy, and of course the great Fred Clark in one of his typical bah-humbug roles. All in all, there are some genuine guffaws, but in some ways the movie is more interesting than anything else. Come to think of it, comedy aside, the movie can be viewed as a must-include at any hippie or Libertarian film retrospective.
Rambunctious Debbie Reynolds (as Mariette Larkin) gets the urge to mate with tax collector Tony Randall (as Lorenzo Charlton). And, he wants to mate with her! - How? - Well, farming father Paul Douglas (as Sidney "Pa" Larkin) doesn't pay taxes; he trades things, and raises piglets. Maryland "Ma" Una Merkel raises children, and bakes blueberry pies. Ms. Reynolds rides a pig into wealthy neighbor Philip Ober (as Wendell Burnshaw)'s mansion, prompting Mr. Ober to summon Mr. Randall from the IRS (Internal Revenue Service). Will Randall collect taxes, Reynolds, or both?
Reynolds and Randall are not a very convincing romantic couple. They should have considered casting, perhaps, Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue. Randall dances a drunken melody of "Frère Jacques" / "I've Got You Under My Skin". This is followed by an impossibly implausible (even for this type of film) implied sex scene, with Reynolds. Director George Marshall gives it an appropriate feature-length "sit-com" treatment; but, the material makes the increasing slapstick more painful than funny (witness the "barn" fight scene). The supporting cast, with its old pros and fresh faces, is a treasure trove, however.
***** The Mating Game (4/29/59) George Marshall ~ Debbie Reynolds, Tony Randall, Paul Douglas, Una Merkel
Reynolds and Randall are not a very convincing romantic couple. They should have considered casting, perhaps, Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue. Randall dances a drunken melody of "Frère Jacques" / "I've Got You Under My Skin". This is followed by an impossibly implausible (even for this type of film) implied sex scene, with Reynolds. Director George Marshall gives it an appropriate feature-length "sit-com" treatment; but, the material makes the increasing slapstick more painful than funny (witness the "barn" fight scene). The supporting cast, with its old pros and fresh faces, is a treasure trove, however.
***** The Mating Game (4/29/59) George Marshall ~ Debbie Reynolds, Tony Randall, Paul Douglas, Una Merkel
10thecob-1
Excellent farce! Which, of course, is all it is intended to be. Thankfully there is neither a social or political message, nor is there the slightest attempt in that direction. Could the plot actually take, or have taken place in any particular time or location? Unlikely, for, after all, this is simply, merely, a movie, and movies spring from imagination, not from reality. The only goal of this movie is to entertain, certainly not to educate, and entertain it does, with reality delightfully and lightheartedly tossed to the winds. I think most would agree that from documentaries we expect enlightenment and authenticity. But for entertainment I want what is nowadays described as a "no-brainer," which The Mating Game is in all respects. For a few chuckles and an outright laugh now and then, this is fine fare fantasy.
Lo sapevi?
- QuizThis was Paul Douglas' last film. He died of a heart attack in 1959, the same year the movie was made. He was born in 1907, making him 52 when he made this film. He had been offered a starring role in Billy Wilder's L'appartamento (1960), but the role was given to Fred MacMurray after Douglas passed away.
- BlooperDuring the opening scene and the aerial view of the Larkin Farm, Lorenzo's car is seen in the yard. Lorenzo doesn't arrive until later.
- Citazioni
Mariette Larkin: You were born suspicious! I'll bet you made the doctor show his license before you let him slap your behind!
- ConnessioniFeatures Operazione segreta (1958)
- Colonne sonoreThe Mating Game
Music by Charles Strouse
Lyrics by Lee Adams
Performed by Debbie Reynolds (uncredited)
[Title song performed during the opening titles and credits]
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Dettagli
Botteghino
- Budget
- 876.000 USD (previsto)
- Tempo di esecuzione1 ora 36 minuti
- Proporzioni
- 2.35 : 1
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