Operação Matrimônio

I wondered how this movie with Gig Young, Shirley Jones, Red Buttons, and Carolyn Jones could only rate 2 stars out of 4 on my TV's guide. Then I saw the last 20 minutes. The movie had the stars and the start of a decent premise and then was ruined by ridiculousness in the last 20 minutes. They must have thrown some serious money at the 4 stars to get them to buy into this one. I can't see that it's ever been released to home video, so that should be a key indicator. It's that disappointing.

"A Ticklish Affair" begins with Navy Commander Key Weedon (Gig Young) arriving at the Martin household. It seems the youngest, Grover, was sending Morse code distress signals from their house in San Diego! And, the US Navy noticed it and went on alert! This was the kooky meet cute in the film....and soon Amy Martin (Shirley Jones) and the Commander begin dating and fall in love. But there's a major hitch here. The widow lost a husband in the Navy AND if she marries the Commander, she'll have to move with her three small boys to Italy! This is too much for her...and you certainly can understand her rejecting the Commander's offer. And, it's a shame as the boys really love the guy and want their mother to marry him.

This first 3/4 of the film was great...and the dilemma was real and you could understand Amy. But what follows was just stupid....and it really made a great romance an okay one in the end. It seems that Grover 'accidentally' flies away on a cluster of giant balloons and soon the fire department, police AND Navy are all scrambling to save this dopey 6 year-old. Talk about contrived!!! It really, really was a bad decision...as before this ridiculous portion, the film was amazingly good....and Jones was simply radiant.

What can only be described as a sweet film, this family comedy is bright and sunny even when the situation takes a turn for the perilous.

Full of sprightly performances this is the kind of film that rarely gets made anymore and when it does is drowned in sugary sentiment.

The Jones girls, Shirley and Carolyn are both most engaging, play well off each other and look great. In Carolyn's case this might be the most attractive she ever was on screen.

As the men in their lives Gig Young get a rare chance to be the romantic lead who doesn't lose the girl in the end performing with his customary charming agility. Red Buttons provides comic relief but his character is more than that and he does it well, he and Carolyn are a surprisingly compatible couple.

A film that will leave you charmed at the conclusion this should really be more widely known.

I LOVE this one. It is not very widely known, but if you get a chance to see it, do! Shirley Jones is wonderful as a widowed mother of three young boys. Then she meets prince charming Gig Young and falls for him right away. Although he says he doesn't want to have a "ready-made family" the two continue dating anyway, and of course he falls for the whole family. But when Gig is transferred overseas and wants to marry Shirley and take the kids, she puts her foot down. She doesn't want to be constantly moving around the world like she was with her father then her first husband. But is mother's word final? Don't forget there are three boys who want a dad and an Uncle Cy, (Red Buttons) who are going to try every which way to get the two together! A real gem of a movie, worth seeing if you've ever liked family films, comedies, dramas, or romance.

A Ticklish Affair has Shirley Jones as a Navy widow with three small boys who isn't sure that she wants to marry someone in the service again. And having sons Billy Mumy, Bryan Russell, and Peter Robbins in tow might scare anyone away in the service or not.

But Commander Gig Young is a persistent courter and I'm sure you can see where this nice family film is going. The film boasts some nice location cinematography in and around San Diego, especially of the San Diego zoo.

The climax of the film the rescue of young Peter Robbins from a most dangerous predicament is quite well done.

Add Edgar Buchanan, Carolyn Jones, and Red Buttons to the mix and you've got a nice film for the kids.