Despedida de Solteiro

Paddy Chayefsky's screenplay is perceptive and even a bit daring for its time. This is an unusually sophisticated Hollywood picture from the 50s that contains some terrific acting. E.G. Marshall is very strong as the eldest of the men, but Oscar nominee Carolyn Jones is brilliant in a small, electrifying performance. She can't be in the film for more than 7 or 8 minutes but is completely memorable. She deserved to win the Oscar.

Delbert Mann directed another Paddy Chayefsky script(he wrote "Marty", which Mann directed) about five office workers and friends who celebrate the forthcoming marriage of one of them(played by Philip Abbott) Charlie Samson(played by Don Murray) is the thoughtful one of the group, whose wife(played by Patricia Smith) is expecting a baby, putting more stress on him. He will come to appreciate his family more after an eventful night, with angst-ridden Walter(played by E.G. Marshal) stable Kenneth(played by Larry Blyden) and the loud but lonely bachelor(played by Jack Warden). Carolyn Jones costars as a beautiful but lonely existentialist. Well-written and acted film about family life and self-determination has somehow been overlooked by time, since it has yet to be released on DVD for some reason; until then, VHS will have to do!

THE BACHELOR PARTY is adapted from Paddy Chayefsky's TV play and is a watered down version of other Chayefsky stories about lonely men and the lives they live--even when married.

It's downbeat all the way, beginning with an office scene where an obnoxious JACK WARDEN monopolizes office routine with his loud personal calls as he arranges for the evening's bachelor party. Reluctantly, happily married DON MURRAY agrees to attend, giving himself a night off from night school studies, although his reluctance is partly due to the fact that his wife is expecting their first child. LARRY BLYDEN just wants a night out with the boys and PHILIP ABBOTT is the soon to be groom, a "Marty" type of guy, shy with the gals, who reveals during the course of the evening that he's not ready for marriage.

The talk is natural, the dialog is very much Chayefsky's gift for simple folks expressing themselves in ways we can all relate to--and yet, the film lacks pace and shows its origin--a TV play that is character driven but not open enough for the screen.

CAROLYN JONES has a brief party scene that she plays well as an "existentialist" mouthing gibberish and for some reason she got an Oscar nomination for what is almost a bit role. Unbelievable.

Summing up: A disappointment, noteworthy only for the sincerity of all the performances with DON MURRAY especially likable and straightforward in his portrayal of the conflicted husband.

"Look Back In Anger," which came out on film a year after this, is a far more famous and influential work. Yet it doesn't hold up. The charter of Jimmy Potter, the original angry young man, seems extremely disagreeable. That film is beautifully acted.

"The Bachelor Party," on the other hand, though a far lesser work, does not seem dated. Oh sure: The money is different. The approach to women is antithetical to Women's Liberation. But it's a nice little movie.

Of the Paddy Chayevsky movies from this time, I would rate "The Catered Affair" as the best. Next would come this. Then would be the feted "Marty," which is extremely dated.

Don Murray makes a highly likable main character. The other men are good too. The women don't register so well. And in particular, the gifted Carolyn Jones's role has not held up well: She plays a character called The Existentialist. Murray meets her at a Beatnik party in Greenwich Village -- and a highly improbable one, at that. She doesn't seem Bohemian. She seems like a garden variety kvetch.

But it's an easy movie to like and one I would recommend.

(It seems to me a precursor to the John Cassavetes buddy movies that were to begin a few years later.)

This is basically a story of five buddies who miss the freedom of their youth. We might have less legal and moral restrictions 65 years later but the story is still basically the same.

Good script, good performances and Carolyn Jones will leave you wanting much more. I don't get the complaints about the ending. I don't want to give any spoilers so I won't go into detail.