Promise Her Anything

So whenever I say to people, well you know the movies were so much better in the 30-60's I have to think about this and several other 60's romantic comedies that shouldn't have played well then and certainly don't play well now. Bob Cummings is a nice guy but him playing a major role isn't a good sign, Leslie is okay, but Beatty puts in a flat miserable performance. I have to admit I only watched part of the movie and checked in periodically but I don't think I missed a thing.

Forget ISHTAR and TOWN AND COUNTRY if you're looking for Warren Beatty's worst film --- PROMISE HER ANYTHING is it. Beatty's an "art film" director saddled with sitting for divorcée Leslie Caron's baby. He's lecherous enough to try and fool her into thinking he's not what he is in hopes of getting her into bed. She has her sights on psychiatrist Bob Cummings. There is very little that's funny despite the presence of comic experts like Cummings, Lionel Stander, and Hermione Gingold. Caron is not bad and she's extremely beautiful, but Beatty is completely at sea and obviously very uncomfortable playing in a farce. For some reason it's set in Greenwich Village but filmed in a studio in England. It looks and feels that way...and that's not a compliment! Promise yourself that you won't bother with this dog. Beatty would have A LOT more luck with comedy ten years later by creating the biting satire SHAMPOO.

This is a prime example of this show biz dictum. Beatty and Caron both act as if they are embarrassed to be in this cheap, poorly written, smutty comedy, and well they should. Apparently they were having an affair at the time and would rather be off alone. So would you if you were in this movie. Give it a miss unless you're a fan.

This would seem to be a silly, throwaway comedy except for . . . a very cute baby, a very cute girl (Leslie Caron) and a very cute character actor (Lionel Stander).

Beatty, playing a cheapo soft porn director, uses his apartment as his studio. Caron, not knowing his profession, begs him to babysit her toddler son. Beatty agrees, only the kid keeps wandering into the shots.

Light-hearted and fun.

As you might guess, Promise Her Anything condones lying to women in order to get them into bed. It's not my favorite film, and I would imagine the only women who would like it are those who are completely in love with Warren Beatty. He's very handsome, but I'd rather sit through Splendor in the Grass instead, where he does some acting and doesn't have quite such a despicable character. But if you like to see off-screen couples fall in love on screen, you can rent it.

Leslie Caron is a young and beautiful widow with a little boy. She lives in the building with Warren (her boyfriend in real life at the time), but since she knows he's a playboy and a director of adult movies, she doesn't consider his dating material. Good job, Leslie! She's anxious to hook her boss, Bob Cummings, into being her next husband, since he wrote a best-selling child-rearing book. But the twist is it's all a façade: he hates children. So, who is really the bad influence?

You can correctly assume how I feel about this movie. It would be nice if there were a third option for Leslie: an actually good influence. If her choices are really a pornographic director or a man who hates kids, shouldn't she just stay a single mother?