''Ask Any Girl'' is a 1959 American

romantic comedy film Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

directed by

Charles Walters Charles Powell Walters (November 17, 1911 – August 13, 1982) was an American Hollywood director and choreographer most noted for his work in MGM musicals and comedies from the 1940s to the 1960s. Early years Charles Walters was born in Pasad ...

and starring

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in ''Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...

Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty, April 24, 1934) is an American actress, author, and former dancer. Known for her portrayals of quirky, strong-willed and eccentric women, MacLaine has received numerous accolades over her seven-dec ...

, and

Gig Young Gig Young (born Byron Elsworth Barr; November 4, 1913 – October 19, 1978) was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in ''Come Fill the Cup'' (1952) and '' Teacher's Pet'' ...

. It was produced by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

and based on a novel by Winifred Wolfe.

Plot

A wide-eyed Meg Wheeler comes to New York City and takes a job in market research for a large firm. She's also keeping an eye open to meet the right man, her research making her aware that the United States has five million more females than males. Upon meeting two clients, the reserved and somewhat stodgy Miles Doughton and his playboy younger brother Evan, it doesn't take long for Meg to realize she's romantically interested in Evan. Miles is willing to help. He has seen so many of his brother's conquests come and go that he knows what Evan likes in a girl. Therefore, in a

Pygmalion Pygmalion or Pigmalion may refer to: Mythology * Pygmalion (mythology), a sculptor who fell in love with his statue Stage * ''Pigmalion'' (opera), a 1745 opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau * ''Pygmalion'' (Rousseau), a 1762 melodrama by Jean-Jacques ...

-like way, he sets out to transform Meg into exactly that kind of girl. What she doesn't yet know is that Miles secretly comes to want her for himself.

Cast

as Miles Doughton *

as Meg Wheeler *

as Evan Doughton *

Rod Taylor Rodney Sturt Taylor (11 January 1930 – 7 January 2015) was an Australian actor. He appeared in more than 50 feature films, including ''The Time Machine'' (1960), ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1961), '' The Birds'' (1963), and ''In ...

as Ross Tayford *

Jim Backus James Gilmore Backus (February 25, 1913 – July 3, 1989) was an American actor. Among his most famous roles were Thurston Howell III on the 1960s sitcom '' Gilligan's Island,'' the father of James Dean's character in ''Rebel Without a Cause ...

as Maxwell *

Claire Kelly Claire Kelly (March 15, 1934 – July 1, 1998) was an American actress and model. Early life Born Claire Ann Green, the daughter of a wealthy California rancher, she was trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York. Kelly started out a ...

as Lisa *

Elisabeth Fraser Elisabeth Fraser (born Elisabeth Fraser Jonker, January 8, 1920 – May 5, 2005) was an American actress, best known for playing brassy blondes. Life and career Born Elisabeth Fraser Jonker on January 8, 1920, in Brooklyn, New York, she was ...

as Jeannie Boyden *

Dodie Heath Rowena Dolores Heath (born August 3, 1926), also known as Dodie Heath, credited as Dody Heath, is an American retired actress of stage, film, and television. Early life She was born Rowena Dolores Heath in Seattle, Washington to Wilfrid Paul H ...

as Terri Richards *

Read Morgan Read Lawrence Morgan (January 30, 1931 – April 20, 2022) was an American film and television actor. He was known for playing the role of Sergeant Hapgood Tasker in the American western television series ''The Deputy''. Life and career Morg ...

as Bert *

Carmen Phillips Carmen Phillips (born Anna Catherine Phillips; September 15, 1888 – December 14, 1966) was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 60 films between 1914 and 1926, frequently as a "vamp". Biography A native Calif ...

as Refined young lady

Production

MGM bought the rights to the novel in June 1958, before it had been published.

signed to star in November.

Jeff Alexander Jeff Alexander (born Myer Goodhue Alexander; July 2, 1910 – December 23, 1989) was an American conductor, arranger, and composer of film, radio and television scores. Early years Born in Seattle, Washington, Alexander began performing in ...

composed the music for the film, with

Harry James and His Orchestra Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

releasing two songs from the film, "Ballad for Beatniks" and "The Blues About Manhattan", on an MGM

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

Reception

According to MGM records, the film earned $2,075,000 in the US and Canada, and $1,400,000 elsewhere, turning a profit for the studio of $505,000. It recorded admissions of 255,797 in France.

Awards and nominations

Shirley Maclaine won the 1959 BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress, and also the

Silver Bear for Best Actress The Silver Bear for Best Actress (german: Silberner Bär/Beste Darstellerin) was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chos ...

at the

9th Berlin International Film Festival The 9th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 26 June – 7 July 1959. The festival welcomed the cinematic movement known as the New Wave and screened the work of directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda and François T ...

. She was also nominated for a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

, losing out to

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

in ''

Some Like It Hot ''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee, Grace Lee Whitney and N ...

''.

's performance was much admired and helped lead to his casting in ''

The Time Machine ''The Time Machine'' is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895. The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively for ...

'' (1960).Stephen Vagg, ''Rod Taylor: An Aussie in Hollywood'', Bear Manor Media 2010 p61

References

External links

* * * {{Charles Walters 1959 films 1959 romantic comedy films American romantic comedy films 1950s English-language films Films based on American novels Films directed by Charles Walters Films produced by Joe Pasternak Films set in New York City Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films with screenplays by George Wells 1950s American films