''Bachelor Flat'' is a 1962

DeLuxe Color DeLuxe Color or Deluxe color or Color by DeLuxe is Deluxe Laboratories brand of color process for motion pictures. DeLuxe Color is Eastmancolor-based, with certain adaptations for improved compositing for printing (similar to Technicolor's "sele ...

comedy film starring

Terry-Thomas Terry-Thomas (born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens; 10 July 19118 January 1990) was an English character actor and comedian who became internationally known through his films during the 1950s and 1960s. He often portrayed disreputable members of th ...

Tuesday Weld Tuesday Weld (born Susan Ker Weld; August 27, 1943) is an American actress and model. She began acting as a child and progressed to mature roles in the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960. Over t ...

Richard Beymer George Richard Beymer Jr. (born February 20, 1938) is an American actor, filmmaker and artist who played the roles of Tony in the film version of ''West Side Story'' (1961), Peter in ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959), and Ben Horne on the telev ...

, and

Celeste Holm Celeste Holm (April 29, 1917 – July 15, 2012) was an American stage, film and television actress. Holm won an Academy Award for her performance in Elia Kazan's ''Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947), and was nominated for her roles in ''Come to th ...

. Filmed in

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

in Malibu, California, the film is a revised version of director

Frank Tashlin Frank Tashlin (born Francis Fredrick von Taschlein, February 19, 1913 – May 5, 1972), also known as Tish Tash and Frank Tash, was an American animator, cartoonist, children's writer, illustrator, screenwriter, and film director. He was best kn ...

's own ''

Susan Slept Here ''Susan Slept Here'' is a 1954 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring Dick Powell (in his last film role) and Debbie Reynolds. Shot in Technicolor, the film is based on the play of the same name by Steve Fisher and A ...

'' of 1954.

Plot

A charming British anthropology Professor Bruce Patterson (

) has to live with Helen Bushmill (

), his fiancée. Helen is away traveling, and has failed to tell him that she has a 17-year-old daughter Libby (

), who shows up at her mother's home unaware that Helen is engaged. Meanwhile he has to resist the advances of the neighborhood ladies who barge in unexpectedly. At the same time, Patterson must deal with the continual invasions of Mike (

), his cynical neighbor and law student, who soon develops a crush on Libby. Intertwined in the story is Mike's persistent dachshund, determined to bury the professor's prize possession of a rare dinosaur bone.

Cast

as Bruce Patterson *

as Libby Bushmill *

as Mike Polaski *

as Helen Bushmill * Francesca Bellini as Gladys *

Howard McNear Howard Terbell McNear (January 27, 1905 – January 3, 1969) was an American stage, screen, and radio character actor. McNear is best remembered as the original voice of Doc Adams in the radio version of ''Gunsmoke'' and as Floyd Lawson, the ...

as Dr. Bowman * Ann Del Guercio as Liz *

Roxanne Arlen Roxanne Arlen (January 10, 1931 – February 22, 1989) was an American film and stage actress and model active in the 1950s and 1960s. Filmography Feature films *''The Loved One'' (1965) as Wispering Glades hostess *'' A House Is Not a Home'' (1 ...

as Mrs. Roberts * Alice Reinheart as Mrs. Bowman * Stephen Bekassy as Paul * Margo Moore as Moll

Production

In October 1960 20th Century Fox's Robert Goldstein announced he had bought the screen rights to a British stage comedy, ''Libby'' by Budd Grossman. The play had been staged in London the previous year. Grossman would write the script, Jack Cummings would direct and Frank Tashlin would direct. The plot was about an English professor at Hunter College who got involved with a group of 17 year olds on the loose from boarding school. It was to take place in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

and was to be shot on location in New York in 1961. Eventually the action was relocated to Malibu, where the film was shot starting April 1961. Lead roles were given to Fox contract stars

and

Gene Tierney Gene Eliza Tierney (November 19, 1920 – November 6, 1991) was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed for her great beauty, she became established as a leading lady. Tierney was best known for her portrayal of the title character in the ...

was announced for the part of Weld's mother but

ended up playing it. After

Ian Carmichael Ian Gillett Carmichael, OBE (18 June 1920 – 5 February 2010) was an English actor who worked prolifically on stage, screen and radio in a career spanning 70 years. He found prominence in the films of the Boulting brothers, including ' ...

turned the film down Terry-Thomas was cast in the lead role; his first lead in an American film. In an interview with

Peter Bogdanovich Peter Bogdanovich (July 30, 1939 – January 6, 2022) was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian. One of the "New Hollywood" directors, Bogdanovich started as a film journalist until he was hired to work on R ...

, Tashlin said he included the dachshund as a satire on CinemaScope due to the dog's shape.

Critical reviews

''Variety'' called it a "frivolous, farcical concoction" and credits much of the great comedy to the supporting cast. They praise Terry-Thomas's "comic intuition and creativity" saying it is also "responsible for most of the merriment". However, they say "neither Weld nor Beymer seems comfortably at home in farce, and the strain often shows through", and that Celeste Holm is "stuck regrettably in a rather bland role". The critic adds: "The dachshund, incidentally, is an accomplished low comedienne." Eugene Archer in the ''New York Times'' did not favor the film, stating that Terry-Thomas "is at the mercy of the writer-director who usually turns out

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...

' broadest japes", referencing director Tashlin as the "responsible party", He also calls the plot "flimsy" and that Terry-Thomas "seems perplexed" in his performance. He concludes that "viewers with a tolerance for brash vulgarity and a fitful pace" will most likely show "astonishment, resignation, and, eventually, mild amusement."

References

External links