''Follow the Boys'' is a 1963 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Richard Thorpe and starring

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937), known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...

Paula Prentiss Paula Prentiss (née Ragusa; born March 4, 1938) is an American actress. She is best known for her film roles in '' Where the Boys Are'' (1960), ''What's New Pussycat?'' (1965), ''Catch-22'' (1970), '' The Parallax View'' (1974), and '' The Stepf ...

, and

Janis Paige Janis Paige (born Donna Mae Tjaden; September 16, 1922) is an American retired actress and singer. Born in Tacoma, Washington, she began singing in local amateur shows at the age of five. After high school, she moved to Los Angeles, where she b ...

, released 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 through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

. Shot on location on the French and

Italian Riviera The Italian Riviera or Ligurian Riviera ( it, Riviera ligure; lij, Rivêa lìgure) is the narrow coastal strip in Italy which lies between the Ligurian Sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps and the Apennines. Longitudinall ...

, ''Follow the Boys'' was MGM's second film vehicle for top recording artist Francis following ''

Where the Boys Are ''Where the Boys Are'' is a 1960 American CinemaScope comedy film directed by Henry Levin and starring Connie Francis, Dolores Hart, Paula Prentiss, George Hamilton, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Hutton, and Frank Gorshin. It was written by George ...

'' (1960). While Francis' role in the earlier film had been somewhat secondary, she had a distinctly central role in ''Follow the Boys'' playing Bonnie Pulaski, a newlywed traveling the Riviera.

Plot

Bonnie visits various ports-of-call in hopes of a rendezvous with her sailor husband ( Roger Perry), who is summoned to active duty from their honeymoon. Missing the original point and time of rendezvous in the port of

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

by a few minutes, Bonnie follows the ship to Italy in a somewhat rickety and battered pink 2 CV accompanied by veteran navy wife

and two other officers' girlfriends, played by Francis' ''Where the Boys Are'' co-star

and by

Dany Robin Dany Robin (; 14 April, 1927 – 25 May, 1995) was a French actress of the 1950s and the 1960s. Career Robin was born Danielle Robin in Clamart. She performed with Peter Sellers in ''The Waltz of the Toreadors'', and co-starred opposite Kirk D ...

, who are likewise intent on romantic reunions. Happy endings for each of the ladies are delayed by a series of romantic and comedic misunderstandings. Paige's husband is played by

Ron Randell Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

, with Richard Long and

Russ Tamblyn Russell Irving Tamblyn, also known as Rusty Tamblyn (born December 30, 1934) is an American film and television actor and dancer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tamblyn trained as a gymnast in his youth. He began his career as a child actor f ...

as the respective love interests for Robin and Prentiss.

Cast

as Bonnie Pulaski *

as Toni Denham. ''Follow the Boys'' was the first instance of Prentiss and her husband

Richard Benjamin Richard Samuel Benjamin (born May 22, 1938) is an American actor and film director. He has starred in a number of well-known film productions, including ''Goodbye, Columbus'' (1969), based on the novella by Philip Roth; ''Catch-22'' (1970), fro ...

performing in the same film production, although Benjamin's part as an aide to the admiral did not make the final cut. *

as Liz Bradville *

as Michele Perrier *

as Lt(JG) "Smitty" Smith * Richard Long as Lt(JG) Pete Langley *

as Lt. Cmdr. Ben Bradville * Roger Perry as Radarman 3rd Class Billy Pulaski

Production

The movie followed the success of MGM's ''Where the Boys Are'', which was about four women seeking romance in Fort Lauderdale during spring break. It starred Connie Francis and Paula Prentiss, who would be in ''Follow the Boys''. MGM producer-writer Lawrence Bachman had a vacation home in the south of France. While staying there, he met several Navy wives who lived in Villefranche and spent a lot of their time following their husbands from port to port. This gave him the idea for the movie. In April 1962 MGM announced the leads would be Connie Francis and

Bobby Vee Robert Thomas Velline (April 30, 1943 – October 24, 2016), known professionally as Bobby Vee, was an American singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s and also appeared in films. According to ''Billboard'' magazine, he had thirty-ei ...

. In May the cast was to be Francis, Paula Prentiss, Russ Tamblyn and Tom Tully with Richard Thorpe to direct. Jim Hutton was also to star.

was cast off the back of his success in MGM's ''King of Kings''. In the end Hutton or Vee did not appear in the final movie. The film was shot in the south of France and at London's Elstree Studios in August 1962. At the same time, MGM were also making a similar "three girls" romantic comedy featuring a star from ''Where the Boys Are'', ''Come Fly With Me''.

Reception

The ''Los Angeles Times'' called it "the least rowdy service comedy I've ever seen." The ''New York Times'' said it "lacks sufficient foreground substance to make it anything more than a limp show."Screen: Frazzled Frolic: 'Follow the Boys' Is a Familiar Story By BOSLEY CROWTHER Special to The New York Times. 28 Feb 1963: 8.

References

External links

* *
''Follow the Boys''
at ''NY Times Movie Guide'' {{Connie Francis 1963 films 1963 comedy films Films scored by Ron Goodwin Films directed by Richard Thorpe Films set on the French Riviera Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American comedy films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films