''Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough'' is a 1975 American

romance film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

, directed by Guy Green, starring

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. ...

Alexis Smith Margaret Alexis Smith (June 8, 1921 – June 9, 1993) was a Canadian-born American actress, pin-up girl and singer. She appeared in several major Hollywood films in the 1940s and had a notable career on Broadway in the 1970s, winning a Tony Aw ...

David Janssen David Janssen (born David Harold Meyer; March 27, 1931 – February 13, 1980) was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Richard Kimble in the television series '' The Fugitive'' (1963–1967). Janssen a ...

, George Hamilton,

Brenda Vaccaro Brenda Buell Vaccaro (born November 18, 1939) is an American stage, film and television actress. In a career spanning over half a century, she received one Academy Award nomination, three Golden Globe Award nominations (winning one), four Primet ...

Melina Mercouri Maria Amalia "Melina" Mercouri (, 18 October 1920 – 6 March 1994) was a Greek actress, singer, activist, and politician. She came from a prominent political family for multiple generations. She received an Academy Award nomination and won a F ...

, and

Deborah Raffin Deborah Iona Raffin (March 13, 1953 – November 21, 2012) was an American actress, model and audiobook publisher. Early life Raffin was born in Los Angeles to actress Trudy Marshall and Phillip Jordan Raffin, a restaurateur and business exec ...

. It was produced by

Howard W. Koch Howard Winchel Koch (April 11, 1916 – February 16, 2001) was an American film producer and director. He served as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was involved in the production and direction of numerous films th ...

and written by Julius J. Epstein, based on the 1973 novel of the same name by

Jacqueline Susann Jacqueline Susann (August 20, 1918 – September 21, 1974) was an American novelist and actress. Her novel ''Valley of the Dolls (novel), Valley of the Dolls'' (1966) is one of the List of best-selling books, best-selling books in publishing his ...

. It featured

's return to the big screen after an absence of 16 years, and

was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performanc ...

and won the

Golden Globe award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

for her role as Linda Riggs.

Plot

Mike Wayne is a middle-aged motion-picture producer whose career has fallen on hard times. Try as he may, Mike can no longer get a new Hollywood project made. Accustomed to a lavish lifestyle, Mike has pampered his daughter, January, providing her with an expensive education in Europe and everything else money can buy. January worships her father and eagerly returns to America to be with him again. Needing capital, Mike enters into a loveless marriage with Deidre Milford Granger, one of the world's wealthiest women. She has already been through multiple marriages and demands that things be done her way. She is also secretly carrying on a lesbian affair. January is devastated to learn that her father is now wed to this rude, arrogant woman. Deidre attempts to draw January into a relationship with her cousin David Milford, a ladies' man who also usually gets his own way. He finally persuades January into going to bed with him, only to discover that she is a virgin. Unsure what to do with her life, January is advised by an old friend, Linda Riggs, now a magazine editor, to write a book. Linda enjoys a free-spirited life with many lovers and urges January to do likewise. But due in no small part to her

father complex Father complex in psychology is a complex—a group of unconscious associations, or strong unconscious impulses—which specifically pertains to the image or archetype of the father. These impulses may be either positive (admiring and seeking out ...

, January instead falls for much older Tom Colt, a hard-drinking, impotent novelist who is an adversary of her father's. Mike bitterly resents the affair. He punches Colt upon finding him with January in a Beverly Hills hotel cabin. Mike orders his daughter to make a choice between them and Colt gives her the same ultimatum. She chooses her lover. Deidre's demands and insults finally become too much for Mike, who wants a divorce. They amicably agree to one but their airplane crashes and both are killed. The devastated January turns to Tom Colt for comfort, but he turns against her, leaving her to go on alone. January learns that she has inherited $3 million from her father's insurance policy to begin a new life for herself. When she goes to tell the good news to Linda, she finds her angry and distraught, having just been fired for having sex with her boss. Realizing that nothing is perfect in life, not even in its own way, January is left alone wandering Manhattan after dark but with hope that tomorrow will be a better day.

Cast

Despite only 14 seconds of screen time, with just two lines ("You dumb drunken broad! You could’ve been killed!"), actor

Phil Foster Phil Foster (born Fivel Feldman; March 29, 1913 – July 8, 1985) was an American actor and performer, best known for his portrayal of Frank DeFazio in ''Laverne & Shirley''. Early life Foster was born Fivel Feldman in Brooklyn, New York Cit ...

is included in the film's opening credits.

Production

Guy Green was hired to direct the film, according to one Paramount executive, because he "might give it class". Green wanted

Dick Van Dyke Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. Dick Van Dyke on screen and stage, His work spans screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Dick Van Dyke, his awards includ ...

to play the role of Mike Wayne. He also wanted to fire David Janssen during rehearsals and replace him with Robert Shaw.

Irving Mansfield Irving Mansfield (July 23, 1908 – August 25, 1988) was an American producer, publicist and writer. He is best remembered as the husband of novelist Jacqueline Susann and for his promotion of Susann's popular books. Early life and career ...

said Kirk Douglas and Janssen directed themselves during the film. Green said he did not get along with Susann and did not enjoy the experience. "I was lost... going through the emotions," he said. "A sad experience." The ending was made more hopeful than in the source novel. The novel ends with January trying acid and partaking in an orgy. She then wanders onto the beach where she hallucinates that she sees her father and walks into the ocean after him, presumably drowning.

Reception

The film was panned by critics upon release. However, many reviewers singled out Brenda Vaccaro for praise. Despite the reviews, the film was a commercial success, earning $15.7 million at the box office."Once Is Not Enough"
.d. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 8, 2017.

References

External links