This film owes a lot to Hugh Hefner, who's brand of bachelorhood was much envied and widely copied in the swinging sixties. Stanley Ford (Lemmon) is one of those blissful bachelors. He's a comic strip creator and wealthy New Yorker. His life is extremely ordered, thanks to his man servent, Charles (Terry Thomas). And his comic strip character, Bash lives life in much the same way his creator does. Ford attends the bachelor party for one of his friends and drinks a bit too much, only to awake the next morning, married to the blond bombshell who emerged from the cake at the party. Mrs. Ford (Virna Lisi) is shapely, beautiful, sensuous and doesn't speak a word of english! Suddenly Stanley's world is turned upside down - Charles leaves him, his home is redecorated and his social calendar is rearranged, his in-laws descend upon him and he finds himself unable to sustain the marriage of his character Bash. When plans to do away with Bash's wife are confused for plans to do away with his real life wife, she disappears, leaving him to defend himself in a criminal trial. Will she turn up before he ends up in jail?
Though rather silly at times, and decidedly misogynistic, this film is a fun time capsule of 60's attitudes about marriage and the battle of the sexes. Look for Claire Trevor, Mary Wicks and Jack Albertson in the cast as well.
This film is available on DVD, and can also be watched instantly on Amazon. Above is the opening sequence with Terry Thomas giving you a tour of Ford's gracious lifestyle. It was uploaded to YouTube by ttfellowship.
Obscurity factor: 4 (known to Lemmon fans, on DVD and streaming, not widely known)
I just love this little bit of fluff that Bette Davis did in 1965. I'm just sorry that it wasn't picked up. It would have been a wonderful series. The concept was that Bette was a decorator with a very strange way of doing business. She would move in with her clients while doing over their homes. This first episode finds her being hired by an ego maniacal oil tycoon (Ed Begley) who wants to do over a house on their property in grand style for his daughter and potential son-in-law, in hopes that it will scare him off. Of course, Ms. Davis throws a wrench into the works in traditional sit-com style. She plays her part to the hilt, which is great fun to watch. I'm especially fond of her southern belle routine early on. Also look for the irrepressible Mary Wicks as her assistant.
This is extremely rare. It can really only be found on YouTube, thanks to a three part upload by HeyDeyFan. The first installment is above.
Obscurity factor: 10 (never aired pilot, not available anywhere except YouTube)
