I was going to give this film kudos for doing something well that is typically botched by Hollywood. There are dramas with humor. There are comedies with drama. But rarely is a comedy/drama film very successful in mixing the two genres. This film did up till the last 15 minutes, when, in my view, it blew it all with slapstick. Shame, shame.
In the early part of the film it seems like a light comedy as US embassy rep in London, Jack Lemmon, rents a flat and falls in love with a landlady (Kim Novak) whom he doesn't know has a notorious reputation of murdering her husband. Throughout most of the film there's a fine element of suspense, and it becomes a fine whodunit for a while...until the slapstick at the end when it just gets silly. The slapstick would have worked fine in a Red Skelton flick, but not here.
The other problem with this film is the presence of Fred Astaire. Now I like Fred Astaire, and have enjoyed him in many musicals. But in this straight role (sort of), well it just doesn't quite work. Oh, it doesn't ruin the film by any means, but I didn't find him particularly believable as the head of the American embassy. I noted in the message boards that one of our reviewers felt Astaire stole every scene he was in. With all due respect, that's just an Astaire fan's viewpoint.
I did tire of the background music throughout the film being almost exclusively "A Foggy Day In London Town". Too cheap for a real score? And, by the way...one thing that is never answered is who was the body being dragged into the basement early in the film.
Despite all that criticism, this is mostly a pretty enjoyable film, nicely done for the most part, and quite entertaining. There's no question that Kim Novak and Jack Lemmon have film chemistry. Lionel Jeffries is good as a Scotland Yard inspector.
Good film, but the foolish slapstick kept it from being a notch above.
In the early part of the film it seems like a light comedy as US embassy rep in London, Jack Lemmon, rents a flat and falls in love with a landlady (Kim Novak) whom he doesn't know has a notorious reputation of murdering her husband. Throughout most of the film there's a fine element of suspense, and it becomes a fine whodunit for a while...until the slapstick at the end when it just gets silly. The slapstick would have worked fine in a Red Skelton flick, but not here.
The other problem with this film is the presence of Fred Astaire. Now I like Fred Astaire, and have enjoyed him in many musicals. But in this straight role (sort of), well it just doesn't quite work. Oh, it doesn't ruin the film by any means, but I didn't find him particularly believable as the head of the American embassy. I noted in the message boards that one of our reviewers felt Astaire stole every scene he was in. With all due respect, that's just an Astaire fan's viewpoint.
I did tire of the background music throughout the film being almost exclusively "A Foggy Day In London Town". Too cheap for a real score? And, by the way...one thing that is never answered is who was the body being dragged into the basement early in the film.
Despite all that criticism, this is mostly a pretty enjoyable film, nicely done for the most part, and quite entertaining. There's no question that Kim Novak and Jack Lemmon have film chemistry. Lionel Jeffries is good as a Scotland Yard inspector.
Good film, but the foolish slapstick kept it from being a notch above.