Searching around on Amazon Uk for titles that have come out on the Warner Archives DVD label,I was happy to stumble upon a Comedy directed by Otto Preminger,who I had heard about for the first time,thanks to the excellent Film Noir Bunny Lake Is Missing.
Talking to my dad and a friend,I was surprised to hear both of them give me the same response when I mentioned the title to them,with each of them saying the movie inspired "That M.A.S.H. episode!",which led to me deciding,that it would be a good time to find out how blue the moon really is.
The plot:
Taking a break from his work as a building designer in an office based in the Empire State building by doing some window shopping,Donald Gresham notices a very pretty girl called Patty O'Neill,who is also window shopping at a store near by.Keeping an eye on O'Neill, Gresham is pleased to see Patty head to the Empire State building.Deciding to go up and talk to O'Neill,Gresham is relived to find out that Patty is very easy going,and soon starts to arrange for O'Neill to come along with him to his apartment,so that Donald can cook a meal for both of them.
Walking into the tower block that Gresham is based in,Donald accidentally shows Patty that his last relationship ended less than mutually,when they both come face to face with the less than welcoming face of his ex-girlfriend Cynthia Slater.Moving O'Neill as quickly on from meeting his ex as Gresham is possible to do,Donald welcomes Patty into his lush apartment.Discoveing that there is no food at all in the fridge,Gresham decides to go to the local shop to pick up some good,whilst O'Neill makes herself comfortable.
10 Minutes later:
Hearing a knock on the door,O'Neill rushes to the door,excited about finding out what Gresham has picked up.Sadly for Patty,instead of finding Donald standing at the door,O'Neill finds a man who claims to be Cynthia Slater's dad.
View on the film:
Transferred from its stage origins, (for which he had also been a producer on) director Otto Preminger disappointingly shows an inability to break the movie out of its stage confines,due to Preminger making the limited number of locations that the film takes place be ones that feel confined and closed off,with Preminger only showing a stylish eye in his directing for the appearances of Cynthia Slater, (played by an alluring Dawn Addams)who thanks to distinctively dressing all in black,is shown by Preminger as an icy Femme Fatale.
Whilst Otto Preminger shows a limitation in his directing of this adaptation,writer Hugh Herbert shows an impressive amount of skill in adapting his own play,thanks to giving the screenplay a wonderful snappy pace that has each of the character's talking over one another,and hitting each with huge,screwball Comedy gum-balls,which also allows Herbert to cleverly give each of the character's gender-reversing personality's.
Bravely playing against the roles that they were meant to,due to the Hays Code still being enforced,each of the lead actors give fantastic performances that wittingly mess with (at the time) audiences expectations on how men and women should behave in films,with Maggie McNamara (who died from a suicide age 48 in 1978,and is tragically buried in an unmarked grave) giving a delightful performance as Patty O'Neill,thanks to McNamara delivering Herbert's sharp dialogue of questioning Donald and Slater's dad bedroom activates with a real Comedy relish.
Contrasting the frank & brash McNamara,William Holden and David Niven each give terrific performances,with Niven showing Slater's dad to be someone who fears that he may be getting pushed to the side as a "washed up" playboy by a whip-smart O"Neill,whilst William Holden shows Donald's reservations in meeting his match in Patty O'Neill,which soon leads to all of the character's finding out how blue the moon really is.
Talking to my dad and a friend,I was surprised to hear both of them give me the same response when I mentioned the title to them,with each of them saying the movie inspired "That M.A.S.H. episode!",which led to me deciding,that it would be a good time to find out how blue the moon really is.
The plot:
Taking a break from his work as a building designer in an office based in the Empire State building by doing some window shopping,Donald Gresham notices a very pretty girl called Patty O'Neill,who is also window shopping at a store near by.Keeping an eye on O'Neill, Gresham is pleased to see Patty head to the Empire State building.Deciding to go up and talk to O'Neill,Gresham is relived to find out that Patty is very easy going,and soon starts to arrange for O'Neill to come along with him to his apartment,so that Donald can cook a meal for both of them.
Walking into the tower block that Gresham is based in,Donald accidentally shows Patty that his last relationship ended less than mutually,when they both come face to face with the less than welcoming face of his ex-girlfriend Cynthia Slater.Moving O'Neill as quickly on from meeting his ex as Gresham is possible to do,Donald welcomes Patty into his lush apartment.Discoveing that there is no food at all in the fridge,Gresham decides to go to the local shop to pick up some good,whilst O'Neill makes herself comfortable.
10 Minutes later:
Hearing a knock on the door,O'Neill rushes to the door,excited about finding out what Gresham has picked up.Sadly for Patty,instead of finding Donald standing at the door,O'Neill finds a man who claims to be Cynthia Slater's dad.
View on the film:
Transferred from its stage origins, (for which he had also been a producer on) director Otto Preminger disappointingly shows an inability to break the movie out of its stage confines,due to Preminger making the limited number of locations that the film takes place be ones that feel confined and closed off,with Preminger only showing a stylish eye in his directing for the appearances of Cynthia Slater, (played by an alluring Dawn Addams)who thanks to distinctively dressing all in black,is shown by Preminger as an icy Femme Fatale.
Whilst Otto Preminger shows a limitation in his directing of this adaptation,writer Hugh Herbert shows an impressive amount of skill in adapting his own play,thanks to giving the screenplay a wonderful snappy pace that has each of the character's talking over one another,and hitting each with huge,screwball Comedy gum-balls,which also allows Herbert to cleverly give each of the character's gender-reversing personality's.
Bravely playing against the roles that they were meant to,due to the Hays Code still being enforced,each of the lead actors give fantastic performances that wittingly mess with (at the time) audiences expectations on how men and women should behave in films,with Maggie McNamara (who died from a suicide age 48 in 1978,and is tragically buried in an unmarked grave) giving a delightful performance as Patty O'Neill,thanks to McNamara delivering Herbert's sharp dialogue of questioning Donald and Slater's dad bedroom activates with a real Comedy relish.
Contrasting the frank & brash McNamara,William Holden and David Niven each give terrific performances,with Niven showing Slater's dad to be someone who fears that he may be getting pushed to the side as a "washed up" playboy by a whip-smart O"Neill,whilst William Holden shows Donald's reservations in meeting his match in Patty O'Neill,which soon leads to all of the character's finding out how blue the moon really is.