Otto Preminger (1953)
This comedy, adapted by F Hugh Herbert from his successful Broadway play, was controversial in its time, according to Wikipedia, because of its ‘ light and gay treatment of the subject of illicit sex and seduction’. A womanising young architect, Don Gresham (William Holden), and his ex-girlfriend’s rou é father, David Slater (David Niven), both try to get Patty O’Neill (Maggie McNamara), a resolutely virtuous young actress, into bed. The sexual references are innocuous now but the film is pretty repellent. The manipulative intent of the younger playboy and the older debauchee, both more sophisticated than the object of their attentions, is dislikeable. The farce form of the piece and the music – a score by Herschel Burke Gilbert which relentlessly cues your reactions until it exhausts itself and fizzles out, a bland title song which Gilbert also wrote, with lyrics by Sylvia Fine – combine to make things worse. You feel offended for Patty: you want her to keep her honour, which means a bit more than her virginity.
The effect of the plot and the soundtrack is reinforced by the three leads. Because Maggie McNamara was unknown to me (and, although Oscar-nominated for this role, soon faded out of sight in Hollywood), she’s relatively refreshing. McNamara’s speech rhythms, although set, actually give Patty’s lines more impact. When she suddenly asks one of the men a serious, difficult question, she does so in the same singsong eccentric voice in which she’s been speaking inconsequentially. Resilient, helpful, positive-thinking Patty is capable of being hurt, and Maggie McNamara shows this touchingly. David Niven is OK when he’s relaxed and playing in character – but he keeps working up to a comic effect: whenever he does this, he’s clumsy and unfunny. I was mildly relieved that Patty ended up with William Holden’s Don rather than Niven but Holden looks and sounds unimpressed by what he’s got himself into – his thoughts and feelings seem to be elsewhere. Dawn Addams is glamorous but obvious as Don’s ex, Cynthia. In the weirdest sequence in the film, she gets dolled up to do no more than climb down a fire escape in pouring rain and strikingly unsuitable attire. Cynthia then dresses down to go out with Don (in a failed attempt to start again – but chiefly in order to leave the coast clear for David to try and seduce Patty). The laughs are non-existent – partly because the writing isn’t up to much and partly because the story is unpleasant. Otto Preminger’s direction is notable for the same qualities (he tends to leer at Dawn Addams). Preminger and F Hugh Herbert seem to be kindred spirits with the principal male characters.
19 January 2013
