Stars, Style, & No Substance! ‘What a Way to Go!’ 1964

 

Shirley MacLaine stars as Louisa May Foster, who marries and loses most of her
 five husbands in 1964's comedy, "What a Way to Go!"

One of the many '60s all-star spectaculars that was heavy on stars and style, but light on solid story or scintillating dialogue, was 1964’s What A Way to Go! Movies like this are often fun for star gazing and glamour. Yet such films are often dull and don't age well, and here’s just a few: Let's Make Love, The V.I.P.s, The Yellow Rolls-Royce, and What's New, Pussycat?

Shirley MacLaine's widow tells shrink Robert Cummings about EVERY husband
in "What a Way to Go!"

This 20^th Century Fox fluff is a comedic story of a woman who’s looking for true love but is always left widowed—and richer. Money doesn't buy happiness, but it brings 70-plus Edith Head costumes, Sydney Guilaroff wigs, Harry Winston jewels, and fabulous sets in What a Way to Go! The featherweight romp also features some diverse husbands: Dick Van Dyke, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Gene Kelly, & Dean Martin. 

The super-size comedy was originally meant for superstar Marilyn Monroe, when Fox decided to take Marilyn back after Something's Got to Give. Marilyn certainly could have elevated this mild vehicle with her natural comedic charms. But it was not meant to be, as Marilyn died soon after. Continuing in the same daft logic, Fox then offered the role to their other diva headache, Cleopatra aka Elizabeth Taylor. The part of a woman who marries five times and becomes richer, with bigger wardrobe and bigger hair with each marriage... what a stretch! But ET’s world now revolved around Richard Burton.

Can't imagine why Fox offered this movie to Elizabeth Taylor! Actually,
Robert Cummings plays the shrink in "What a Way to Go!," not a husband...

The sensible choice of Shirley MacLaine as Louisa May Foster was finally made. Was MacLaine as a brunette here a hangover from the prior choice of Liz? Regardless, while Shirley presents a model slim figure that was more in keeping with the '60s than either curvy MM or ET, MacLaine seems at times dwarfed by the outlandish costumes, towering wigs and Christmas tree jewel sparklers.

Naturalistic Shirley MacLaine & '60s glamour didn't seem to go together.
Note the pancake makeup on her face, then her freckled arm in "What a Way to Go!"
With Robert Mitchum as her tycoon husband.

While MacLaine is a natural comedic actress, a strong director like Billy Wilder was needed to keep her from going from Shirley to shrilly. There's more than a few screaming Mimi moments in this broad comedy, but MacLaine also gets some laughs. It's fascinating to see her play the child Louisa with a wink, without the '60s pancake foundation, false eyelashes, stenciled brows, and overdrawn lipstick—though I do detect mascara. 

Shirley MacLaine as little Louisa in an amusing moment from "What a Way to Go!" 

Most of Shirley MacLaine’s co-stars were old pals or lovers, so Shirley has a nice rapport with each "husband" in What a Way to Go! In a nutshell, in order:

Dick Van Dyke is a very energetic match for Shirley. As Edgar Hopper, Dick is a small-town guy whose hero is Thoreau. But when his love rival mocks his and wife Louisa’s low-budget lifestyle, Hopper hops to, and becomes a big success as a businessman. And promptly keels over from overwork!

Dick Van Dyke as Shirley MacLaine's first husband in "What a Way to Go!"

Paul Newman is next up, as the artist in Paris, where Louisa goes to grieve. Paul gives one of his more relaxed comedic performances, unlike the leering Rally Round the Flag Boys and A New Kind of Love. Amusingly, his character’s name is Larry Flint, but not that Larry Flynt. Paul looks great with a beard, as the starving artist who's always eating! Slim and slight Paul and Shirley are dwarfed by the lavish contraptions and sets in their marital sequence. As Larry’s painting machines finally create successful works, Flint is consumed by the cash rolling in. As he and the machines become more frenzied, they turn on their creator.

Shirley MacLaine's Louisa seems to adapt to each husband's life.
Here, she is Paul Newman's artist wife in "What a Way to Go!"

Next, widowed again Louisa meets Robert Mitchum as a Howard Hughes-type tycoon, Rod Anderson, Jr., at the airport (remember Hughes once owned an airline). MacLaine’s unlucky in love lady figures this latest love is already rich, so what can happen? Ironically, their attempt at living simple down on his farm turns out to be a kick in the head for Rod. Mitchum is laid-back and droll, as always.

I never miss a Nina Foch movie! Kidding! Shirley MacLaine goes platinum for a
hot minute in "What a Way to Go!" With hubby #3 Robert Mitchum.

Shirley’s perennial widow meets Pinky Benson at a local diner. Gene Kelly parodies his Singin’ in the Rain persona here as the small town entertainer, who finally makes it big. Though criticized by some folks as too old, Kelly looks fine for 50, is quite funny, and dances beautifully, of course. Pinky’s fate is getting fatally mobbed by his fans!

Shirley MacLaine's Louisa envisions her marriage to Pinky Benson as a Hollywood musical number. Gene Kelly, aptly cast as hubby #4 in "What a Way to Go!"

At this point, once again widowed Louisa is telling her woes to her shrink, when an old beau walks in. Once her small town’s richest guy, the man is now the building’s janitor! Dean Martin plays comedic jerk Leonard Crawley quite well, and his nonchalant demeanor is perfect here. As the one husband that Louise doesn’t initially love, the creep turns out to be the keeper.

Dean Martin bookends "What a Way to Go!" as first a foiled suitor, then as
Shirley MacLaine's final husband.

Finally, there is Bob Cummings, his usual unctuous self as the smarmy shrink who nearly becomes a husband to Louisa, as well.

One surprise was Margaret Dumont, of the Marx Brothers movie fame, who is bizarre and unfunny as Shirley's mother. Plus, Dumont’s dressed like she’s from a guest shot on The Beverly Hillbillies!

The Edith Head costumes and the sets are meant to be over the top but sometimes veer into awesome ugliness. Head cleverly uses the clothes to further Louisa's story, but I was surprised how many costumes were visions of monochromatic vivid colors. I was getting visions of Liz Taylor's Vincente Minnelli-supervised wardrobe in The Sandpiper. And the Pepto Bismol pink mansion of Gene Kelly’s Pinky is truly stomach churning.

Husband Pinky Benson decrees that his mansion be painted in his honor, in
"What a Way to Go!" Wafer slim Shirley MacLaine sports a contrasting black bikini.

Broadway’s Adolph Green and Betty Comden, the couple that wrote this story, also gave us Singin' in the Rain and Auntie Mame. Sadly, their script and wit seems very broad and sporadic in their last feature film together.

There are few zingy lines and most of the movie parodies of each marriage are mildly amusing, except the Ross Hunter-esque "Lush Budgett" sequence, which is so one-note that it quickly becomes tedious. The musical number with Gene Kelly is a great take off on MGM numbers, and still fun in its own right. Shirley and Dick Van Dyke’s expressive faces and graceful forms make their silent movie spoof fun. And Paul Newman and Shirley are certainly sexy enough in their French “art” film parody, though it’s pretty tame.

Shirley MacLaine & Dick Van Dyke are charming in the silent movie fantasy scene that symbolizes their marriage in "What a Way to Go!"

The director J. Lee Thompson was an odd choice for comedy as he previously helmed The Guns of Navarone and Cape Fear. He next directed Shirley in the 1965 bomb John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! Written by William Peter Blatty, who rewarded his friendship with Shirley by modeling her for his heroine in The Exorcist, thus creating the urban myth that MacLaine's daughter needed an exorcism!

Shirley MacLaine's Louisa in wearable art, courtesy of artist husband Paul Newman
 in "What a Way to Go!"

While I hardly laughed out loud during the entire movie, What a Way to Go! is generally amusing. But it all feels like a pile of frosting—on a cupcake! Shirley MacLaine didn’t carry another hit movie until The Turning Point over a dozen years later. Even then, Anne Bancroft was pulling equal weight. Frankly, Shirley never carried a movie on her own during MacLaine’s leading lady heyday.

There are worse ways to go than watching What a Way to Go! Watch the stars and lavish production, with your brain turned off.

Actress Gari Hardy with Paul Newman, in a deleted scene from "What a Way to Go!" Is it my imagination or is she supposed to resemble Marilyn Monroe? If so, that seems in bad taste as this film was intended for Monroe, before she died two years earlier.

 

 

 

 

Young Janet Leigh & Robert Mitchum in ‘Holiday Affair’ 1949

Janet Leigh, romanced by Robert Mitchum & Wendell Corey, 1949's "Holiday Affair."

Holiday Affair was originally envisioned with bigger stars, but economical RKO settled on up and comers Janet Leigh and Robert Mitchum, and that made the film open for more naturalism and less of a star vehicle. As a widowed mother, Leigh's suitors are Mitchum and Wendell Corey, who seem more suited to film noir, but work well here. This 1949 Affair was filmed in B&W at low-glam RKO. Leigh is still in her early honey brown phase, before she went platinum blonde. All of this adds to the realism of the post-war romantic tale.

Janet Leigh is a war widow with two suitors, Robert Mitchum and Wendell Corey,
in "Holiday Affair." She's also a mother with a young son, played by Gordon Gebert.

Off-camera, Mitchum had just survived a potential career-busting pot bust and jail sentence. Lucky for Mitch, of the two bosses who shared his contract, David Selznick and Howard Hughes, the latter was an eccentric who took chances, and he bought Bob’s contract from Selznick. Speaking of Hughes, Janet Leigh found herself in the same position as many young starlets who caught Howard’s obsessive eye. But she firmly put him in her place, as she was a Metro star, and just loaned out to Hughes’ RKO. Still, Leigh was loaned out to Hughes-run (into the ground!) RKO three times—was this MGM’s way of punishing Janet?

Though Robert Mitchum's image might suggest he's stealing the presents,
he's actually very appealing as free spirit Steve in "Holiday Affair."

Robert Mitchum’s bemused, droll attitude is actually a good fit for light romantic comedy. He’s a straight shooter as Steve in Holiday Affair, offering realistic takes on life and love. Mitchum’s free spirit calls ‘em like he sees ‘em and makes no bones about his attraction to Janet Leigh’s Connie. Her war widow, while appealing and kind, is stuck in the past with her lost soldier husband. Wendell Corey’s Carl is the kindly current suitor for the preoccupied young mother. The stars make a good trio in this triangle. Realistically, both men are decent, and there’s no last minute turning one of them into a bad guy. And Connie, while frustrating in her vacillation, has a lot on her young shoulders as a widow and working mother.

While it's amusing to see film noir faves Wendell Corey & Robert Mitchum as nice guys competing for good girl Janet Leigh, the guys are good in "Holiday Affair."

What’s interesting about this movie is that the story is very fanciful in its set up and storytelling, yet realistic in its dialogue about love and loss, in post-war life. The opening and closing use a miniature train set that morphs into and out of real life. Some of the situations would indeed be considered corny and cringe-worthy by today’s standards. But instead of sledge hammering the plot points with sentimentality, they are handled deftly, a rarity for the era. The three stars play with their typical down to earth manner: Janet Leigh looks quite naturally pretty in her early career, plus regular guys Robert Mitchum and Wendell Corey play with their trademark diffidence. All of this is filmed modestly at RKO. Imagine Holiday Affair at MGM with, for instance, June Allyson, Van Johnson, and Robert Walker. The glamour and sentimental goo would have been slathered on super thick!

Janet Leigh was just 22 when "Holiday Affair" was released for the holidays in '49. 

Janet Leigh brings her warmth and natural appeal to Holiday Affair, a solid actress from the get-go, just three years after being discovered by retired screen legend Norma Shearer. The former Metro star saw Janet’s photo at a ski lodge in early 1946 and recommended her to MGM. By the end of the year, Janet made her acting debut on a radio Christmas Eve broadcast the same year. The following year, Leigh made her film debut as Van Johnson’s love interest in The Romance of Rosy Ridge. The rest, as they say, was history.

Janet Leigh & Gordon Gebert's scenes as mother & son are warmly believable
in 1949's "Holiday Affair."

Robert Mitchum came up in Hollywood the typical way—“extra” work and bit parts. But in just three short years, he scored with The Story of G.I. Joe and got his only Oscar nomination. And like Leigh, his nom was in the supporting category, except Mitchum’s was at the beginning of his career, and hers in mid-career. Wendell Corey also became a star right after the war, making his film debut in 1947’s Desert Fury. Corey was more of a character actor than star, but often added wry humor to his roles, such as Jimmy Stewart’s pal in Rear Window.

The scenes with Leigh and Gordon Gebert, who plays her son Timmy, are pretty adorable but in a realistic way. Gebert certainly isn’t shy in his scenes and he acted until early adulthood. From there, he went to college, and then had a career teaching architecture.

Gordon Gebert was quite the scene-stealer as Timmy in 1949's "Holiday Affair."

Director Don Hartman had been a screenwriter at Paramount for many Bob Hope and several Danny Kaye vehicles. After directing, he became an executive producer at Paramount and then an independent producer, his last was The Matchmaker, before his death at 57 in 1958. Hartman’s humorous touch shows in this comedy-drama.

Holiday Affair has a number of charming scenes that transcend its clichés. The straightforward telling makes this film feels like a scrapbook of another era and not just a too-glamorous old movie. Enjoy this film on its own terms and you will find this a most happy affair.

Train set lovers will just love 1949's "Holiday Affair!"

                                      

Till the End of Time 1946

Guy Madison & Dorothy McGuire team up for 1946's "Till the End of Time."

RKO’s Till the End of Time is a post-WWII drama about veterans who return home and readjust to civilian life, which anticipated instant classic The Best Years of Our Lives by four months. While not of the same caliber, Time’s virtues are at least its own, as it came first.

This was Guy Madison’s second film and first starring role, after his eye-catching cameo in David Selznick’s wartime drama, Since You Went Away. Till the End of Time has much in common with that home front war drama, too. Again, while smaller in scope, Time has that same sentimental take on family and patriotism, but is occasionally leavened by clear insights on readjusting soldiers.

The stars of "Till the End of Time," in true movie fashion, are instantly gaga
for each other--though in this case it's not hard to see why!

The romance between returning Marine Cliff Harper (Guy Madison) and war widow Pat Ruscomb (Dorothy McGuire) is predictably instantaneous. This film was a big hit, what with new heart throb Guy and fresh leading lady Dorothy.

What makes Till the End of Time interesting, at least by today’s standards, is the snap shot of the post-war era, even with its gloss. You get a somewhat realistic look at how people lived, the social values, and how veterans were treated upon returning home. There are a number of small scenes that are heartfelt, such as the vet at the counter suffering PTSD or Bill Williams’ amputee refusing to wear his prosthetics, or Dorothy’s war widow getting unfairly judged about her morals.

McGuire's Pat & Madison's Cliff talk down a vet with a case of PTSD in "Till the End of Time."

The cast, with many familiar faces, is a major plus. Guy Madison is no master thespian, but that’s not why he was chosen for the role of Cliff, the all-American boy. Guy’s line readings are indeed amateurish, but he has a genial charm, plus Madison was one of the most handsome men to step in front of a movie camera. It’s interesting that Guy was only three years older than Rock Hudson. While both actors’ agent was the notorious Henry Willson, who gave them their movie monikers, their studios handled them quite differently. Universal gave Rock the slow build up and Hudson honed what talent he had. David Selznick’s studio made few films and he just flesh peddled his actors out—three appear in this film. So, it was sink or swim for Guy Madison. 

The extent of grooming Guy Madison for stardom seemed to not go beyond
 photographing his beautiful face and body.

"I don't remember this scene in the script!"

Finally, it was Time’s second male lead who inadvertently demonstrated why Madison’s movie career soon fizzled—Robert Mitchum. While handsome men continued to get the buildup in Hollywood, it was the anti-heroes and rugged actors like Mitchum who led the way in post-war Hollywood: Mitchum, Lancaster, and Kirk Douglas, etc. Mitchum’s sardonic manner made him the next Bogart, while Madison went straight to TV and B westerns. As Cliff’s likeable but hell-raising best pal, Bob’s a scene stealer.

This photo has gotten a bit of notoriety, but don't worry,
Robert Mitchum's character just has a metal plate in his head!

I’ve noticed in film reviews and comments that Dorothy McGuire gets criticized as “dowdy” and “too old” as a leading lady for Guy Madison. Well, McGuire’s Pat IS supposed to be older than boyish Guy. A whole six years—horrors! As for dowdy, Dorothy often played unglamorous and later, motherly roles—but her looks were usually glamorous but subtle. As alleged mantrap Pat, RKO gives her the ‘40s glamour treatment with big hair and clothes that engulf her, but McGuire still shines through. For comparison, check out how chic McGuire looks in the next year’s Gentleman’s Agreement. Dorothy is miscast as the neighborhood femme fatale, but she requested the part. Frankly, McGuire plays it no differently than her other leading lady roles, so Pat is smart and sympathetic. And if she’s lonely and wants to have sex, why shouldn’t she? Surprisingly, Pat isn’t required to pay for her “sins” at the movie’s finale.

Dorothy McGuire as war widow Pat in "Till the End of Time."

Jean Porter, an audience favorite of the ‘40s, took over the role of nubile neighbor Helen for Shirley Temple, who got married instead. Porter is even more annoyingly perky than Temple, and gets a lot of screen time love from future husband, director Edward Dmytryk. Except for Eddie’s lavish attention to Jean’s skating and jitterbugging skills, Dmytryk directs a pretty tight film here, especially in the Marines’ homecoming scenes.

I had the same reaction as Guy Madison listening to Jean Porter's prattle!

Bill Williams is suitably bitter as Perry, the injured Marine. Like Madison, Williams later played a TV cowboy, Kit Carson. Bill married Perry Mason’s Barbara Hale, and their son, William Katt, was TV’s The Greatest American Hero.

Bill Williams as Perry, the amputee Marine, in "Till the End of Time."

Watch for Blake Edwards as the shop boss who Madison’s Cliff gets huffy with. Edwards later went on to direct Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Days of Wine and Roses, and 10, to name just a few of his films.

The rest of the cast, like Tom Tully and Ruth Nelson as Cliff’s worried parents, Selena Royle as Perry’s mother, William Gargan as the Sgt., Richard Benedict as the vet with PTSD, and many other familiar faces, all play their parts well.

Till the End of Time may not be a timeless classic, but it’s a sincere snap shot of an important time in our country’s history.

Guy Madison and Dorothy McGuire gaze admiringly in "Till the End of Time."

For more on Dorothy McGuire, here are my other reviews of her films:

The genuinely romantic The Enchanted Cottage: https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-enchanted-cottage-1945.html

The beautiful A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2017/10/a-tree-grows-in-brooklyn-powerful-story.html

The teen sex camp classic A Summer Place: https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2019/08/a-summer-place-still-steamy-silly-1959.html

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