Jack Lemmon: America's Everyman

Jack Lemmon is featured as "America's Everyman" in this video.

Must-See Movie: Mister Roberts

Mister Roberts (1955)
Talk about one of the finest war films in cinematic history. Starring Henry Fonda, Jack Lemmon, and James Cagney, this award-winning comedy-drama is the quintessential guy movie. It's got war, it's got honor, it's got men being men. But mostly it has a lot of heart.

Mr. Roberts (Henry Fonda) is the cargo supervisor on the USS Reluctant (a.k.a. "The Bucket"), an American cargo ship lying stagnant in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. Roberts desperately wants to leave the tedium of his post to join in the action of war. Weekly he writes for a transfer, but the captain of the ship (James Cagney) is a tyrant over the crew, especially Roberts, and chooses to forward all of his letters with his stamp of disapproval. The Captain's only real pride is a palm tree that was given to him as reward for "his" hard work and effort in delivering cargo. The men all look up to Roberts and how he stands up to the Captain, but things change when Roberts somehow finagles a "liberty" for the men in a beautiful South Pacific port.

Also on board is Robert's cabin-mate Ensign Pulver (Jack Lemmon), who does all he can to avoid confrontation with the captain and instead bides his time buying and selling for hard-to-get items on the ship. He also spends time telling people how one day he's going to get even with the Captain's tyranny, whether it be putting marbles in his overhead or launching a firecracker under his bunk.

Also complimenting Ford and Lemmon's performances is William Powell, who plays Doc. He acts as Mr. Robert's sounding board, and also his voice of reason. This was Powell's last film before he retired from acting. The powerful accomplishments of the male cast make this film a great way to celebrate our war heroes, and masculinity!

This post is dedicated to my Dad, whose recent passing has put my blogging at a stand-still for a while. But this was his favorite movie, and would always bring a tear to his eye (and my eye, as well). I love you Dad, and I miss you. "Now what's all this crud about no movie tonight??"

Must-See Movie: Sex and the Single Girl

Sex and the Single Girl (1964)

Starring our most recent "Va Va Voom" Star of the Day, Natalie Wood, as well as Tony Curtis, this film premiered a year before "The Great Race," that also starred the attractive duo. This 1960's sex romp is another comedic delight. Tony Curtis plays Bob Weston, a writer for paparazzi rag "Dirt." He is working on an article on research psychologist Helen Gurley Brown (Natalie Wood) and her best-selling book Sex and the Single Girl. Bob needs to interview Helen, but she refuses to see him, knowing he's questioning if she "is or is not" one to give authority on sex and could therby ruin her credibility.

Bob impersonates his neighbor, Frank Broderick (Henry Fonda), as a ruse in order to see her on the pretext of marital counseling. After several meetings, Bob attempts to seduce her. Hilarity ensues when Helen asks to meet "his" wife, and Bob mistakenly sends both his secretary, Susan (Leslie Parrish), and his ex-girlfriend Gretchen (Fran Jeffries) to see Helen -- both impersonating Sylvia. But even more confusing is that Helen finds out who the real Mrs. Broderick is (Lauren Bacall) and asks her to appear in her office.

When the real Sylvia arrives the office at the same time as the two other women, Sylvia has Frank put in jail for bigamy. By this point, Helen has realized Bob's trickery and has also discovered who he really is. She leaves town with her colleague Rudy DeMeyer (Mel Ferrer). A wild chase ensues as the bickering couples try to catch up with each other to apologize.

Helen Gurley Brown's self-help best-seller of the same name was the original source for this film, a novel that has been hailed as the predecessor to "Sex and the City." This film begins as your typical 60's sex comedy, but then takes a hysterical slapstick turn in the third act, especially each time people tell Bob he resembles Jack Lemmon. With startling cameos, quick dialogue, and gorgeous Natalie Wood, this film is a fluffy 100-plus minutes that takes a comedic peek in to the lives of the 60's single girls.

Must-See Movie: Some Like It Hot

Some Like It Hot (1959)
Jerry (Jack Lemmon) and Joe (Tony Curtis) are two struggling musicians who witness the St. Valentine's Day Massacre and try to find a way out of the city before they are found and gunned down by mob boss Spats Colombo. The only job that will pay their way is an all-girl band that is fortunately heading to Florida. Desperate, the two dress up as women and hop on the train as Josephine (Curtis) and Daphne (Lemmon). There they meet Sugar (played by Marilyn Monroe), and both men are smitten by her.

In Florida, they run in to more trouble, as Joe finds himself pretending to be a millionaire to get Sugar's attention, and Jerry must fight off Osgood, a rich suitor who is bent on marrying "Daphne." This creates one of the most hilarious moments in cinematic history, when Jerry, after hours of doing the tango with Osgood, returns to tell Joe "I'm engaged." Joe is thrilled, and asks who the lucky lady is. Jerry proclaims, "I am!"

Things get even more complicated, however, when mobster Spats Colombo and his associates arrive at the very same hotel, and Jerry and Joe must scramble to keep their identity hidden from the wise guys and simultaneously keep up the charade with Sugar and the rest of the band.

This movie may not have been the first cross-dressing movie, but it is definitely the pinnacle of the genre. The many clever innuendos and double-entendres that highlight the differences between men and women make this movie a hilarious and classic comedy. There is an even mixture between lowbrow and highbrow comedy, and even some slapstick is thrown in. But the greatest part is Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon working at least two roles apiece, and playing with the different genders. Just the expression on Curtis and Lemmon's faces as they try to make their way down the train platform in heels...there is an obvious struggle as they walk, but they are both so naturally buoyant that it makes the performance even more incredible.

Greatest Pie Fight in Film Ever!

From the 1965 film (and a previous Must-Rent Movie) The Great Race.

Must-See Movie: How to Murder Your Wife

How to Murder Your Wife (1965)
Jack Lemmon stars as Stanley Ford, a cartoonist and confirmed bachelor who has his single life down to a science. His fabulous butler (Terry Thomas) keeps the brownstone in tip-top shape, down to the smallest detail of chilling his martini glass for a nightly cocktail. His cartoons about secret agent Bash Brannigan are authentic, as he acts out the adventures and has his butler take photographs to use later as reference. Ford even says "I'd never have Bash do something that I haven't done myself."

Things change for Ford when he attends a bachelor party for a friend. He gets drunk and wakes up married to the stripper who performed that night (the beautiful Virna Lisi). Even more chaotic, she speaks nearly no English and is determined to reform Stanley's carousing ways.

Ford's cartoon even changes from a secret agent to a household comedy to reflect his new lifestyle. Reaching a crescendo as she completely changes his singleton paradise, he decides to at least give back Bash Brannigan's life. And so he plots to kill off the wife character. However, the real Mrs. Ford disappears, and those who read the cartoons believe he's guilty of murder.

The supporting cast is outstanding: Ford's lawyer (Eddie Mayehoff) and his wife (Claire Trevor) have some of the best lines in the movie. The view of the wives' role in "snaring a man" from the bachelor life is hilarious: women are parodies, with tiny snippy dogs and tons of shopping bags. Don't take it too personally, just remember it's the 60's. I also enjoy the scenes inside Ford's apartment, as I hope to one day have that sort of swinging "bachelor pad" myself; black leather couch and all!

Must-See Movie: The Great Race

The Great Race (1965)
The greatest Blake Edwards' film of all time, this movie is packed with stars and the best moments in cinematic history. Sparkly-eyed, immaculate, and white-toothed daredevil, The Great Leslie (Tony Curtis) convinces turn-of-the-century auto makers to hold a race from New York to Paris. Leslie's nemesis, the mustached and shifty-eyed Professor Fate (Jack Lemmon) vows to beat Leslie to the finish line in a wacky car of his own, along with his dim-witted sidekick (Peter Falk). Along the way they meet a voluptuous suffragette (Natalie Wood), are engaged in a huge old-fashioned Western bar fight, fall into a Man in the Iron Mask-type plot, and have a hand in the largest pie fight ever staged on film.

Infused with typical 60's sexual innuendo, Tony Curtis plays the straight man as he woos Natalie Wood cross-country with his cheeky debonair winks (accentuated by the perfect "ping!" sound effects). He fences like Errol Flynn, competes like a gentleman, and stays pristinely white throughout the journey.

The classic status of this movie, however, is due largely to the slapstick -- very reminiscent of Laurel and Hardy. The chemistry between Jack Lemmon and Peter Falk as bumbling baddies is the paradigm of comedy from the time period in which it's framed. Professor Fate is your archetypal early 20th century villian, twirling his black curly mustache. Then he goes from gravelly sneering villian to giggly, child-like royalty with a dual role as the Prince of Pottsdorf. Fate's assistant Max is the superlative performance of Falk. His talent to use his shortcomings is exemplified, as his squinty-eyed face hunchily searches for Fate with that trademark "Pro-fess-ah!!"

Supported by Keenan Wynn, Vivian Vance, Larry Storch, Dorothy Provine, and a plethora of other fabulous character actors, the movie is unlike anything you've seen in Hollywood to date.

Must-See Movie: Bell, Book and Candle

Bell Book and Candle* (1958)
Kim Novak and James Stewart reunite the same year they did Vertigo to play a witch and a human man trying to figure out romance among magic.

Gillian Holroyd (Novak) is a witch living in a modern (1950's) Manhattan apartment with her Siamese cat, Pyewacket. Feeling lonely, she asks Pyewacket to give her for Christmas her upstairs neighbor Shep Henderson (Stewart). She doesn't seem to mind that he's marrying an old nemesis from college; Gillian easily casts a spell over Shep and he is entranced. But now she must wonder if she's being taken over by a larger power: Love.

The supporting cast is outstanding. Jack Lemmon plays a fantastic role as Gillian's wild bongo-playing brother Nicky, and Elsa Lanchester plays their Aunt Queenie.

But what I found most bewitching is Kim Novak herself: her sultry voice, her fantastic wardrobe fashioned by Jean Louis, and her stunning eyes that are more cat-like than Pyewacket's.

Director Richard Quine captures Stewart and Novak's chemistry perfectly. A scene starts with a shot of their bare feet entwined and pans out to reveal them canoodling on a couch; the sexiness and romance of their relationship is palpable. Quine also directed How to Murder Your Wife - another great Jack Lemmon movie that will definitely be a future Must-See Movie.
*The way the title is punctuated is debatable...some use the commas, others don't. We're going by IMDb.

Must-See Movie: The Odd Couple

The Odd Couple (1968)
My favorite Neil Simon play and film, this movie pits Jack Lemmon (one of the most fantastic actors ever) against Walter Matthau.

The basic story is not unusual, but the dialogue and acting make it outstanding. Divorcee Oscar (played by Matthau) is concerned about his poker buddy Felix (played by Lemmon) and the recent disolution of his marriage. Oscar kindly offers to take him in, not realizing the many small annoyances of Felix that will soon drive him crazy.

The dialogue between the two of them is quick-witted and hilarious. Oscar's onslaught of wry comments to Felix is unstoppable. He holds nothing back when expressing his frustration:

I can't take it anymore, Felix, I'm cracking up. Everything you do irritates me. And when you're not here, the things I know you're gonna do when you come in irritate me. You leave me little notes on my pillow. Told you 158 times I can't stand little notes on my pillow. "We're all out of cornflakes. F.U." Took me three hours to figure out F.U. was Felix Ungar!

(See the IMDb quotes page for some more quick quips.) Usually a movie is confining when set in one place for a majority of the time, but this movie (set primarily in their shared apartment) is far from restrictive. With visits from the poker buddies and the Cuckoo Pigeon sisters, you never get that play-turned-movie clausterphobic feeling, because even the supporting cast is extremely entertaining.

Oscar is not just a laid-back man, he is a slob. And Felix is not just neat, he's an obsessive-compulsive freak. Put the two together in an apartment and you have The Odd Couple.