It was Zsa Zsa Gabor who said that she was a fabulous housekeeper, that after every divorce, she got the house. That's not the case here as her husband Tony Curtis is the one who gets everything, and it's a nice twist in this black comedy that has to be seen to be believed. Rosanna Schiaffino is the nominal female star as one of the wealthiest widows in the world whom Curtis sets his sight on after increasing his own estate, having been an orphan until adopted by wealthy Anna Quayle, and going on to marry a series of wealthy women whom he disposes of in delightful ways.
It's funny to see Curtis trying to look like a teenager when Quayle adopts him, and even living in the lap of her luxury, he's bored being tied down and arranges a series of accidents for from then on, finding ingenious ways to become a quick widower. When he meets Gabor, he finds that she never shuts up after recovering from about of laryngitis on their wedding day, and Ralph Kramden would certainly be proud of him with a plot that only a rocket scientist could think of. Fenella Fielding, as the second wife, gets an exit that brought to mind Mother Burnside's line from "Auntie Mame": "Goodbye Yankee gal!"
Quayle is an absolute eccentric delight, reminding me of Billie Burke from the 1930's and Christine Ebersole in anything on stage. She certainly would have been excellent as the society hostess in "Dinner at Eight" which both of those actresses played. Director Ken Hughes would later use Quayle and Lionel Jeffries in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", and gets delightful performances out of them here.
This film is not going to be for all tastes because it is definitely of the dark comic variety, but it is better than the similar "How to Murder Your Wife" because this is filled with a tongue-in-cheek attitude, and up until he meets Schiaffino, the women are a bit too much. So there are lots of surprises and great sets and fashions, and that 60's op art style that needs to be seen at its most vivid. Schiaffino is especially funny in the very first scene when she prepares for her wedding night with her very elderly wealthy husband, one that you know she knows will not occur.
It's funny to see Curtis trying to look like a teenager when Quayle adopts him, and even living in the lap of her luxury, he's bored being tied down and arranges a series of accidents for from then on, finding ingenious ways to become a quick widower. When he meets Gabor, he finds that she never shuts up after recovering from about of laryngitis on their wedding day, and Ralph Kramden would certainly be proud of him with a plot that only a rocket scientist could think of. Fenella Fielding, as the second wife, gets an exit that brought to mind Mother Burnside's line from "Auntie Mame": "Goodbye Yankee gal!"
Quayle is an absolute eccentric delight, reminding me of Billie Burke from the 1930's and Christine Ebersole in anything on stage. She certainly would have been excellent as the society hostess in "Dinner at Eight" which both of those actresses played. Director Ken Hughes would later use Quayle and Lionel Jeffries in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", and gets delightful performances out of them here.
This film is not going to be for all tastes because it is definitely of the dark comic variety, but it is better than the similar "How to Murder Your Wife" because this is filled with a tongue-in-cheek attitude, and up until he meets Schiaffino, the women are a bit too much. So there are lots of surprises and great sets and fashions, and that 60's op art style that needs to be seen at its most vivid. Schiaffino is especially funny in the very first scene when she prepares for her wedding night with her very elderly wealthy husband, one that you know she knows will not occur.