No Down Payment (1957)

The marital difficulties of four couples living in a southern California housing development become intertwined. Among the unhappy couples are ne'er-do-well Jerry Flagg and his ... See full summary »

Director:

Martin Ritt

Writers:

Philip Yordan (screenplay), John McPartland (from the novel by),

Stars:

Joanne Woodward, Sheree North, Tony Randall

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joanne Woodward	...	Leola Boone
Sheree North	...	Isabelle Flagg
Tony Randall	...	Jerry Flagg
Jeffrey Hunter	...	David Martin
Cameron Mitchell	...	Troy Boone
Patricia Owens	...	Jean Martin
Barbara Rush	...	Betty Kreitzer
Pat Hingle	...	Herman Kreitzer
Robert H. Harris	...	Markham (as Robert Harris)
Aki Aleong	...	Iko
Jim Hayward	...	Mr. Burnett

Storyline

The marital difficulties of four couples living in a southern California housing development become intertwined. Among the unhappy couples are ne'er-do-well Jerry Flagg and his long-suffering wife Isabelle, flirtatious Leola Boone and her sadistic husband Troy, hard working Herman Kreitzer and his understanding wife Betty, and newlyweds Jean and David Martin.

---

Plot Keywords:

moving van | fistfight | wage slave | suburbia | gas station | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 October 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Mulher do Próximo

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jerry Wald Productions, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Oct. 1957, 20th Century Fox distributed this film on a double bill with Copper Sky starring Jeff Morrow and Coleen Gray.

---

Connections

Featured in Sex at 24 Frames Per Second (2003)

---

Soundtracks

"The Drive-In Rock"
Music by Lionel Newman
Lyrics by Carroll Coates

User Reviews

Still excellent and a fine period study

A friend had a copy of this film, and I recently saw it again, after a period of several years.

Seen now, 50 years after its release, it has a more nostalgic feel for the 1950's - still in the "post-war/Cold War period," before the turbulent 60's - and it presents a superb snapshot of young marrieds of this era.

As others have pointed-out, one aspect is the excellent performance of Tony Randall, with a character in contrast with his frequent second-banana/best friend/never-gets-the-girl/lighthearted and light-weight persona in many of his other flicks.

Most of the actors are gone or retired; the two we saw most in the 90's were Sheree North and Pat Hingle - both forty years older and forty pounds heavier than here.

All-in-all an excellent film, now as originally, and more so for the historic/nostalgic feel it provides today.