Who Was That Lady? (1960)

Director:

George Sidney

Writers:

Norman Krasna (play)
Norman Krasna (written by)

Release Date:

8 April 1960 (Finland)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

A light-hearted leer at love among the adults! (poster)

Plot:

In order to get back into the good graces with his wife with whom he has had a misunderstanding, a young...

Plot Keywords:

FBI | FBI Agent | Fake Id | Kissing | Kiss

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Tony Curtis	...	David Wilson
Dean Martin	...	Michael Haney
Janet Leigh	...	Ann Wilson
James Whitmore	...	Harry Powell
John McIntire	...	Bob Doyle
Barbara Nichols	...	Gloria Coogle
Larry Keating	...	Parker
Larry Storch	...	Orenov
Simon Oakland	...	Belka
Joi Lansing	...	Florence Coogle
Barbara Hines	...	Foreign Exchange Student
Marion Javits	...	Miss Mellish
Mike Lane	...	Glinka (as Michael Lane)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Peter Weck	...	Singer in German Version
Mark Allen	...	Joe Bendix (uncredited)
Jack Benny	...	Mr. Cosgrove (uncredited)
Larry J. Blake	...	Tenant (uncredited)
William Boyett	...	Howard (uncredited)
Wally Brown	...	Irate Man on Telephone (uncredited)
Alan Carney	...	Building Superintendent (uncredited)
Art Gilmore	...	Television Announcer (uncredited)
Joe Gray	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Ron Hayes	...	F.B.I. Man (uncredited)
William Newell	...	Schultz (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien	...	Passenger Exiting Elevator (uncredited)
'Snub' Pollard	...	Tattoo Artist (uncredited)
Frank J. Scannell	...	Tenant (uncredited)
Emil Sitka	...	Man with Flower Pot (uncredited)
Rudy Solari	...	FBI Man at Empire State Building (uncredited)
Larri Thomas	...	Girl (uncredited)
Peter M. Thompson	...	F.B.I. Man (uncredited)
Dyanne Thorne	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Kam Tong	...	Lee Wong (uncredited)
Arthur Tovey	...	Guard Exiting Elevator (uncredited)
John Ward	...	Gibson (uncredited)

Directed by
George Sidney

Writing credits
Norman Krasna		(play "Who Was That Lady I Saw You With?")
Norman Krasna		(written by)

Produced by
Norman Krasna	....	producer

Original Music by
André Previn		(as Andre Previn)

Cinematography by
Harry Stradling Sr.		(director of photography) (as Harry Stradling)

Film Editing by
Viola Lawrence

Art Direction by
Ted Haworth		(as Edward Hayworth)

Set Decoration by
James Crowe		(as James M. Crowe)

Costume Design by
Jean Louis		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Larry Germain	....	hair stylist: Miss Leigh
Helen Hunt	....	hair stylist
Ben Lane	....	makeup supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Silver	....	assistant director

Sound Department
James Z. Flaster	....	sound (as James Flaster)
Charles J. Rice	....	recording supervisor

Stunts
Bob Herron	....	stunts (uncredited)

Music Department
Alexander Courage	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Shelley Manne	....	musician: drums (uncredited)
Red Mitchell	....	musician: bass (uncredited)

Other crew
Leland Hayward	....	stage producer: New York

Production Companies

• Ansark-Sidney

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1960) (USA) (theatrical)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #19460) | Argentina:Atp

Company:

Ansark-Sidney

Trivia:

Based upon the comedy "Who Was That Lady I Saw You With" which opened at the Martin Beck Theater in New York City on March 30, 1958 staring Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy and ran for 208 performances.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the scene in the ESB's basement, after Ann storms out and David comes to, the unconscious Michael (lying on the ground) disappears from where he's lying as David walks past that spot and reappears when David returns. The bucket earlier thrown at him by Ann does not disappear, although it changes position after every cut.

Soundtrack:

Who Was That Lady?

WHO WAS THAT LADY? (George Sidney, 1960) ***

I'd always wanted to check out this well-regarded if rarely-seen comedy – for the record, some years back I missed out on its sole Italian TV screening (that I know of). For Tony Curtis, it meant something of a follow-up to the classic SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959) – where he's forced, with his co-star (in this case, Dean Martin), to pass himself off as something he isn't (an F.B.I. agent), leading to misunderstanding, various complications and imminent danger.

Similarly, a female is involved in the shenanigans (Curtis' on and off-screen wife Janet Leigh) though, here, the whole ruse starts off because of her: Chemistry Professor Curtis' fling with a female student is discovered by his jealous wife, so he turns for help to his best pal – TV writer Martin – who procures him with papers (and a gun) denoting his Bureau affiliations; Leigh is finally convinced of this and, soon after, is contacted by a real F.B.I. operative (James Whitmore) who uses her to keep track of just what Curtis and Martin are up to!

One of the highlights of the film is the extended yet splendid incident in a restaurant: Leigh accepts Curtis' excuse to go on the town with Martin, believing it to be another federal job – but, in her over-eagerness to help, effectively blows his cover…which then lands the F.B.I. itself in hot water! The biggest trouble, however, is that enemy agents take the two men to be the real deal and kidnap them (and Leigh) in order to extract vital information they believe Curtis is in possession of! The aftermath of this sequence is again hilarious as, dazed by the drug he's been given, Curtis thinks they've been taken to a Russian sub and persuades Martin to flood it…but it transpires that they're in the basement of the Empire State Building!

The script (adapted by Norman Krasna – who also produced – from his own play) balances witty dialogue with inspired zany situations, which are then delightfully put across by an excellent cast. Both male stars, in fact, were already adept at this type of thing (crooner Martin also sings the title tune), but Leigh surprisingly proves a fine comedienne in her own right: it's a pity that her marriage to Curtis was crumbling by this time which is doubly ironic given the film's plot, but they were professional enough not to let the real cracks show in their performances.