The Pleasure of His Company (1961)

San Francisco debutante, Jessica Poole, is marrying Napa Valley cattle rancher, Roger Henderson, and hopes her peripatetic father, "Pogo" Poole, whom she hasn't seen for years, comes to the... See full summary »

Director:

George Seaton

Writers:

Cornelia Otis Skinner (play), Samuel A. Taylor (play),

Stars:

Fred Astaire, Debbie Reynolds, Lilli Palmer

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Fred Astaire	...	Biddeford 'Pogo' Poole
Debbie Reynolds	...	Jessica Anne Poole
Lilli Palmer	...	Katharine 'Kate' Dougherty
Tab Hunter	...	Roger Berk Henderson
Gary Merrill	...	James 'Jim' Dougherty
Charles Ruggles	...	Mackenzie Savage
Harold Fong	...	Toy
Elvia Allman	...	Mrs. Mooney
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pat Colby	...	Wedding Guest

Storyline

San Francisco debutante, Jessica Poole, is marrying Napa Valley cattle rancher, Roger Henderson, and hopes her peripatetic father, "Pogo" Poole, whom she hasn't seen for years, comes to the wedding. He arrives, disrupting the household of his ex-wife, Katharine, and her long-suffering husband, and befriending their cook, Toy. At first it seems that Pogo is set on breaking up the engagement, making up for years of neglect by wining and dining Jessica, showing up Roger as a hick, and enticing her to come to Europe with him. Then it seems his real goal is to win back Katharine's heart: why else would he have two tickets to Paris booked on a plane leaving right after the reception?

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Plot Keywords:

based on play

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Taglines:

He came 8000 miles to attend his daughter's wedding-and then tried 8000 ways to break it up

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Italian

Release Date:

1 June 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

In angenehmer Gesellschaft

Filming Locations:

2700 Vallejo Street, Pacific Heights, San Francisco, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Perlsea Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Designer Edith Head appears in the opening scene of the movie (one of a select few appearances in film) directing alterations to Jessica's wedding dress at I. Magnin & Company, a luxury department store in San Francisco, California.

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Goofs

When asked by James, Mr. Sanford tells him that Popo's plane leaves at 6:30. However, when everyone arrives at the airport to see Pogo off, the sign at the departure gate clearly shows the departure time as 4:30.

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Connections

Featured in Edith Head: The Paramount Years (2002)

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Soundtracks

"The Pleasure of His Company"
Music by Alfred Newman
Lyrics by Sammy Cahn

User Reviews

Enjoyable, other than the utterly loathsome Fred Astaire

Things to like about this film: San Francisco locations, Edith Head's costuming, the music.

Things that are much harder to like: Fred Astaire's character, Debbie Reynolds, and the plot.

Reynolds, at age 30, is absurd as an ingenue/debutante.

In the '20s, a studio executive wrote about the young Astaire -- "Can't sing. Can't act. Slightly balding. Can dance a little." Although you'd never know it from the stature he has in Hollywood history, that executive nailed it. Astaire *can't* sing, can barely act, and he's no Cary Grant in the looks department.

There is nothing to like about Fred Astaire in "The Pleasure of His Company", playing a roguish, absentee father who comes back from spending his life entertaining himself abroad and promptly attempts to ruin everyone else's relationships. But for the script that subverts all logic, there could be no explanation for the way he's lionized in this film as a charming man of the world. To me, he could not have been more boorish and pretentious. Take that assessment for whatever its worth.