The Man from the Diners' Club (1963)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Frank Tashlin

Writers:

William Peter Blatty (writer)
John Fenton Murray (writer)

Release Date:

20 May 1963 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

An employee at Diner's Club issues a credit card to a well-known mobster and has to retrieve it in order to keep his job. |

Plot Keywords:

Mobster | Credit Card | Beautiful Woman | Independent Film

Cast

Danny Kaye	...	Ernest Klenk
Cara Williams	...	Sugar Pye
Martha Hyer	...	Lucy
Telly Savalas	...	Ronald 'Foots' Pulardos
Everett Sloane	...	Martindale
Kaye Stevens	...	Bea Frampton
Howard Caine	...	Claude Bassanio
George Kennedy	...	George
Jay Novello	...	Mooseghian
Ann Morgan Guilbert	...	Ella Trask
Ronald Long	...	Minister
Mark Tobin	...	Quas
Cliff Carnell	...	Buzzy
Edmund Williams	...	Jerry Markus
Carol Dixon	...	Little Girl

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:15

Company:

Ampersand

Trivia:

Bernie Kopell's film debut.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In the closing chase scene, when the boss pulls away from the church, several crew members are reflected in the side of the car, including someone wearing very white shoes.

Quotes:

Spinster: There's a dumb body in my dead waiter!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Electric Money (2001) (TV)

Oh, Kaye! How could you?

Danny Kaye made this movie at age 50, just as he was transitioning into his long-running, successful TV show. It's a shame that the film wasn't better tailored to his talents. He gets to do a few funny facial expressions, but no singing or dancing, and almost no verbal humor (his specialties). Probably the best bit is when he pretends to be a Swedish masseur and does dialect humor while he gets revenge on his oppressive office-mate. Most of the blame can be placed on the weak, dated script by "Bill Blatty" (Mr. Exorcist), which is full of tired office humor from the early 60s. (It makes HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS look slick and sophisticated.) Kaye is paired up romantically with a girl clearly out of his league; why would such a hot number put up with a nerd who keeps putting off the wedding? Telly Savalas and Cara Williams make a nice team as the bumbling villain and his moll; Harry Dean Stanton makes an uncredited appearance as a poetry-spouting beatnik. (Yes, what early 60s film would be complete without a beatnik?) Music by Stu Phillips (Cosby Show) tends toward the Carl Stallings cartoon approach. The cinematography is dull and lifeless. If you want REAL Danny Kaye, turn back the clock a decade or more before this lemon, or hope that someday his great TV show is packaged for DVD.