Marriage on the Rocks (1965)

Ad-agency president Dan Edwards who, when he goes to Mexico to celebrate his nineteenth wedding anniversary, winds up getting divorced by mistake - whereupon his wife Valerie marries his ... See full summary »

Director:

Jack Donohue

Writers:

Cy Howard (screenplay), Cy Howard (story)

Stars:

Frank Sinatra, Deborah Kerr, Dean Martin

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Frank Sinatra	...	Dan Edwards
Deborah Kerr	...	Valerie Edwards
Dean Martin	...	Ernie Brewer
Cesar Romero	...	Miguel Santos
Hermione Baddeley	...	Jeannie MacPherson
Tony Bill	...	Jim Blake
John McGiver	...	Shad Nathan
Nancy Sinatra	...	Tracy Edwards
Davey Davison	...	Lisa Sterling
Michel Petit	...	David Edwards (as Michael Petit)
Trini López	...	Himself
Joi Lansing	...	Lola
Darlene Lucht	...	Bunny (as Tara Ashton)
Kathleen Freeman	...	Miss Blight
Flip Mark	...	Rollo

Storyline

Ad-agency president Dan Edwards who, when he goes to Mexico to celebrate his nineteenth wedding anniversary, winds up getting divorced by mistake - whereupon his wife Valerie marries his best friend Ernie Brewer by mistake. Frank's future pop star daughter Nancy Sinatra has a featured role.

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Taglines:

Any Number Can Play!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

24 September 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Community Property

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

A-C Productions, Sinatra Enterprises, Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nancy Sinatra was nervous acting opposite father Frank for the very first time. But worse than that, she was in the midst of a devastating divorce from first husband 'Tommy Sands' while shooting the picture, later saying that it was a good time for all the fellas on the set but she herself was extremely troubled.

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Quotes

Shad Nathan: You're emotionally upset, have a glass of water.
Valerie Edwards: I don't want a glass of water, I want a divorce!

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Connections

Referenced in Dallas: Marriage on the Rocks (1988)

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Soundtracks

"There Was a Sinner Man"
Written by Trini López, Bobby Weinstein, Bobby Hart, Billy Barberis and Teddy Randazzo
Sung by Trini López

User Reviews

Marriage Sank Without A Trace

The only reason this film gets as high as four is for all the talent involved. If Frank and Dean had sung in this film it might have rated higher. But the plain fact is that Marriage on the Rocks just ain't that funny.

Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin are best friends and partners in an advertising agency. Sinatra is married to Deborah Kerr with two kids and a mother-in-law in the house. Dino is a carefree bachelor and all around swinger and boozer. Basically these two really play themselves so there's no great stretch of any thespian talent.

Through an odd combination of circumstances, Sinatra and Kerr whose marriage is going through a rough patch go to Mexico on a second honeymoon and through the machinations of divorce attorney Cesar Romero they get an instant Mexican divorce. Then when Sinatra can't make it back to Mexico, he sends Dino back to pick up Kerr and offer an explanation and Martin winds up married to Kerr.

Now their roles are reversed and Martin is now a stepfather to Nancy Sinatra and Michael Petit and Sinatra's having a whale of a good time leading a swinging, ring-a-ding life. Of course all gets righted in the end.

We've seen it all before from Frank and Dean. This would be their last joint film appearance for 17 years until Cannonball Run II. Mainly because of the critical roasting this film got. Both of them just walk through the parts here. Dean Martin was just starting his highly successful television series which would be his main venue for the next decade and Frank was doing some very nice television specials around that time.

It would have been nice if both of them had sang some more on the big screen, but no more movie singing for them, except for Dino in the first Matt Helm film.

In any event the Rat Pack was breaking up as the two of them plus Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Joey Bishop all started doing their own thing more and more.

Deborah Kerr looks like she's wondering how she got there with the boys, she certainly doesn't have the right spirit to be a Rat Pack broad like Shirley MacLaine or Angie Dickinson or Barbara Rush.

In fact Marriage on the Rocks is one colossal waste of an incredible assembly of talented players.