That Funny Feeling (1965)

Director:

Richard Thorpe

Writers:

Norman Barasch (story)
Carroll Moore (story)

Release Date:

25 August 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

SHE DECORATES BACHELOR APARTMENTS

Plot:

Joan Howell, a young and pretty maid-for-hire, meets and begins dating wealthy New York City businessman Tom Milford...

Plot Keywords:

Apartment | Bachelor | Deception | Wife And Husband Lead Actors | Maid

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

Sandra Dee	...	Joan Howell
Bobby Darin	...	Tom Milford
Donald O'Connor	...	Harvey Granson
Nita Talbot	...	Audrey
Larry Storch	...	Luther
Leo G. Carroll	...	Mr. O'Shea, Pawnbroker
James Westerfield	...	Officer Brokaw
Robert Strauss	...	Bartender
Ben Lessy	...	Charlie, Bartender
Reta Shaw	...	Woman at Phone Booth
Nora Marlowe	...	Woman at Phone Booth
Kathleen Freeman	...	Woman at Phone Booth
Minerva Urecal	...	Woman at Phone Booth
Arte Johnson	...	Paul
Benny Rubin	...	Taxi Driver

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

In one scene, Tom Milford (Bobby Darin) explains to Harvey Granson (Donald O'Connor) that the party scheduled for that night will celebrate the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty which took place 78 years ago that day. So the date of the party is 28 October 1964 since the unveiling of the Statue took place on 28 October 1886.

Quotes:

Joan Howell: I'd love to visit your apartment.
Tom Milford: My apartment? Well, why mine?
Joan Howell: The answer should be quite obvious, shouldn't it?
Tom Milford: The fact of the matter is, mine is quite disorganized. I've been having maid trouble, too.
Joan Howell: Well, I'll tell you what. You take me to your apartment and I'll show you what I can do with a vacuum cleaner.

Soundtrack:

That Funny Feeling

Do we debate on whether it's believable or achievable?

OK, so we in the 21st century don't judge Sandra Dee's movies too kindly, as she usually played some nubile woman existing only to be cute, and we don't consider it particularly PC. The truth is, most of the teen flicks of the past 25 years haven't been much different, and I for one find "That Funny Feeling" more interesting than many of the teen flicks from my lifetime. True, much of the movie is pretty predictable, with Dee as a working class maid pretending to live in a young businessman's (Bobby Darin) apartment, while he goes along with it; I actually didn't spend much of the movie laughing. But the movie definitely has its moments, namely the telephone booth and the party (some people might even include the shot of Sandra Dee in the bathtub...meow meow).

Obviously, given that during the '60s, we started seeing movies like "Dr. Strangelove" and "The Graduate", this one might seem worthless at best. But, I will say that it does have a certain charm to it. It's not a masterpiece by any stretch, but doesn't pretend to be. Just nice, silly fun. And Sandra Dee is actually kinda hot. Also starring Donald O'Connor, Nina Talbot, Larry Storch, Leo G. Carroll, Robert Strauss, Kathleen Freeman and Arte Johnson.

I bet that somewhere beyond that great sea in the sky, Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin can take comfort knowing that we still remember them, even if it is for something as silly as this.