How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life (1968)

Director:

Fielder Cook

Writers:

Stanley Shapiro (written by) &
Nate Monaster (written by)

Release Date:

29 January 1968 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Don't give in, you can't win! Don't give up, you can't lose!

Plot:

When a carefree bachelor tries to get his best friend to drop his mistress and return to his wife, he finds himself with romantic problems as well.

Plot Keywords:

Bachelor | Battle Of The Sexes | Mistress | Cocktail Bar | Negligée

Cast

Dean Martin	...	David Sloane
Stella Stevens	...	Carol Corman
Eli Wallach	...	Harry Hunter
Anne Jackson	...	Muriel Laszlo
Betty Field	...	Thelma
Jack Albertson	...	Mr. Slotkin
Katharine Bard	...	Mary Hunter
Woodrow Parfrey	...	Eddie Rankin
Alan Oppenheimer	...	Everett Bauer
Shelley Morrison	...	Marcia Borie
George Furth	...	Roger
Monroe Arnold	...	Wally Hammond
Claude Stroud	...	Hall Satler
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bruce Chesse	...	Groom (uncredited)
Joe Gray	...	Cab Driver (uncredited)

Directed by
Fielder Cook

Writing credits
Stanley Shapiro		(written by) &
Nate Monaster		(written by)

Produced by
Stanley Shapiro	....	producer

Original Music by
Michel Legrand

Cinematography by
Lee Garmes

Film Editing by
Philip W. Anderson

Production Design by
Robert Clatworthy

Set Decoration by
George R. Nelson

Costume Design by
Moss Mabry

Makeup Department
Faye Chaney	....	makeup artist
Hank Edds	....	makeup artist
Steve Lane	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Wendell Franklin	....	assistant director

Special Effects by
Geza Gaspar	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Al St. Hilaire	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Music Department
Ray Conniff	....	music theme

Other crew
Bill O'Sullivan	....	production consultant

Production Companies

• Nob Hill Productions Inc.

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1968) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1973) (USA) (TV)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia (1968) (France) (theatrical)
• GoodTimes Home Video (1991) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:11 | Netherlands:14 (orginal rating)

Company:

Nob Hill Productions Inc.

Quotes:

Thelma:Miss Laszlo watches all the old pictures, and a lot of the actors have passed away.
Muriel Laszlo:I saw a marvelous comedy last night. The entire cast was dead.

Running Interference

Dean Martin steps nicely into a role that Rock Hudson would have been cast in with How To Save A Marriage. Others here think that Stella Stevens is standing in for Doris Day. But for myself Stella's part is way to kookie for something Doris would have done. If Doris was offered the part she wisely refused. Stella's role opposite Dean is similar to what Paula Prentiss did opposite Rock in Man's Favorite Sport.

The title does say it all. Dino is a pal of philandering Eli Wallach who is married to Katherine Card and who Card confides in about her suspicions that Wallach is straying. So Dino resolves to do interference between Wallach and the other woman.

The problem is that Dino misses his target and starts putting the moves on Stella Stevens who works in Wallach's department store. Eli is really seeing his real life wife Anne Jackson. When it all falls apart Stella makes a united stand with Anne and their landlady Betty Field against the predatory male. Stella puts poor Dino through quite a ringer before she's found out.

In a very broad part that calls for overacting Eli Wallach steps nicely into the Tony Randall/Gig Young part. He easily steals the film from the two stars.

How To Save A Marriage is the last and one of the lesser modern dress comedies that Dean Martin did after splitting from Jerry Lewis. From then on his film career would be mostly westerns and Matt Helm films. You want to see Martin showcased best in screen comedy look at All In A Night's Work or Who's Got The Action.