Complete credited cast: | |||
Doris Day | ... | Isolde Poole | |
Richard Widmark | ... | August 'Augie' Poole | |
Gig Young | ... | Dick Pepper | |
Gia Scala | ... | Estelle Novick | |
Elisabeth Fraser | ... | Alice Pepper | |
Elizabeth Wilson | ... | Miss MacCracken | |
Vikki Dougan | ... | Gladys Dunne, actress | |
Doodles Weaver | ... | Escort | |
Charles Wagenheim | ... | Day Motel Man | |
Robert B. Williams | ... | Night Motel Man (as Robert Williams) | |
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Esquire Trio | ... | Themselves - Party Musicians (as The Esquire Trio) |
The Pooles are unable to have a baby after years of trying. They apply to the Rock-A-Bye Adoption Agency, and are assigned Miss Novick as an investigator. Through a farfetched mis-communication she gets a very bad impression of Augie Poole and indicates her report will be unfavorable. Through even more far-fetched circumstances, Augie is able to change Miss Novick's mind, and later comes to believe the baby she is carrying is his. Rock-A-Bye does find the Pooles a baby, and Augie is convinced it is Miss Novick's, and that he is the real father...so much so that his wife comes to believe it, too. She threatens to leave him, but all the misunderstandings are finally cleared up for a happy ending. Written by Ron Kerrigan <mvg@whidbey.com>
Painful farce, adapted from Peter De Vries' novel which then became the kind of play dinner-theaters specialized in. It features Richard Widmark in a humiliating 'comedic' role as a man whose wife can't get pregnant, leading him into a drunken excursion with a sexy adoption agent, whom he later believes he has knocked up. Widmark is not suited to this material, which should be played nimbly and without force. Director Gene Kelly, of all people, is likewise not suited to guide an intense actor like Widmark through the rigors of light comedy (which can be more precarious than a gangster drama). Doris Day is the put-upon wife, and I felt for her. Even with a feeble script and dim handling, Day manages a ray of sunshine or two. Gig Young, in the patented Gig Young/friendly neighbor role, helps out a little bit, but "The Tunnel Of Love" is a frigid affair. *1/2 from ****