An uptight IRS agent is ordered to investigate a rural family in debt to the government...but the family - including lovely daughter Mariette - help him loosen up.
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Title: The Mating Game (1959)
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3 nominations.
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Edit
Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Debbie Reynolds | ... | Mariette Larkin | |
| Tony Randall | ... | Lorenzo Charlton | |
| Paul Douglas | ... | Pop Larkin | |
| Fred Clark | ... | Oliver Kelsey | |
| Una Merkel | ... | Ma Larkin | |
| Philip Ober | ... | Wendell Burnshaw | |
| Philip Coolidge | ... | Rev. Osgood | |
| Charles Lane | ... | Inspector General Bigelow | |
| Trevor Bardette | ... | Chief Guthrie | |
| William Smith | ... | Barney (as Bill Smith) | |
| Addison Powell | ... | David DeGroot | |
 |
Rickey Murray | ... | Lee Larkin |
|
|
Donald Losby | ... | Grant Larkin |
|
|
Cheryl Bailey | ... | Victoria Larkin |
|
|
Caryl Bailey | ... | Susan Larkin |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Storyline
Tax collector Lorenzo Charlton comes to the Larkins' farm to ask why Pop Larkins hasn't paid his back taxes. Charlton has to stay for a day to try to estimate the income from the farm, but it isn't easy to calculate when the farmer has such a lovely daughter, Mariette... Written by Mattias Thuresson
Taglines:
Filmed on location in the haystack! See more »Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents »
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Edit
See more on IMDbPro »
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
October 1959 (Austria) See more »Also Known As:
Engel unter Sündern See more »Filming Locations:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USAEdit
Box Office
Budget:
$876,000 (estimated)Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)Color:
Color (Metrocolor)Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
Edit
Music by Charles Strouse
Lyrics by Lee Adams
Performed by Debbie Reynolds (uncredited)
[Title song performed during the opening titles and credits]
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
From 1991-1993 ITV aired "The Darling Buds of May" as a TV series, and the eldest daughter was an early role for Catherine Zeta-Jones. See more »Goofs
A large percentage of the spoken audio in the outdoor scenes has a distinct echo, indicating it was recorded in a studio booth and dubbed in later. See more »Soundtracks
The Mating GameMusic by Charles Strouse
Lyrics by Lee Adams
Performed by Debbie Reynolds (uncredited)
[Title song performed during the opening titles and credits]
See more »
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The premise is funny where straight well-educated Tony Randall is sent to get Paul Douglas and family to pay up their taxers. Douglas is a nice rural type who has never bothered to file taxes in over 20 years! Una Merkel is his farm wife and Debbie Reynolds plays the eldest of his children. Naturally, Randall falls for Reynolds.
A vicious neighbor played by Philip Ober wants the Douglas homestead. He sends the IRS after the family. With Fred Clark and Charles Lane at the head of the IRS, you'd think the family is in for lots of trouble.
Reynolds musical ability is put to task briefly.
The film falls apart in a rather lengthy drunken sequence when Lorenzo Charlton (Randall) gets bombed out and parades around singing a Cole Porter tune. Other silly scenes is a brawl between Randall and a jealous suitor of Reynolds with his friends.
The ending is contrived. Get out your civil war documents and watch the interest build up. Mainly for the silly at heart.