The Chapman Report (1962)

Based on the best-selling novel by Irving Wallace that was inspired by the Kinsey Report on the sexual mores of suburban women, the film follows the personal (read sexual) lives of four ... See full summary »

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Wyatt Cooper (screenplay), Don Mankiewicz (screenplay) (as Don M. Mankiewicz)

Stars:

Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Shelley Winters, Jane Fonda

Nominated for 4 Golden Globes.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Efrem Zimbalist Jr.	...	Paul Radford
Shelley Winters	...	Sarah Garnell
Jane Fonda	...	Kathleen Barclay
Claire Bloom	...	Naomi Shields
Glynis Johns	...	Teresa Harnish
Ray Danton	...	Fred Linden
Ty Hardin	...	Ed Kraski
Andrew Duggan	...	Dr. George C. Chapman
John Dehner	...	Geoffrey Harnish
Harold J. Stone	...	Frank Garnell
Corey Allen	...	Wash Dillon
Jennifer Howard	...	Grace Waterton
Cloris Leachman	...	Miss Selby
Chad Everett	...	Bob Jensen
Henry Daniell	...	Dr. Jonas

Storyline

Based on the best-selling novel by Irving Wallace that was inspired by the Kinsey Report on the sexual mores of suburban women, the film follows the personal (read sexual) lives of four women (Claire Bloom, Jane Fonda, Shelley Winters and Glynis Johns) with four separate sexual hangups, ranging from frigidity to nymphomania. Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. plays a researcher who becomes entangled with Fonda, the young woman suffering from emotional frigidity.

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Plot Keywords:

bare chested male | man in swimsuit | medical | sex | sexual exploitation | 

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Taglines:

The personal story behind a sex survey ... from the controversial best selling novel.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 October 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Vida Íntima de Quatro Mulheres

Filming Locations:

Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Darryl F. Zanuck Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Robert E. Evans turned down the role of Fred Linden.

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Goofs

On the beach when Glynis Johns is using a tape recorder while on an orange blanket, she gets very frustrated by Ty Hardin's beach football fellow rowdies that she gets up and moves. Next camera break she is using a yellow blanket.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dr. George C. Chapman: Section four, Column one, Question.
Paul Radford: Ten per cent of the married women were strongly aroused, twenty-seven per cent, somewhat; and Sixty-three per cent, not at all.

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Connections

Referenced in Don't Say No Until I Finish Talking: The Story of Richard D. Zanuck (2013)

User Reviews

soapy trash, directed by George Cukor

The eminent director George Cukor did The Chapman Report for Warner Brother. It's based on the book by Irving Wallace, which was inspired by the Kinsey report about sexual activity.

The Warner Brothers actors cast include Efrem Zimbalist as one of the interviewers who works for Mr. Chapman (Andrew Duggan), Ray Danton as a libidinous film director, and Ty Hardin as someone Glynis Johns meets on the beach. According to film lore, George Cukor was impressed enough with Hardin's good looks and physique that he ended up with a showy role in the film. Look for Chad Everett as a water delivery man in the beginning of the film.

But the women are the real stars: Jane Fonda, Glynis Johns, Clare Bloom, and Shelley Winters, all of whom are terrific.

Chapman and Paul Radford (Zimbalist) come to a town to do interviews with women for their statistics on sexual activity. That's all pretty dated. The film focuses on four women: Fonda as a widow of a bad marriage who thinks she's frigid and becomes involved with Radford; Bloom as a nymphomaniac; Winters as a cheating wife; and Johns as a woman who wonders if she's getting enough from her marriage, which seems happy enough. She's the comic relief, and she's a blast.

The best scene in the film occurs when Johns goes to Hardin's place to pose nude for her, with the idea of seducing him. Fonda, Bloom, and Johns are all gorgeous. Winters by this time was doing the more housefrau type of role. She's excellent as a desperately unhappy woman involved in an illicit affair with Danton.

This is the '60s idea of an adult film so everything is talked around, in half sentences, or shown as a fadeout. The only one who takes his clothes off is Hardin.

It's trash, but it's high-class trash and one does become involved with the characters.