When William Gridley arrives from the US in London, he rents part of Carly Hardwicke's house from her and promptly begins to fall in love. Gridley doesn't know that many people think she killed her husband but his boss, on the American embassy staff, knows and doesn't take this "lapse of judgment" lightly. Since Carly is also American, Gridley saves his job by introducing her to his boss, who is promptly smitten and promises to help her. So when a Scotland Yard detective arrives, wanting to get to the truth one way or another, they say they'll help him. And then the comedic complications really begin.Written by
Anonymous
Along with On the Beach (1959) and The Pleasure of His Company (1961), this was one of three successive non-musical films Fred Astaire made following his 1957 contract expiration with M-G-M. Prior to this, Astaire had appeared only in musicals. See more »
Goofs
Gridley has just transferred to London from Saudi Arabia. When Gridley first meets Ambruster, Ambruster says "I understand you've been in Saudi Arabia. I was there myself once." Later, Ambruster says to Gridley "If you foul up, Gridley, I'll have you back in the Sahara so fast you'll think London was only a mirage." The Sahara is not located in Saudi Arabia. See more »
A Foggy Day (in London Town)
(uncredited)
Music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin
instrumental theme of the score Jack Lemmon half sings/half intones a line from that song : "And suddenly I saw you there..." and then hums the melody. See more »
User Reviews
Lemmon, Novak, Astaire, Jeffries and Gershwin, Great
I saw this film for the first time on Turner Classic Movies tonight
A comedy set in England with this quartet of leads - Jack Lemmon, Kim Novak, Fred Astaire, Lionel Jeffries - a London cab full of great character actors, crisp and fully-toned black and white photography and a script from Larry Gelbert and Blake Edwards could not have been more pleasant. Gershwin's "A Foggy Day in London Town," washed it in additional wonderfulness. The sequences near the end of the film at a seaside resort in Penzance is wickedly choreographed with actors, camera moves and scoring for big laughs to a live band shell performance of a Gilbert and Sullivan ditty. Everything is spot on, silly to smart.
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I saw this film for the first time on Turner Classic Movies tonight
A comedy set in England with this quartet of leads - Jack Lemmon, Kim Novak, Fred Astaire, Lionel Jeffries - a London cab full of great character actors, crisp and fully-toned black and white photography and a script from Larry Gelbert and Blake Edwards could not have been more pleasant. Gershwin's "A Foggy Day in London Town," washed it in additional wonderfulness. The sequences near the end of the film at a seaside resort in Penzance is wickedly choreographed with actors, camera moves and scoring for big laughs to a live band shell performance of a Gilbert and Sullivan ditty. Everything is spot on, silly to smart.