Promises..... Promises! (1963)

After a drunken spree on a cruise ship, two women discover that they're pregnant, and set out to find who the fathers are.

Director:

King Donovan

Writers:

William Welch (screenplay), Tommy Noonan (screenplay)

Stars:

Jayne Mansfield, Marie McDonald, Tommy Noonan

Cast

Cast overview:
Jayne Mansfield	...	Sandy Brooks
Marie McDonald	...	Claire Banner
Tommy Noonan	...	Jeff Brooks
Mickey Hargitay	...	King Banner
Fritz Feld	...	Ship's Doctor
Eileen Barton	...	Girl in Doctor's office
Claude Stroud	...	Steward
Eddie Quillan	...	Bartender
Marjorie Bennett	...	Mrs. Snavely
Victor Lundin	...	Mrs. Snavely's Gigolo (as Vic Lundin)
T.C. Jones	...	Babbette, ship's hairdresser / Female impersonator

Storyline

After a drunken spree on a cruise ship, two women discover that they're pregnant, and set out to find who the fathers are.

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Plot Keywords:

big breasts | breasts | breast | cruise | burlesque | 

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Taglines:

You Read About Her In Playboy Magazine...Now See All Of Jayne Mansfield!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

August 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

Promises! Promises!

Filming Locations:

S.S. Independence

Box Office

Budget:

$300,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Noonan-Taylor Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the first movie in which a mainstream actress (Jayne Mansfield) appeared nude. (Actually, the movie showed her only topless, but a photo in Kenneth Anger's book "Hollywood Babylon II" shows Mansfield on the set completely nude.) It reportedly took some imbibing of champagne on Mansfield's part to get her to take off her clothes.

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Quotes

Ship's Doctor: Now then, just dissolve this in an alcoholic drink and take it down.
Jeff Brooks: You mean to say that this pill is going to help me become a father?
Ship's Doctor: I have every reason to believe it will.
Jeff Brooks: Wow! What's in it?
Ship's Doctor: Well, let us just say it will accomplish a purpose. Immediately afterwards, however, a temporary state of amnesia may occur.
Jeff Brooks: Oh, amnesia?
Ship's Doctor: There's nothing to worry about.
Jeff Brooks: Oh, thank you, Doctor.
Ship's Doctor: You're very welcome. 'Bye.
Ship's Doctor: [recording his notes] Patient Jeffrey Brooks, professional writer, travelling on ...

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Connections

Edited into Hollywood Blue (1970)

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Soundtracks

Fairy Tales
Music & Lyrics by Roberta Daye
Performed by Roberta Daye (Marie McDonald singing voice, uncredited)

User Reviews

Anything good about this film? Well, there are two things

There was a time when you could not show nudity in films. And then all of a sudden you could. Who better to use to display this newfound freedom than Jayne Mansfield? So, in Promises! Promises! Mansfield takes off her clothes. Anything else worth saying about the film? Not really. It's a comedy of mishaps and misunderstandings. Unfortunately there is practically nothing that is at all funny in this supposed comedy. How desperate is the film for laughs? Well, there's a female impersonator, a character who is the most wretched thing in the largely wretched film. He does a Jayne Mansfield impersonation. Mansfield's character responds that she does her too. Hilarious, right? No, not at all. The plot, about who exactly is impregnating whom aboard a cruise ship, is rather inane. There's not even enough story to stretch the film out to a proper feature length. The film clocks in at a mere 75 minutes but it seems interminable. In a sign of true desperation Mansfield's brief nude scenes are repeated over and over again in dream sequences or flashbacks. At least the filmmakers were honest with themselves and the audience. They knew people were only coming to see this film for one reason. Well, two reasons to be precise. Mansfield's acting in the film actually isn't half bad. But the story's a dud and the rest of the cast gives Mansfield very little support. As a film Promises! Promises! fails miserably. But nobody cares about its quality as a film, the thing only exists as a vehicle to show off Mansfield's prize assets. In that, if nothing else, it succeeds.