Good Neighbor Sam (1964) User Reviews

As Mr. Nurdlinger might say, good clean fun!

[Doug-135 · 8/10 · 3 May 2001]

I also saw this movie as a child, and fell in love with it. I particularly liked the wacky gadgets Sam would build, and the theme song (by Frank De Vol) is very catchy. One time when it was on TV, I was able to make an audio tape of it on this crummy little portable real-to-real tape recorder my dad gave me. I played it so much that I was able to memorize whole lines of dialog - "you can't alter a man's death-bed request with a lot of childish spying and gossip. Now obviously this man and woman are husband and wife, Mr and Mrs Howard Ebbets, and as such, I set the distribution of the Lagerlof will for 9am tomorrow morning. Now good day..."

It's nice to see Mike Connors in a pre-Mannix role, and you can never get enough of Louis Nye. Edward G Robinson does a good job of playing the wealthy dairyman, Mr Nurdlinger. Plus his participation gives the whole production a needed bit of weight. This is the kind of movie they're talking about when they say - "they don't make 'em like that anymore." And I say, it's our loss.

Jack Lemmon in top form:

[Ron-181 · 7/10 · 2 March 2002]

Jack Lemmon stands at the top of his profession when it comes to comedy. No other actor has his sense of timing or expressive manners to offer competition to the master. "Good Neighbor Sam" is Lemmon at his best. Playing the average guy next door who gets into all kinds of problems through mostly no fault of his own. Everyone will enjoy this movie and the other Lemmon films similar to it. I rated this a 7.

'60s comedy - a different look from what "Mad Men" shows us

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 25 August 2012]

"Good Neighbor Sam" is a 1964 film starring Jack Lemmon, Dorothy Provine, Romy Schneider, Edward G. Robinson, and Mike Connors. Lemmon plays ad man Sam Bissell, married to the lovely Min (Provine). Min's best friend Janet (Schneider) comes to live in the area after her divorce, but she soon finds out she has a problem. Her grandfather has left her his estate, but on meeting with the lawyer, she finds out that she's supposed to be in a good marriage to Howard (Connors), her ex-husband. When her cousins, who want the $15 million she inherited, come to visit, Sam happens to be in her house, which is next door. Janet introduces him as her husband.

At work, Sam gets a big promotion when the product's president wants a wholesome individual with good values to head up his account. Between that and a detective in a truck spying on both houses, Sam and Janet have to continue to pretend they're married, to Min's aggravation. Then Howard appears.

Cute comedy that is overly long and a little frantic. The premise is simple but on the flimsy side and doesn't quite come off as intended - a Rock Hudson/Doris Day type comedy. It lacks the gloss and snap of the Hudson/Day films.

Nevertheless, the performances are good. Provine, with her good figure and quirky voice, is lovely as the sometimes frustrated Min, and Romy Schneider, a huge star in Europe, is beautiful and vivacious as Janet. Sam is the type of role Lemmon could play with one hand tied behind his back. I don't imagine it was much of a challenge.

The good supporting cast includes Edward Andrews, Louis Nye, Robert Q. Lewis, Anne Seymour, and Charles Lane (who died in 2007 at the age of 102 and worked to the end).

Given the presence of "Mad Men," "Good Neighbor Sam" begs comparison between the way the advertising world is presented in both vehicles. Guess what - it's about the same! The Robinson character quotes the Bible and considers most of the people he deals with as cheating husbands with no moral values.

It was fun for me to see Provine, whom I interviewed, Nye, and Robert Q. Lewis (whom I saw on stage in The Odd Couple), none of whom I'd seen in a film for a while. Nice memories and a mildly entertaining film.

1960'S SUBURBIA--- WHERE DID IT GO?

[renfield54 · 23 September 1999]

The first time I saw this movie, I was floored by this funny, sexy romp. My God, Jack Lemmon even used the word "hell!". Oh, did I mention that I was 9 years old at the time! Upon seeing it again, many years later, I was glad to see it "held up" better than I thought it would. It's "plenty" dated (so what???). The silliness and familiar faces make it worthwhile.

The theme song is memorable (you'll know it when you hear it). Jack Lemmon's eccentricity at home, is in great contrast to his constant fight to appear normal in his advertising agency persona. The advertising "game" was used as the backdrop of many movies of the 1960's, whether comedy or drama. There is a running gag througout this movie, spoofing the filming of a popular Hertz Car Rental commercial. It's very funny. I was also pleased to see Edward G. Robinson make an appearance in a "light" role.

Not a GREAT movie, but if you enjoy Jack Lemmon versus the world type comedies, you'll enjoy this one too.....

Begins well, but ends less so

[vfx3 · 6/10 · 28 April 2010]

The film begins well with its depiction of 1960s suburbia, the introduction of the Bissell family (including the ducks), the amusing jibes at the advertising industry (including the inaccurate but hilarious depiction of the filming of a Hertz car rental commercial), provides some great performances from all the principals, and from a great supporting cast, such as Edward Andrews, R.Q. Jones, and Neil Hamilton. It has a smart, yet affectionate quality to it. But as the film chugs along, it seems to run out of steam, as the gags keep repeating themselves, and it begins to seem more like a less successful imitation of the popular Doris Day/Rock Hudson romantic comedies of the time, and one can begin to understand why Lemmon didn't put this one in the top drawer of his memories.

Frenetic, Overplotted Comedy

[Bob-45 · 7/10 · 16 August 2003]

"Good Neighbor Sam" bombed big time when it was released in 1964. At the time I thought, "What a shame. This is Jack Lemmon's best comedic acting in years, and this is a pleasant movie."

Looking at it now, I understand why "Good Neighbor Sam" was a failure. For one thing, it's way overplotted (there's enough subplots for THREE sparkling comedies). It's played at the sitcom level and runs over two hours. The "domestic violence" subplot is disturbing, even for the times. However, it is still funny, beautifully cast (especially Lemmon, Dorothy Provine, Romy Schneider and Edward G. Robinson) and mostly gentle satire (the Hertz commercial retakes are a hoot). Best of all, the "billboard defacing," which happens near the end of the movie is the funniest sequence of all, meaning "Good Neighbor Sam" NEVER lets up.

Special note should be taken of Frank DeVol's music (the recurring theme is a classic). I recommend this one highly

An Amusing Romp

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 12 May 2005]

When Good Neighbor Sam was released in 1964 Jack Lemmon was being taken seriously as a dramatic actor as well as a light comic actor as witnessed by the rave reviews he got for The Apartment and Days of Wine and Roses. While Good Neighbor Sam doesn't stack up against those two films in Lemmon's career, it's still an amusing and pleasing romp.

Have you ever noticed how many films like Good Neighbor Sam start out with a mistaken impression? Through a lie told by Romy Schneider who is the good neighbor that Sam has, people in her life and in his get the impression that they are married. He's married to Dorothy Provine and she's married to Michael Connors. And both for their own reasons have to keep the deception up. All the situations the principal players get into stem from the original white lie.

It would be so much easier if everyone told the truth from the gitgo, but then we wouldn't have a movie.

Lots of familiar names pop up here in support. Edward Andrews as the unctuous boss of the advertising agency Lemmon works for, Louis Nye as the creative private detective who gets it wrong, and last but not definitely not least Edward G. Robinson as the puritanical dairy king.

Minor league Lemmon, but still fun. And as another reviewer says, that theme is unforgettable. You'll have it in your brain for days.

Jack's Favor

[JLRMovieReviews · 6/10 · 7 January 2010]

Jack Lemmon stars as the all-American clean decent-living man with good family values. Or so his boss thinks so, when they get him to salvage an advertising account that is almost out the door, when Edward G. Robinson (who is always great) is insulted by their first slogan/gimmick for his product: Nerlander dairy products; more specifically, his eggs.

But what they don't know is that his wife's best friend has moved next door to Jack and his wife. One thing leads to another and a case of mistaken identity is afoot. The neighbor has inherited some money, but she needs Jack's help in getting it, due to a clause. That's where "Good Neighbor Sam" comes in.

It seems light-hearted, fun, and entertaining enough, but once complications set in and things go awry, it goes way off base and the last 30 minutes or so are more exhausting than funny. And, they leave several plots and/or questions left unanswered and unresolved with its abrupt ending.

You will recognize one of the "fun girls" from "The Andy Griffith Show" in the last twenty minutes in a memorable bit.("Oh, Bernie!")

All in all, if you don't want to think for well over two hours, then sit back and enjoy Jack Lemmon and his neighbors. But, just remember, when you do a favor for someone, anything might happen.

A Funny Movie It's Star Never Liked

[theowinthrop · 8/10 · 17 May 2005]

GOOD NEIGHBOR SAM was one of three films from the middle 1960s that Jack Lemmon detested. After making THE DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES and THE APARTMENT Lemmon felt he was finally being recognized as a fine dramatic actor, and suddenly he was in this film, UNDER THE YUM YUM TREE, and HOW TO MURDER YOUR WIFE. He felt that these were minor films, and always disliked making them.

In the case of UNDER THE YUM YUM TREE, one can sympathize with Lemmon's feelings. He never played a more detestable character in any of his films than in YUM YUM TREE where he was a total letch. But he was in top comic form, supported by good casts and good scripts in SAM and WIFE. They were not great movies, but both were entertaining.

The plot of GOOD NEIGHBOR SAM is an old one: a family friend is in a tight spot and needs to borrow the spouse of his/her closest friend to get out of it. Another example of this is GUEST WIFE, where Don Ameche borrows Dick Foran's wife (Claudette Colbert). There the complication is that Ameche's boss (Charles Dingle) believes Ameche's wife is an amazing, supporting woman in her "husband's" remarkable career as a correspondent in Asia. Here Romy Schneider borrows Dorothy Provine's husband (Lemmon) to pretend that she is happily together with her husband to claim a $15,000,000.00 estate. But her husband (Mike Connors) shows up, and to save the situation pretends he is Provine's husband. This leads to complications of mutual jealousies between Connors and Lemmon, as well as problems concerning a multi-million dollar ad campaign Lemmon is handling on behalf of dairy farm millionaire (and total prude) Edward G. Robinson.

The film has many nice spots in it, especially for Robert Q. Lewis, as a friend and fellow employee of Lemmon who is nearly driven nuts by watching the odd goings on between Lemmon - Provine - Schneider - Connors. Also the ultimate private detective, Louis Nye, who has some great (and for 1964 really advanced) devices for his business. My favorite bits are now a trifle dated - the running gag about the old Hertz Rent-A-Car ads ("Let Hertz Put You In The Driver Seat"). A wonderful chase, involving painting and billboards, raps the film up very nicely. Lemmon was wrong - not in the same category as SAVE THE TIGER, GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, or THE APARTMENT, but a worthy, entertaining film.

Interesting cast, above average romantic farce

[BoomerDT · 6/10 · 8 December 2022]

Another Jack Lemmon comedy of the 60's, in which he is having to pretend he is actually married to his wife's (Dorothy Provine) best friend and neighbor, sexy Romy Schneider, so she can cash in on a $15 M inheritance. Predictable, but if you watched TV and movies from this era, a memorable cast. Mike Connors, "Mannix" plays Romy's estranged husband. Louie Nye is a private eye. Also along are Neil Hamilton- Batman's Commisioner Gordon and perpetual elderly grumps Charles Lane and Edward Andrews. And if you can remember the "Fun Girls" from "Andy Griffith Show" well... Joyce Jameson is a sexy hooker. Even EG Robinson has a small part, guess he needed the money.

A few words about the female leads. Romy Schneider sadly died at age 44, heart attack. The previous year her son had been killed in an accident. Dorothy Provine retired from acting a few years later, not sure why she didn't make it bigger. Talented singer and dancer, beautiful and sexy. As another IMDB reviewer wrote "the poor man's Doris Day"

Worst Jack Lemmon film of all of them

[deexsocalygal · 4/10 · 23 April 2021]

Jack Lemmon is one of my favorite actors & I love all his movies. I just want to warn people that this one is by far the worst one. I only laughed one time when Jack was driving a private investigator home & the investigator's door opened & he almost fell out. I thought there would be super funny scenes of him running back and forth between the two houses but there wasn't. I wish I would of skipped this one. It was a waste of money.

A classic that should have been a winner

[duncanjbb · 9/10 · 12 November 2005]

I saw this movie back in 1964 when it first came out. Although I was 9 at the time, this movie is one of my all time greats. Why? Great plot, absolute entertainment, no violence, classic spoof and shtick, spy props, the amazing back yard invention, back scene production of the "Let Hertz put you in the driver's seat", (do you remember the TV ad?), John Q. Lewis and the gorgeous Dorothy Provine, one of my all time greats.

This is so full of fun humor. There should be a remake with Steve Martin and Carmen Electra.

One more important aspect is the sixties clothes, cars, homes, furnishings, and style. This is pure entertainment.

"Sophisticated Slapstick"

[deejayQ · 7/10 · 16 May 2003]

"Good Neighbor Sam" (1964) 131 minutes (2:11) comedy starring Jack Lemmon *(Possible Spoilers)*

Recently ordered the VHS from Amazon and watched it for the first time since I was ...uh, much younger. Still "cute" and amusing in a 1964 kind of way. Has some great moments, but also could be tightened up considerably by today's standards. A wide variety of sound stage, backlot and real city streets were used in the filming, so the production values are very "stagey" in some scenes. Yet it feels like the director tried to break it up with different camera angles in several scenes of the same location. An awful lot of "rear projection" shots for traffic scenes, though; and yet-- a series of comedic vignettes throughout the movie actually call attention to the "R.P." as if on purpose! Some of the action scenes are exaggerated through the use of accelerated camera speed. Such shots may remind you of "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World."

Story and plot? Actually, quite good for it's day. I'd call it "sophisticated slapstick." Sure there are a few holes in the plot, but it's a comedy, not a biblical epic! I'd say for 1964 this was probably very, very good. (And, hey! Martinis are "in" all over again in 2003! ;-)

Jack Lemmon plays a bored ad man, a lowly creative type in the - literal - bowels of the ad agency building where he works. The fates intervene to place him, quite suddenly, in the limelight as the new head of the agency's most important new account. But merry mix-ups ensue to confuse Lemmon's co-workers and his home life -- where he

becomes forced to assume the identity of his new French neighbor's husband! There's much more to it than that, of course, and once the plot drivers are set up, the story plays out in what today might seem a predictable fashion but what was probably fairly original in 1964.

I enjoyed the attempts at injecting reality into the mix by getting out of the sound stage. Watch for scenes showing stylized bits of life behind the scenes at a big-city ad agency with important accounts; cars whizzing through the streets of a pre-"Bullitt" San Francisco; and the prototypical display of "California Suburbia" for Sam's own neighborhood. (Everyone seems to drive brand new cars there -- easy to pick out if you know your 1963-64 model cars. Although here I may be showing my age. ;-) It is an odd sort of feeling, in fact, to note some of the detail in the sets, set dressings and the wardrobe and fashions: if this were a "period" film shot today, I'd say they did their homework very well. But it was contemporary, "present day" story telling in 1964! Watch as well for "product placement." There's a surprising amount for way back in '64. Some of it is integral to the story; much is not.

And it is simply amazing how many faces you will recognize... a veritable who's who of b-line and character actors like Louis Nye, Robert Q. Lewis and even Mike Connors-- ol' "Mannix" himself! Plus, the venerable Edward G. Robinson plays way against his usual type in his role as the important new ad agency client everyone sucks up to. But this is Lemmon's star vehicle, and he's in tip-top form here. It's "Ensign Pulver" AFTER the war! Overall, this is one of those movies about which the old folks say, "they just don't make 'em like that any more!"

-DJQ 5/16/03

Over-extended sitcom

[brefane · 1/10 · 13 June 2015]

Directed by David Swift whose direction is anything but, Good Neighbor Sam is a dud with a contrived and belabored plot that allows for plenty of product placement and the result is mildly amusing at best. Talented Jack Lemon, becomes tiresome and like Under the Yum Yum Tree, Irma la Douce, Luv, The Odd Couple, and How to Murder Your Wife , Good Neighbor Sam is strictly for his fans. Dorothy Provine, the poor man's Doris Day, and lovely Romy Schneider are wasted. An over-extended sitcom that somehow made it to the big screen where it must have seen endless. Skip it!

Funny stuff

[misspaddylee · 5 November 2004]

If you're looking for laughs served up by experts, "Good Neighbor Sam" is just the ticket. Misadventure ensues when the business world and mixed-up home life of a hapless chap collide.

Jack Lemmon was the best at this type of thing and plays it for all it's worth. There's an hysterical bit by Louis Nye and the fabulous Hi Lo's appear in a recurring gag. DeVol's music adds to the fun.

Mike Connors is wonderful. He more than holds his own in the comedy department with the fabulous Jack. Good looking and funny - could have been another Cary Grant if the right parts had come along. Two lovely gals, Dorothy Provine and Romy Scheider, provide charming support. Enjoy.

Merry marital mix-up in suburbia...

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 20 April 2011]

Producer-director David Swift also co-adapted Jack Finney's novel about a suburban divorcée outside San Francisco who involves her neighbors in a hare-brained scheme to win an inheritance worth $15M: she has to be happily married in order to receive the settlement, requiring the husband next door to pose as her spouse. Trouble looms when spies set up camp across the street and the woman's ex-husband suddenly turns up wanting her back. Although far too long at 2hrs-10mns, Swift takes a remarkably cogent approach to the slapstick scenario, and the grounded, terrific players keep things colorful while skillfully averting 'wackiness'. Jack Lemmon's advertising executive (with natty spectacles) is a wonderfully low-keyed schnook, and the star's comic confusion never boils over into bellowing territory. As Jack's wife, Dorothy Provine is the perfect match for this Lemmon characterization (she's a good sport throughout). Edward G. Robinson's role as a dairy magnate is tiresome (he's like a guest extra in a TV sitcom), and the material slips into contrivances at about the halfway mark. Still, this script, while overworked by its three writers, has some surprises: it shows a keen ear for dialogue and comes up with a handful of bright ideas, although some judicious editing was certainly called for. **1/2 from ****

starts out great but goes downhill

[kyle_furr · 7/10 · 17 January 2004]

I could describe the plot of the movie but i never like doing that since everyone already does it. Jack lemmon is good as usual and its nice to edward g. robinson in a role like this. Romy schneider is gorgeous in this movie. The movie starts out good but towards the end it just feels like it goes overboard with the sort of slapstick comedy.

Funny and frisky

[HotToastyRag · 7/10 · 24 January 2024]

The plot of Good Neighbor Sam is a bit complicated, but it's quite funny. Jack Lemmon stars as a happily married man who would like to get ahead in his advertising firm but has never gotten the breaks. When his opportunity finally arrives, it's at a very inconvenient time. He lands a huge dairy account because the firm knows he's a respectable family man and the head of the company (Edward G. Robinson) wants to work with someone he can trust. At the same time, his neighbor (Romy Schneider) gets a letter saying she's to inherit millions if she can prove she's still married to her ex-husband. Romy suggests, or does she slyly con Jack and his wife (Dorothy Provine) into suggesting, that Jack move into her place for a little while and pretend to be her husband. It'll be just until the insurance inspector checks them out, and she'll split the money for their trouble.

As Jack lives a double life at home, he tries not to let anyone at work find out about it. It's funny, frisky, and full of sixties sex jokes. Yes, it gets a little silly at times, but that's to be expected given the time period. If you're a Jack fan, definitely check it out. It's a great choice to balance out a heavy drama of his if you're having a marathon. And Dorothy is as cute as it gets - giving a valiant effort to replace Doris Day!

Very dated

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 6/10 · 29 June 2011]

I know this is weird, but for me the most "dated" films are those prior to the late-mid-30s and often that generation of films that were made along side the Doris Day - Rock Hudson heyday. I'm not saying they weren't entertaining, but they just seem so far removed from today's life. This is one of those films.

Here, Jack Lemmon plays a mid-level advertising executive with a loving family. An important client -- played wonderfully by Edward G. Robinson latches onto Lemmon because he appears to be a "family man".

Meanwhile, however, Sam meets his wife's old friend (Romy Schneider), who will inherit millions IF she is happily married. But she's on a fast track to divorce, so Lemmon agrees to act as her husband until the money is inherited. Of course, this has the potential of killing his "family man" image and displeasing the client. It gets more wacky when Schneider's actual husband shows up and begins staying in the house with Lemmon's wife. In the climax of the film, Lemmon and Schneider cavort around town defacing the ad billboards which will expose the Lemoon-Schneider deception.

Okay, it's pretty funny, but oh so dated.

With the exception of Robinson, none of the talented supporting actors (including Louis Nye) have very interesting parts.

I was looking forward to seeing this film again after many years. I was disappointed. Perhaps worth one watching.

Great Lemmon! Dazzling Provine

[williwaw · 8/10 · 18 July 2010]

Jack Lemmon was groomed at Columbia and what a run Lemmon had... working as co star to glamor girls Rita Hayworth, Doris Day and Kim Novak in a series of great films. Jack Lemmon was also loaned out to WB for his Oscar winning Mr. Roberts working with Henry Fonda, William Powell and directed by John Ford, and loaned out to UA for Billy Wilder's comedic masterpiece Some Like It Hot with the peerless Marilyn Monroe, and Joe E Brown. (All four: Wilder, Monroe, Brown and Lemmon ought to have won Oscars).

Good Neighbor Sam was one of if not the last film Jack Lemmon made at Columbia Pictures, and it is a riotous film co starring Romy Schneider, Mike Connors, Edward G Robinson and the dazzling Dorothy Provine (on loan from Ms Provine's studio Warner Bros). Dorothy Provine should have been a major movie star.

David Swift who directed Pollyanna with Jane Wyman, a film that made Hayley Mills a star and other fine films such as Mr. Lemmon's Under The Yum Yum Tree directs here and creates a lot of fun. The cast is superb.

This is a laugh out loud funny film, and one of Jack Lemmon's true gems.

60s advertising

[BandSAboutMovies · 7/10 · 18 January 2022]

James Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum made a career out of comedy, starting TV and debuting their first movie script here. They also wrote The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, The Shakiest Gun in the West, Angel in My Pocket and The Reluctant Astronaut. Greenbaum's talent also was used to create the sculptures in this movie.

Sam Bissell (Jack Lemmon) is an ad exec who wants off the hamster wheel so that he can concentrate on his true love - the aforementioned sculpture work that he makes out of found materials. He has a great marriage with Minerva (Dorothy Provine, That Darn Cat!) and two kids, but when his wife's best friend Janet (French actress Romy Schneider, who was briefly in Hollywood to make this movie and What's New Pussycat?) arrives, his life goes to pieces.

The good? He's a family man, unlike the rest of the agency, so he's the perfect man to keep their toughest client, dairy owner Simon Nurdlinger (Edward G. Robinson) on retainer. But Simon thinks that Janet is Sam's wife. And because Janet can only get her inheritance if she's married, she has to convince her relatives that Sam is her ex-husband. But how will his wife handle all of this?

As someone who has spent his life in advertising, I loved seeing the glory days of 50s advertising, even if it's portrayed as a soulless place. The agency in the film, Burke & Hare, is named after the notorious body snatchers William Burke and William Hare*, while everyone there seems on the verge of a nervous breakdown. So, you know, it's very realistic.

You just know that the agency that partnered with this movie missed all of the work/life balance lessons in the movie and instead celebrated that they were able to get product placements all over Good Neighbor Sam for their clients Hertz, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Air Lines and Allied Van Lines.

*It's also a reference to Jack Finney, who wrote the book that this was based on. And oh yeah - he also was the writer of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Dull

[danaire-99611 · 1/10 · 9 February 2022]

When this movie started I enjoyed the contrast of the quirky characters who own pet ducks and create fantastical art in their backyard with the strait laced mid century suburbia. I expected a quirky, funny, comedy poking a few good natured jabs at middle class 1960 American ideals. Unfortunately, after about 15-20 minutes this movie just devolves into a fairly predictable, wife swap plot. I don't think I even chuckled once. Such a shame.

One of those "Comfort Movies"

[plparshall · 10/10 · 30 January 2007]

I grew up in the 50's & 60's so this is what I call a comfort film. Aside from the plot, I get a kick from watching the morning scene of everyone waking up in the upper class 1960's suburbs, the office scenes, the morning commute, the after work cocktails, the clothes. Remember the business hat? Everyone wore one with their business suit until Jack Kennedy hit the scene bare-headed. Kind of like Clark Gable taking off his shirt and not wearing a T Shirt. I've always felt that the scene where Sam Bissell does the double-take on the car full of commuters next to his car and sees sheep was an innocent preview of the coming unrest of "The 60's". So while it's a great comedy with great actors/acting I watch it to take me back to a time when there was no globalization and no competition for the US. Everyone was making "good money" and there were no threats, no negativity. Several of the films from approximately 1958-1965 were like this - I've always felt the 60's officially began between that period after Kennedy was shot and the Beatles landed in NYC (which is the starter's gun). Certainly How To Murder Your Wife is a close second, YUM YUM Tree, some of Doris Day's movies, Ride The Wild Surf (best fiction Surfer Movie ever made). What a great time to grow up. So don't be a Nurdlinger - watch this movie. Hope this adds an enjoyable note when you watch this movie.

who wrote the theme music.

[jackmronner · 7/10 · 10 October 2007]

Does anybody know who wrote the theme song? Did they live in Danville, or do I misremember? Since I have to pad this out a bit: has anyone else heard the Dorothy Provine had somethingon the order of a 160 IQ? Does naybody know why there is a minimum of ten lines required for comments? It smacks of mandatory loquaciousness. What of the laconic types among us who are cinct-suckers (I'd love to see what spell-check would make of that last word)? I do recall that, for its time, it was considered a bit risqué when it first came out. Well, I've run out of things to say and it's still a line or so short. But if you like this film, check out "How to Murdre Your Wife" and a very sexy Inger Stevens as Matthau's wife.

Not the best.

[bombersflyup · 4/10 · 25 February 2021]

Good Neighbor Sam is watchable, but lacking the laughs and memorable moments for the long run-time.

The acting's fine and characters as well. It's not very clever though and over the top, never settling down. Dorothy Provine as Min, the most likable.