Sex and the Single Girl (1964)

A womanizing reporter for a sleazy tabloid magazine impersonates his hen-pecked neighbor in order to get an expose on renowned psychologist Helen Gurley Brown.

Director:

Richard Quine

Writers:

Helen Gurley Brown (book), Joseph Heller (screenplay)

Stars:

Lauren Bacall, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tony Curtis	...	Bob Weston
Natalie Wood	...	Helen Brown
Henry Fonda	...	Frank Broderick
Lauren Bacall	...	Sylvia Broderick
Mel Ferrer	...	Rudy De Meyer
Fran Jeffries	...	Gretchen
Leslie Parrish	...	Susan
Edward Everett Horton	...	The Chief
Larry Storch	...	Motorcycle Cop
Stubby Kaye	...	Helen's Cabbie
Howard St. John	...	George Randall
Otto Kruger	...	Dr. Anderson
Max Showalter	...	Holmes
William Lanteau	...	Sylvester
Helen Kleeb	...	Hilda

Storyline

Using Helen Gurley Brown's book as a jump off point, we follow the adventures of a supermarket tabloid editor as he tries to parlay an interview with the author of the book into headlines and sales. Of course, a romantic entanglement ensues.

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Plot Keywords:

extramarital affair | f rated | sex comedy | zoo | tabloid | 

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Taglines:

Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Henry Fonda, Lauren Bacall and Mel Ferrer bring you the world's greatest example of dedicated do-it-yourself!

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

As soon as Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood's characters conclude their first meeting, the camera zooms into the small statue of a bow-and-arrow carrying centaur by the window. This foreshadows the "Cupid's arrow" love that will grow between these two people.

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Goofs

The first dart Bob throws at Helen's picture lands right in the middle of her head, blocking her face. Yet when the scene is cut and he walks away from the dart board, her face is now exposed, dart removed, ready for the camera to zoom in on her picture.

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Quotes

Bob Weston: [pretending to be Frank Broderick] When I get anxious, I get scared. Because I'm scared, I get inadequate. And, because I'm inadequate, she thinks - she thinks I'm with other women. She - doesn't think that I'm inadequate. She just thinks I'm tired.

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Connections

Referenced in Down with Love (2003)

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Soundtracks

Anniversary Song
Music based on "Valurile Dunarii (Danube Waves)" by Iosif Ivanovici
Music adapted by Saul Chaplin
Lyrics by Saul Chaplin and Al Jolson
Sung by Fran Jeffries, with Count Basie and His Orchestra

User Reviews

There IS One Great Reason To See This Movie

What could have been a sharp satire on 60's sexual attitudes runs basically lame throughout, the script simply comes up short. The basic mistaken identity plot device fails to provide laughs and it is so much the base of the film's story that it's failure prevents the whole from going anywhere.

However, all is not lost. There is a saving grace, and that is the presence of the then 25 year old Natalie Wood, playing the sexologist Helen Gurley Brown.

Wood, in this film is staggeringly pretty. She had, at that age, a natural girl next door beauty that has rarely if ever been rivaled in film history. Seeing this film and Wood again recently for the first time in decades was a revelation. About her, not the mediocre film.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sex and the Single Girl

Filming Locations:

Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,490

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fernwood Productions Inc., Reynard

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min 114 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1