The Art of Love (1965)

Struggling artist fakes his own death so his works will increase in value.

Director:

Norman Jewison

Writers:

Richard Alan Simmons (story), William Sackheim (story)

Stars:

James Garner, Dick Van Dyke, Elke Sommer

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Garner	...	Casey Barnett
Dick Van Dyke	...	Paul Sloane
Elke Sommer	...	Nikki Dunnay
Angie Dickinson	...	Laurie Gibson
Ethel Merman	...	Madame Coco La Fontaine
Carl Reiner	...	Rodin
Pierre Olaf	...	Inspector Carnot
Miiko Taka	...	Chou Chou
Roger C. Carmel	...	Zorgus
Irving Jacobson	...	Mr. Fromkis
Jay Novello	...	Janitor
Naomi Stevens	...	Mrs. Sarah Fromkis
Renzo Cesana	...	Pepe de Winter
Leon Belasco	...	Prince
Louis Mercier	...	Magistrate

Storyline

Painter Paul Sloan feels he's a failure, since nobody will buy his paintings. His art dealer informs him, that the works of an artist become much more wanted and valuable if the artist is dead. Therefore, Paul, together with his friend Casey Barnett, plans to fake his own suicide. However, it starts looking like Casey has murdered Paul and when Casey starts making a move for Paul's fiancée, he decides to get revenge. However, Paul falls in love with Nikki, who has also tried to commit suicide.

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Plot Keywords:

artist | buddy comedy | fiancee | romantic triangle | blonde woman | 

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Taglines:

Ross Hunter Invites You to Laugh...When You Learn All About...

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

8 July 1965 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

El arte de amar

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$7,630,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cherokee Productions, Ross Hunter Productions, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Yves Boisset, who was an assistant to Norman Jewison and guided him in Paris, Jewison did not care about the Paris realism, about the settings which were shown as old fashioned cliches.

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Connections

Referenced in The Directors: The Films of Norman Jewison (1999)

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Soundtracks

M'sieur
Written by Cy Coleman and Don Raye
Performed by Ethel Merman

User Reviews

Elke Sommer Gives This A Lift!

This is a decent comedy starring Dick Van Dyke and James Garner (boring as usual), Angie Dickenson, lovely, and the beautiful Elke Sommer who makes it worthwhile. The premise (faking suicide to sell paintings) is pretty ridiculous, but Ms. Sommer's presence lights up the screen. This totally undervalued actress was stuck in too many dumb comedies and is a very intelligent woman who speaks many languages.

A 7 out of 10. Best performance = Elke Sommer. This type of comedy was on it's way out in 1965, but with the fascinating Ms. Dickenson and Elke Sommer it's worth your while. James Garner should re-evaluate the roles he takes. He just never seems believable.