Any Wednesday (1966) User Reviews

one of those comedies so popular in the '60s

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 16 January 2012]

In the days of dinner theater, many actors made a good living traveling the circuit with shows like "Any Wednesday," a Broadway play made into a film in 1966. These frothy sex comedies were all the rage on stage and in film -- Boeing Boeing, Mary, Mary, The Marriage-Go-Round, and of course, Any Wednesday.

Jane Fonda plays Ellen, a young woman who is wooed and ultimately falls for an older married executive, John Cleves (Jason Robards) who makes her apartment an executive one, which is tax-deductible and enables her to live there after her roommates move out. One day, Cleves' unknowing secretary sends over a good-looking young businessman, Cass Henderson (Dean Jones) needing a place to stay for the night. It goes down a predictable path from there.

The good cast makes this watchable, as it's a rather dated story. Rosemary Murphy is a delight as Cleves' wife, whom John is away from every Wednesday night on out of town business. Fonda is beautiful and sexy as the confused mistress, and Dean Jones is attractive as the frustrated Cass, who hated Cleves for business reasons but now finds that his reasons are personal as well.

It's cute, and the story involves a New York blackout, though not the biggie from the early '60s.

funny

[erica-14 · 7/10 · 14 October 1999]

Any Wednesday's a truly funny out-stage comedy, with an enjoyable '60s taste. Jane Fonda is sexy and adorable, the other characters are well drawn. I'm a bit surprised imdb users have such a low opinion of this film (a bit more than 5/10 as I'm writing), in my opinion it deserves a full 7/10 just for the balloon scene.

Fizzy romantic comedy occasionally fizzles out...

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 31 August 2005]

Broadway hit about a married millionaire's mistress befriended by his unsuspecting wife and cooed over by a loyal associate. Lots of slamming doors, comic deception, hissy fits and balloons--okay ingredients for a frothy fracas, and the cast is good. Jane Fonda overacts all over the place, yet she's delicious while dropping dry wisecracks or guzzling champagne (Fonda really keeps this material popping). The picture is so ready-made to be adorable, with little 'shockable' lines dotting the script, that it's easy to see why critics dismissed it. Some of the jokes are about five years out of date (this might have been perfectly pleasant if made in 1960 or '61). The plush production and the tinkly music set a jovial mood, but I bet the film looked awfully archaic coming into the Free Love generation. **1/2 from ****

cheerful guide to adultery

[skiddoo · 7/10 · 13 January 2012]

This is upbeat and fun, as sophisticated New Yorkers find amoral happiness with various partners, inside and outside of marriage. One reviewer said it was five years out of date but compare it to the coy Sunday in New York or the rather dark and sad The Apartment and you can see the attitude is totally different. Fonda's character has no hesitation in telling two men about her great baby-making pelvis. While a bit bemused by Murphy's character's attitude she is cool with being friends with the ex. The wife seems to be relieved to become the Wednesday lover, instead of her role as business asset. Fonda and Robards' characters parted very amicably despite his lies. Jones's character has no problem about taking on a woman with what used to be thought of as a scarlet past. Everyone seems to come out of it with what suited them the best. Nobody is punished. Everyone lives happily ever after. It's very Broadway not Middle America but one assumes the fact that it took place in NYC allowed the rest of the country to enjoy it, even while shaking their heads at those immoral city people. I wouldn't imagine it was a movie that parents wanted their teenagers to watch.

As for one reviewer's likening of the gay portrayal to the negative stereotypes of blacks in the movies, I would just say that in NYC in the arts there were people who behaved like that. My father had a cousin who was a musician and he acted like that. It's similar to the lesbians in early movies who are dressed in suits and look like men. There were women in sophisticated urban environments who did that at that time. I don't know if there are similar complaints on this site about the portrayals in La Cage aux Folles or The Birdcage, or if there are complaints about TV shows like Will and Grace but those are very similar. That doesn't imply that homosexuals who were, for instance, clerks in small towns would be anything like that. Probably most people in the arts in many major cities are at least a bit over the top, if not totally over the top and halfway down the other side. They don't want to blend in. They want to stand out.

Flawed but Funny

[ldeangelis-75708 · 6/10 · 18 December 2022]

Made in the mid-60's (when things were supposedly starting to "swing"), and set in New York, this comedy of errors stars Jane Fonda as a young woman who makes the same mistake too many have (before and after), getting involved with a married man, and believing they have a future, just as soon as he gets that divorce. When will that be? Well, right now it's not possible, because......

The married man in question is her former boss, John Cleaves (Jason Robards), who sets her up in an apartment, where he visits her every Wednesday, telling his wife, Dorothy (Rosemary Murphy) he'll be away on "business". No, she's not stupid, just turning a blind eye.

When an out-of-town client, Cass Anderson (Dean Jones) needs a place to stay, John's new secretary unwittingly directs him to the "executive suite", where Cass mistakes Ellen for a "working girl", hired to entertain him! The mix-ups are just beginning, as Dorothy pays an unexpected visit, thinks Ellen and Cass are a couple and invites them out with her and John. What a night that is!

Soon, Cass discovers that he's in love with Ellen and (to his dismay) that she really loves John and is not after his money and status. And Dorothy, now with clear vision, is not going to settle for wronged wife. Both John and Ellen have choices to make. But do they make the right ones?

Who ends up with whom, who has a HEA, and who go their separate ways? Watch and find out and have fun!

Like an antique player piano...

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 12 November 2023]

... in that it's not that it provides high fidelity music, it's just fun sometimes to interact with items that are so obviously outdated. That's the key to this very dated 60s sex comedy.

Married executive John Cleves (Jason Robards) has a mistress, Ellen Gordon (Jane Fonda) that he sees only on Wednesday nights. He tells his wife that he spends Wednesday nights in the city in a corporate apartment working on business. He lies to Ellen and says he can't get a divorce because his children are toddlers - They are in fact in college. John has things just the way that he wants them. Then an Ohio businessman who already doesn't like John (Dean Jones as Cass Henderson) meets Ellen, falls for her, and figures out what is going on between her and John. This makes his dislike for Cleves greatly increase.

Then John's wife Dorothy discovers the love nest and divorces her husband. So now John is on the hook to marry Ellen after the divorce. John begins treating Ellen more like he treated his wife - he begins to notice her little flaws and is less affectionate. Ellen begins to act more like a wife than a mistress and starts to demand things from John and talk about having children. And John begins to do something he hasn't done that much in years - make romantic overtures to his ex-wife, who is still very attractive. What makes his ex-wife even more attractive to John is that she rebuffs his advances. It seems that John has never really loved either of these women, he is just attracted to a challenge and to danger. Meanwhile, Cass is waiting in the wings in case Ellen has a change of heart.

These kinds of sex comedies were common in the 60s as the production code collapsed and the birth control pill made contraception something more reliable that women could control, much lessening the chance of unwanted pregnancy. Remember that 40% of all brides in 1960 were pregnant!

It was interesting to see Jason Robards playing a blue blood romantic rogue which was a departure for him. Dean Jones is - as usual - playing Dean Jones. Jane Fonda is delightful as a mess of a woman who is caught up in this complex situation. Dorothy Cleves as Rosemary, John's wife/ex-wife is not exactly playing this as Norma Shearer in The Women. Rosemary is someone who feels no need to be uncivilized about John's cheating and the dissolution of her marriage and even invites Ellen over to meet all of her future servants.

This film plays out with no real surprises, but it is still enjoyable for the dialogue and the performances.

Who says that the wife and mistress can't be friends?

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 17 August 2023]

After all, they have something in common. Jane Fonda and Rosemary Murphy instantly seem to get each other in the colorful movie version of the hit Broadway play, utilizing some great midtown east footage of Manhattan practically right under the Queensborough Bridge. Meeting married Jason Robards by chance, Fonda finds herself in a situation that she can't seem to escape from, and it gets worse after he sets Fonda up in his company townhouse and out of town client Dean Jones pops in.

Having already done some wonderful Manhattan set comedies and preparing to star in "Barefoot in the Park", Fonda goes over-the-top with a campy performance where she's nearly chewing the legs off of the bridge. It's just below the level of overacting so she gets away with it. Dean is equally as frenetic, and fortunately Murphy and Robards underplay their roles, with Murphy absolutely wonderful, warm and understanding, yet not a fool.

There's a great scene with Murphy and her decorator, Jack Fletcher, who is a combo of Charles Nelson Reilly and Paul Lynde, and has the audience laughing with him, not at him. There's a lot dated about the film, but it's so colorful and nostalgic that its status as a period piece is truly assured. I doubt that the play could be revived, but this has so much charm that it becomes irresistible. Murphy makes her part seem so easy, but I give her acclaim for giving one of the best supporting performances of the year.

Not the best, but Jane Fonda is cute

[HotToastyRag · 5/10 · 30 September 2017]

On Wednesdays, Jason Robards tells his wife he's spending the night in a corporate apartment, when really he's spending the night at his girlfriend's place. His client, Dean Jones, is in town and is accidentally sent to the executive suite instead of a hotel. He thinks Jane Fonda, Jason's girlfriend, is actually a hooker hired by the company!

Muriel Resnik's successful Broadway play Any Wednesday fits in with many 1960s sex comedies, and Jane Fonda fits right in, as she did in Sunday in New York and Barefoot in the Park. She's beautiful and has fantastic comic timing, so the misunderstandings are twice as funny when she's in the middle. I never find Jason Robards to be very likable, but when he's paired up against Jane, he softens around the edges. While I liked Sunday in New York the best, this is a cute movie for those who like play adaptations or silly comedies that take issue with premarital sex. Jane Fonda really is totally adorable!

The Light Goes Out on Any Wednesday

[wes-connors · 3/10 · 23 August 2007]

Jane Fonda (she's Ellen) is the mistress whom executive Jason Robards (he's John) squeezes regularly; they have an ecstatically happy relationship, meeting every Wednesday in the "executive suite" he keeps for her. Then, into the New York apartment walks Dean Jones (he's Cass), who claims to need the phone (and a place to stay). When Rosemary Murphy (John's WIFE!) arrives, major high-jinks ensue!

"Any Wednesday" is another dated 1960s situation sex comedy. The four are okay - with, perhaps Mr. Jones and Ms. Murphy surpassing their more well-known upper tier co-stars. The "split screen" telephoning is interesting; and, the script is lively with sexual innuendo. These movies seem like three-times-too-long TV half-hours comedies featuring stuff they couldn't tastefully show on TV. The "Gay Joke" comic relief is an "interior decorator" whom Murphy enlists to correct Fonda's apartment decor - it is startlingly over-the-top, like a '60s version of the "Negro Joke" character.

*** Any Wednesday (1966) Robert Ellis Miller ~ Jane Fonda, Jason Robards, Dean Jones

Perky 60's Sex Comedy

[rollo_tomaso · 9/10 · 10 January 2001]

This is a very perky comedy that is highly enjoyable on many levels. The quartet of stars is excellent with great chemistry all around. Those looking for a tribute festival for the recently deceased Jason Robards Jr. should definitely include this dry, brittle, and insightful performance. Rosemary Murphy quietly steals every scene that she's in, and Jane Fonda was a great ingenue "bimbo" with all the trimmings in her halcyon days. Dean Jones should be outclassed by these three, but he definitely isn't, exhibiting talent hinted at in a few other roles when he wasn't lining his wallet with Disney pablum. This movie almost has it all: terrific dialogue -- especially for fans of double and triple entendres, marvelous acting & chemistry, swift pacing, social insight, and a true historical time capsule. My only mild criticism is that the cinematography is rather pedestrian even though the director makes the most of his attempts to open it up from being a filmed stage play, the camera work even in these scenes is unimaginitive. The positive side of this is that this is a perfect video movie since it does not need to be seen on the big screen. I give it 9 out of 10.

needs somebody younger and more charming than Jason Robards

[SnoopyStyle · 4/10 · 2 August 2014]

Wealthy businessman John Cleves (Jason Robards) lies to his wife Dorothy (Rosemary Murphy) to have affairs on any Wednesday. Ellen Gordon (Jane Fonda) is a gallery clerk who inadvertently helps him. He is relentless in his pursuit until she surrenders to his wealth and power. She's getting kicked out of her apartment unless she gets $32K. John proposes his company buy her apartment as a love nest. She surprises herself with her uncontrollable lust for him. One day, John's secretary sends Cass Henderson (Dean Jones) to stay at the company apartment. Cass figures it's a love nest and intends to find out if it's Cleves's. Dorothy drops by and assumes that Cass and Ellen are together. They play along leading to an all out farce.

Jason Robards is old and disgusting. He is a horrible character. The affair makes my head hurt and my soul cry. Jane Fonda is playing such a weak minded character. Dean Jones' character is only better by comparison. These are all unlikeable character to one degree or another. I don't care about any of these characters and I don't care what happens to them. The farce is all wacky without being funny.

Funny and sophisticated sex comedy of the 1960s - as dated as I am

[herbqedi · 9/10 · 5 July 2012]

THe ensemble cast is wonderful in this somewhat opened-up four-person stage play of the mid-1960s. Jason Robards commands the screen as a CEO who uses his mistress' apartment as a tax write-off and stays with her on Wednesdays when he is supposedly off on business trips. Jane Fonda is the kept woman. Rosemary Murphy is his wife. Dean Jones, in a non- Disney role, is the angry young man with business and personal grievances against CEO Cleeves (Robards).

Robards is the most memorable as the winning-obsessed CEO who considers everything in his life a game and people as chess pieces to manipulate. What makes this character a cut above, however, is his wry and sometimes self-effacing sense of humor - especially after he realizes that he is stuck with more than he bargained for.

Today's more critical and angry moral standards will be aghast at the premise and today's emphasis on lower-key acting, less verbiage, and more visuals will find the film's acting to be overdone and the story over-told. For people in my age bracket, this remains as free, and breezy and winning today as it was in 1966 - still a joy to watch!

Jane is an effervescent delight

[jjnxn-1 · 9/10 · 31 May 2013]

What used to be referred to as a sex comedy which in the more innocent time it was made meant that if included no actual sex only the suggestion of it. The film is dated in its attitudes that's true but because of the lightness with which the material is played by the four leads it remains a breezy comedy.

Jane is at her fluttery bubbly early career best and because of her hairstyle it's striking how much she resembles her present day self. All four principals are very winning, Rosemary Murphy in particular is a chic delight as well as wonderfully droll. The film also offers a reminder that there was a time when Dean Jones was quite an expert comic actor. The story is a bit incredible but being a romantic comedy that sort of goes with the territory.

THE KIND OF MOVIE YOU THINK YOU SAW BEFORE.....

[tcchelsey · 9/10 · 24 January 2020]

Familiar stuff, but fun stuff with a lot of memories. If ANY WEDNESDAY reminds you of THE APARTMENT, starring Jack Lemmon, you are close. Only difference is that it's more breezy entertainment in what was to become the definitive 60s sex-capades movie. It may have also inspired the 70s tv fav LOVE AMERICAN STYLE, if you're old enough to remember, but at the time was not quite suitable for prime time. It remains an audience pleaser though, and based on the Broadway play, finding apartment dweller Jane in one heck of a mess as her boss (also) wants to use her place for "tax" purposes. Jason Robards plays the boss, his usual gruff self, and he steps into it alright, only to be cut down to size by his wife (Tony nominee Rosemary Murphy) who kind of acts as the unofficial observer of the whole charade. The inside joke is that Murphy seems to be having the best time of them all, watching the walls come tumbling down. Young and handsome Dean Jones only complicates matters. The real deal of 60s "suggestive comedies", not to be missed ON ANY DAY OR NIGHT.

If you think "cheese" has an influence? You have not tried balloons!

[Bernie4444 · 10/10 · 3 May 2024]

Ellen (Jane Fonda) cannot afford her apartment. John Cleves (Jason Robards) the married man with which she has an understanding (every Wednesday), comes up with a scheme to pay for the apartment as a company location for guests. John is very thoughtful he tells Ellen that He will be getting a divorce "now where have we heard that one before?" And even gives her a diamond bracelet (which happens to have the company logo embedded.)

Ditsy secretary (Ann Prentiss) sends an irate supplier (Dean Jones) to stay at the guest's location as it was designed for. As you can guess things get convoluted from there. Who gets the girl? Who does the girl want? Does the wife (Rosemary Murphy) ever get wise? What is the importance of sleeves and balloons?

If you liked "Sunday in New York;" you will love this.