FAQ

Dr Julian Winston (Walter Matthau), dentist and bachelor, has decided to marry his much younger girlfriend Toni Simmons (Goldie Hawn). Unfortunately, Julian has kept Toni at bay by telling her that he was already married. Now, he is stuck with having to undo his lie, so he gets his office nurse, Stephanie Dickinson (Ingrid Bergman), to pose as his wife in order to convince Toni that their "marriage" is over. That creates other problems because Stephanie is secretly in love with Julian.

Cactus Flower is based on a Broadway play of the same name by American humorist Abe Burrows, who based his play on an earlier French play, Fleur de cactus, by Pierre Barillet and Jean-Pierre Gredy. The play was adapted for the movie by Romanian-born screenwriter I.A.L. Diamond.

Julian compares Stephanie's "prickly" personality to the cactus sitting on her desk. As Stephanie blossoms throughout the movie, she points out to him that a cactus produces a beautiful flower. Near the end of the movie, both Stephanie and her cactus "bloom".

Bergman was born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1915. The movie was shot in 1969, making Bergman 54 years old at the time.

It's an instrumental version of I'm a Believer, written by Neil Diamond and made a hit in the mid-1960s when it was recorded by The Monkees. Before that song, you'll hear "To Sir, With Love" a big hit for Lulu in the UK, from the movie of the same name. There is another scene with dancing: the song is "She Hangs Out," also recorded by The Monkees.

After Stephanie quits her job, she tells Toni the truth about her "marriage" to Julian. Hurt and disappointed, Toni throws herself at Igor (Rick Lenz). Igor doesn't mind at all, but they are interrupted by a knock on the door. It's Julian, come to tell Toni the truth. Igor climbs out the window, and Toni lets Julian in. Toni eagerly awaits hearing the truth from Julian's mouth, but he tells her yet another lie...that his "wife" has decided not to divorce him. He assures Toni that they can go on just as they were before, and Toni agrees. "That's fair," she replies. "You'll still have your wife and me, and I'll still have you and Igor." Toni raps on the wall, and Igor comes through the window wearing just a towel. Angry because Toni lied to him about Igor, Julian storms out. The next morning, Stephanie returns to the office to pick up the last of her belongings and finds Julian, depressed, disheveled, and asleep in a chair. He wakes up and tries to explain to her that he and Toni have split up. He adds that he finally has come to realize that it's been Stephanie that he's always thought of as his wife. Elated, Stephanie flies into his arms, and they kiss. Suddenly, the phone rings, and Stephanie answers it. It's a stewardess from Australia wanting to get together with Julian for dinner. "Dr Winston doesn't do that kind of work anymore," Stephanie informs her. In the final scene, they continue kissing, and Julian tries to put the receiver back on the hook, but it ends up on the tabletop right next to the flowering cactus.