La brune brûlante

Except for Joan Collins, who looked GORGEOUS, and Joanne Woodward, who was just adorable, this movie is really not worth the time.

It is terribly disappointing, first because the book was by the great Max Shulman and was therefore, by definition, funny, and, second, because the superlative cast was so badly used by a barely mediocre script, and, third, because we expect so very much more from Leo McCarey, whose directing was not up to his standards and who also must take at least part of the blame for the script.

Paul Newman, who gave credible performances probably more often than not, was just not up to his par, either. Jack Carson, obviously in decline, was still pretty watchable.

Tuesday Weld was a little overdone, and didn't really look the part, at least not to those of us who've read the book.

There was another major error, one I see too, too often in Hollywood movies faking an auto trip on a sound stage: As the Collins character is driving the Newman character home, she spends much more time turned to look at him than at the road. And every time I see this particular bit of stupidity in Hollywood movies, I wonder "Why do directors and editors and even the actors allow this?"

If you're desperately bored, you might want to watch. If there is something better on, you'll skip this, which I watched On Demand. Now, having seen it, I can't understand anyone demanding to see this.