This film was mentioned in a book I have about bad movies. No, these are not incompetent films or films with horrible production values, but ones that are sleazy and over-the-top--sort of like guilty pleasures--and that is definitely true of "The Pleasure Seekers".
What the producers of the film did was take the 1950s film "Three Coins in a Fountain" and inserted a lot of sexual innuendo--at least, as much as they could get away with in 1964. While I liked the original film, "The Pleasure Seekers" was far inferior because it lacked heart and subtlety--replacing it was bedroom scenes and talk about premarital sex.
The film is about three young American ladies who live in Madrid and are trying to have healthy relationships while strenuously avoiding premarital sex...at least sometimes. Carol Lynley plays a career girl who has her sights set on a married man (Brian Keith) as well as a single guy. Pamela Tiffin plays a stereotypical beautiful but dumb lady. She falls for an over-sexed rich playboy (Tony Franciosa) who promises marriage but really wants another notch on the bedpost. Ann-Margret plays a woman who is infatuated with a doctor who obviously has a secret, as he plays hard to get!! After all, this IS Ann-Margret and he either must be gay or married to resist her many charms.
Towards the end of the film, it appears that the three have struck out in love and two of them are preparing to go back to America. However, because this is a Hollywood-style film, you know that at least some of these relationships will work out for the best. Tune in for yourself to see where these high-minded ladies land in this trashy soap.
Overall, the film sure looks nice. It was filmed in and around Madrid and is pretty just like the original film (which was filmed in and around Rome). The music is also very nice and evocative. As for the acting and writing, it all seemed rather fake--like the people were playing caricatures instead of real people. Not a whole lotta depth with these folks--just a lot of raging hormones and inconsistent behavior. It is truly a guilty pleasure--the sort of titillating fare that they no longer make but was popularized in the late 1950s to mid-1960s--just as the Production Code was on the way out.
Deep and insightful? No way,...but still worth a peek. For a similar experience, try watching THE BEST OF EVERYTHING (1959) and PEYTON PLACE (1957)--two films that manage to tell similar stories but in a bit better way.
