Carolyn Jones nearly quit the film due to difficulties with the script. After some unsuccessful rehearsals she approached screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky and said, "You're going to have to get another actress because I don't know how to play this part. I don't know a girl who would say lines like these". Surprisingly, the headstrong Chayefsky agreed to rewrite the part for her. When Jones read her new dialogue - including the classic line "Just say you love me, you don't have to mean it" - she thought, "Now *that* girl I understand". Her performance, clocking in at just over six minutes, earned Jones an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.
Carolyn Jones, a natural strawberry blonde, first dyed her hair black for her part in this movie. She kept the look for several years afterwards, up to her role as Morticia on TV's The Addams Family (1964).
In an ironic twist of fate, Carolyn Jones, whose character didn't exist in the teleplay and was added for the film, became the only actor in The Bachelor Party (1957) to be singled out for an Oscar® nomination. In fact, her nomination was the only Academy Award® recognition the film would receive. At just over six minutes of screen time, Jones' performance is the 10th shortest ever to be Oscar®-nominated.
The Bachelor Party (1953) is a television play by Paddy Chayefsky which was adapted by writer-producer Chayefsky for a 1957 film. The play premiered to critical acclaim.
Nancy Marchand, who played "Clara" in the television version of Marty (1953), Philip Abbott, Larry Blyden, Nancy Marchand, and Judith Malina made their feature-film debuts in The Bachelor Party (1957).
Movie debuts of Nancy Marchand and Judith Malina.
Movie debuts of Nancy Marchand and Judith Malina.