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Phffft

  • 1954
  • Approved
  • 1h 28m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
2.2K
YOUR RATING
Jack Lemmon, Kim Novak, Jack Carson, and Judy Holliday in Phffft (1954)
While pursing new companions, a former married couple keep running into one another all over town.
Play trailer2:30
1 Video
19 Photos
ComedyRomance

While pursuing new love interests, a former married couple keep running into each other all over town.While pursuing new love interests, a former married couple keep running into each other all over town.While pursuing new love interests, a former married couple keep running into each other all over town.

  • Director
    • Mark Robson
  • Writer
    • George Axelrod
  • Stars
    • Judy Holliday
    • Jack Lemmon
    • Jack Carson
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.6/10
    2.2K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Mark Robson
    • Writer
      • George Axelrod
    • Stars
      • Judy Holliday
      • Jack Lemmon
      • Jack Carson
    • 27User reviews
    • 16Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
      • 1 win & 2 nominations total

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:30
    Trailer

    Photos19

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    + 13
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    Top cast65

    Edit
    Judy Holliday
    Judy Holliday
    • Nina Tracey
    Jack Lemmon
    Jack Lemmon
    • Robert Tracey
    Jack Carson
    Jack Carson
    • Charlie Nelson
    Kim Novak
    Kim Novak
    • Janis
    Luella Gear
    Luella Gear
    • Edith Chapman
    Donald Randolph
    Donald Randolph
    • Dr. Van Kessel
    Donald Curtis
    Donald Curtis
    • Rick Vidal
    Shirlee Allard
    • Secretary
    • (uncredited)
    Leon Alton
    Leon Alton
    • Nightclub Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Merry Anders
    Merry Anders
    • Marsha
    • (uncredited)
    Mylee Andreason
    • Dance Teacher
    • (uncredited)
    Frank Arnold
    • Art Teacher
    • (uncredited)
    Fay Baker
    Fay Baker
    • Nurse Serena
    • (uncredited)
    Eugene Borden
    • Teddy - Maitre d'
    • (uncredited)
    Paul Bradley
    Paul Bradley
    • Nightclub Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Sue Carlton
    • Minor Role
    • (uncredited)
    Harry Cheshire
    Harry Cheshire
    • Nina's Divorce Lawyer
    • (uncredited)
    Sayre Dearing
    Sayre Dearing
    • Nightclub Patron
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Mark Robson
    • Writer
      • George Axelrod
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews27

    6.62.2K
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    Featured reviews

    8mpbesq

    Screwball Remarriage, 50's Style

    Almost all US sex comedies of the 50's & 60's are dated now by a quaint leering approach to sex & marriage, not to mention the costumes, hair, settings. But the remarriage theme will always be ripe for romantic comedy fun. Here, George Axelrod got his start. He later wrote screenplays for "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter," "Breakfast At Tiffany's," "Goodbye Charlie," and in a dark mood, "The Manchurian Candidate." His style is comparable to Preston Sturges, using wit to slice through the social conventions. Judy Holliday & Jack Lemmon were a wonderful match. Judy could play an "everywoman" to Jack's "everyman" as in "It Should Happen To You." She could surprise & bedevil him with her mix of ditzines & intelligence. Their comic timing together seems effortlessly perfect. This film should be remembered more fondly.
    7nomoons11

    This one is easily my favorite Judy Holliday film

    You wanna know why? Cause she doesn't play Judy Holliday.

    Normally of all the Holliday films that get bounced around as great, Born Yesterday and It Should Happen to You are usually what gets mentioned. This one, to me, is her best. She actually plays a character that's not the dumb ditzy blonde. There's no trace of the Born Yesterday character in this. I loved it.

    There doesn't have to be a whole lot mentioned about Jack Lemmon because...well...he's just great in just about anything he does. This one is no exception. The chemistry between these 2 is pretty amazing. I'm a little surprised they didn't do more films together.

    Watch this on a rainy day with an ice cold glass of milk and a box of doughnuts. It's one of those films you'll fall into on the couch and smile when the credits role.
    marcslope

    Teamwork!

    It's sort of like "The Awful Truth" as re-imagined by a '50s screenwriter with a smutty mind: Married couple divorce, try other partners, reunite. The high-school-boy-giggling-about-sex tone gets pretty heavy, but try to overlook that, because the film has so much to recommend it: New York location filming, early Kim Novak in a small part, and most of all, Judy Holliday and Jack Lemmon. Was there ever a greater romantic comedy team? She's hysterically funny and amazingly touching at the same time, and he partners her perfectly. They're even sexy together -- it's not a quality you usually associate with either actor. Watch the "mambo" sequence, with their shifting feelings about each other played out in dance: a classic scene.

    I'd rate these two over even Tracy and Hepburn. How sad that they made only two movies together.
    Filmbuff-27

    Funny sex comedy

    I never heard of this movie until I saw it on AMC. It's a funny sex comedy about Oscar-winners Judy Holliday and Jack Lemmon realizing they were better off before they divorced. It really hasn't received as much acclaim as Holliday's other comedy, Born Yesterday (winner Best Actress Oscar - 1950) and deserves a video release.
    7aromatic-2

    Whimisical updating of the Awful Truth

    The four stars make a marvelous quadrangle, and the physical comedy is great. My one disappointment is Richard Quine's direction. Lemmon must've liked him because they did at least 3 movies together, but he always seems to be trying to unexplicably extract pathos out of screwball situations, and this technique quickly wears thin. That aside, still a lot of fun.

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    Related interests

    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
    Romance

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Columbia Pictures approached George Axelrod to produce a film version of his very popular play, "The Seven Year Itch," but the film rights were tied up as long as it was running on Broadway. He instead offered them "Phffft," an earlier play of his dealing with a similar subject.
    • Goofs
      Late in the movie when Charlie is visiting Nina at her home, Charlie and Nina walk over to the couch. It is too dark there and when Nina begins to sit down, the crew turns on an extra light to brighten the scene.
    • Quotes

      Charlie Nelson: A mustache is a very important thing. That's part of the famous Charlie Nelson theory in the efficacy of face hair in dealing with the opposite sex.

      Robert Tracey: [Slightly taken aback] What?

      Charlie Nelson: Always remember this: dames become unpredictable when faced with a mustache. It both arouses, and angers them, because... being as it is a symbol of masculinity, they feel drawn toward it.

    • Connections
      Featured in The Lady with the Torch (1999)

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    FAQ16

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 10, 1954 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Streaming on YouTube
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Y fueron felices
    • Production company
      • Columbia Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 28m(88 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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