The Pleasure Seekers

I so enjoy teasing a friend of mine about his long-time and, let's face it, abject adoration of the Swedish bombshell, Ms. A-M. This one was shown on American Movie Classics recently, "formatted" (Why do they bother?!?), which reduces one's visual pleasure by approximately 50%! But even without a forty-foot wide screen to celebrate her astonishingly talented assets, Annie is something to behold. When she waggles that tush...well, it's no wonder she performs almost all of her musical numbers indoors on studio sets. The censorious Spanish would have had her arrested! It rivals "Viva! Las Vegas" as her finest hour!

As an artifact of times long gone, this is still fairly enjoyable. Today's young ingenues seem like such tired-out, world weary ladies of the evening compared to the virginal Miss Tiffin, the ambitious Miss Lynley and the incomparable Miss Margret. (Eat your heart out, J. Lo!) And with Brian Keith and Gene Tierney on hand to attest that those beyond their thirties could still care for each other (though it takes the scriptwriters until about the final sequence to maneuver them to that realization), one can regretfully observe that we've come a long way from the bright and beautiful early Sixties, and there's not much to crow about on that score.

I saw this movie in a theater in the 1960s when it was released. I soon bought the soundtrack. The music is upbeat and fun, and Ann-Margret's purring voice in several of the songs were worth the $3.50 or whatever soundtracks cost back then. I wish I still had the vinyl LP, but I left it behind years ago for lack of space, and I have often wished I hadn't. The cover shot of Ann-Margret dancing in a hot pink ruffled dress, if I remember correctly, should have been sufficient cause for me to hold onto it.

Ann-Margret dominates any film she's in, but Carol Lynley and Pamela Tiffin were also lusciously beautiful. I had forgotten Gene Tierney was in the cast, but now I remember her bitchy vignette (type casting, from what I read about her).

I wish 20th Century Fox would release this film on DVD. I'd love to see it again.

Granted ---this movie is sooo 60's! But, I thought it was a fun film. Granted, there was a mad attempt to recapture the 50's here (DID NOT WORK)---but it was easy on the eyes and entertaining----PLUS Ann-Margret was indeed Ravishing! ---especially in that PINK ruffled dress singing the title tune! Worked For Me!!!

When servicemen of the sixties were polled over who was their favorite female star, Ann-Margret was it. To them, she must have been a tantalizing tease with big, red hair, and when she shook her head, it looked like it was on fire. She must have kept them pretty happy with those moves of hers. The camera always seemed fixated on her gyrating behind. She was irrepressible; even if you knew better, you couldn't take your eyes off her. (Elvis Presley at one point fretted that she might steal "Viva Las Vegas" right out from under him.)

In "The Pleasure Seekers" she plays Fran Hobson, a sometimes-working singer/dancer holed up in Madrid who, between gigs, passed the time dreaming of landing Mr. Right. He comes in the form of a young Spaniard doctor (Andre Lawrence) whose own dream is to render medical service to the poor, a dream which doesn't include a wife. He changes his mind, of course. What man in a uniform wouldn't?

Hers is not the most interesting romantic entanglement. That one belongs to nifty Carol Lynley as Maggie Williams who harbors impure designs on her boss (Brian Keith) only to be publicly humiliated for them by his wife (a not-so-well-aged Gene Tierney). Lynley ends up with Gardner McKay (whom I would confuse with Richard Beymer if I wasn't paying attention).

"The Pleasure Seekers" belongs to a long tradition of movies with three single women in the leads seeking husbands as far back as I can remember as the 1932 release "Three On A Match" with Joan Blondell, Ann Dvorak, and Bette Davis. With this one, director Jean Negulesco is actually remaking his 1954 "Three Coins In A Fountain" which won the Academy Award for best song. The musical efforts in this movie by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen are respectable enough. How could you not like Ann-Margret serenading the object of her desire with "Something to think about" or her bouncing her way through "Everything Makes Music When You're In Love" in a tight bikini?

With my favorite Italian actor in the whole wide world Vito Scotti as the girls' next-door neighbor; Anthony Franciosa; and ditzy Pamela Tiffin to round out the sublet. By the looks of the leads, you'd think they were cast for their hair color. Negulesco might have called this one "The Blonde, the Brunette, and Big Red."

The hair, the clothes, the accents, the song and dance numbers by Ann-Margret -- really, what's not to love in this film? Yeah, it's silly, yeah, it's little outdated in gender relations, but who cares? The styling is excellent, Ann-Margret sings her heart out, and the guys are cute. I wanted to buy this DVD the first time I saw the film, but haven't been able to find it for sale anywhere. Please, powers that be, make this film available for sale!!!!!!