Sure, the premise is sleazy, Jack Lemmon is embarrassing but the film is fast paced and certainly bouncy. The main reason to watch is because of a very charming and funny performance by the lovely Carol Lynley. Although she hasn't had many chances during her career to show off her comedic talents, this film contains a wonderfully funny scene in which Ms. Lynley's character is drunk. Her boyfriend, played perfectly by Dean Jones, is trying not to take advantage of her 'accessibility'. She runs the gamut from sexy to goofy with excellent timing. It is a wonderful performance and one that helps to take an edge off of the sleaziness of the main plot (Mr. Lemmon's apartment manager trying to deflower all these attractive young women).
34 Reviews
Funny, Entertaining but it goes on for a bit too long:
zacdawac14 November 2020
I've been catching up on a few of these early sixties semi-sex comedies, while in Covid essential isolation. I'm starting to fall in love with Carol Lynley though sadly, she died about a year ago. Jack Lemmon is always funny and interesting, Edie Adams is forever appealing and Paul Lynde, as the frustrated repressed wannabe letch is amusing to watch.
Yes, I was entertained throughout, yes it was relatively original and yes, I recommend it. However, it does go on for a bit too long without veering direction and there's never a moment when you don't know where it's going to end up. It was, after all, 1963, when the Hays code was starting to be lifted but wasn't quite there yet. Young people in the country were preparing for the sexual revolution but they weren't quite there yet, either. By 1967, the year of Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate and the year after Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, the dynamic between this couple would have been entirely different. And by 1974, the film could have gone in a wide assortment of directions. In 1963, again at the time of the almost sex comedy, there was really only one way this film could go. Watching it get there was entertaining but again, it needed a few more turns and twists to justify the length.
Norman Fell's landlord character from The Graduate ended up as the landlord on Three's Company. It might have been interesting to see this landlord replace him.
Yes, I was entertained throughout, yes it was relatively original and yes, I recommend it. However, it does go on for a bit too long without veering direction and there's never a moment when you don't know where it's going to end up. It was, after all, 1963, when the Hays code was starting to be lifted but wasn't quite there yet. Young people in the country were preparing for the sexual revolution but they weren't quite there yet, either. By 1967, the year of Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate and the year after Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, the dynamic between this couple would have been entirely different. And by 1974, the film could have gone in a wide assortment of directions. In 1963, again at the time of the almost sex comedy, there was really only one way this film could go. Watching it get there was entertaining but again, it needed a few more turns and twists to justify the length.
Norman Fell's landlord character from The Graduate ended up as the landlord on Three's Company. It might have been interesting to see this landlord replace him.
Fun film
BandSAboutMovies18 January 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Hogan (Jack Lemmon) has quite a life. He's an independently wealthy landlord of a California apartment complex that he rents exclusively to beautiful women for just $75 a month. Women are his passion, which is why he has a swinging bedroom to rival Dudley Moore's pad from Foul Play.
Now, he has his sights set on Robin Austin (Carol Lynley, Beware! The Blob, The Night Stalker), which is the perfect thing to get his mind off his breakup with Irene (Edie Adams, who was both emotionally and financially devastated by the death of her husband Ernie Kovacs, so friend Jack Lemmon got her hired and her part expanded from the play that inspired this movie). And who cares if Robin is Irene's niece, right? Well, those are Hogan's morals...
Speaking of morality, Robin wants to live with her fiancee David (Dean Jones, as always just on the edge of screaming and being mad at everyone), but doesn't want them to sleep together. As you can imagine, this drives David mad and gives Hogan plenty of chances to break them up.
The best part of this movie? The older married couple that works for Hogan, Mr. And Mrs. Murphy, who are played by Paul Lynde and Imogene Coca.
Hogan's cat, Orangey, had quite the career. Trained by Frank Inn, who also was the owner of Green Acres' Arnold and Petticoat Junction's Higgins - also the first Benji - Orangey was in everything from the TV series Our Miss Brooks and The Beverly Hillbillies to This Island Earth and The Diary of Anne Frank. He's most famous for his roles as the cat in Breakfast at Tiffany's and for menacing Grant Williams in The Incredible Shrinking Man. He also was the lead in the movie Rhubarb, which was a name that he also used.
Director David Swift may be best known for Pollyanna and The Parent Trap, but he also wrote How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying and directed another movie on the Mill Creek Through the Decades: 1960s Collection set, Good Neighbor Sam.
Now, he has his sights set on Robin Austin (Carol Lynley, Beware! The Blob, The Night Stalker), which is the perfect thing to get his mind off his breakup with Irene (Edie Adams, who was both emotionally and financially devastated by the death of her husband Ernie Kovacs, so friend Jack Lemmon got her hired and her part expanded from the play that inspired this movie). And who cares if Robin is Irene's niece, right? Well, those are Hogan's morals...
Speaking of morality, Robin wants to live with her fiancee David (Dean Jones, as always just on the edge of screaming and being mad at everyone), but doesn't want them to sleep together. As you can imagine, this drives David mad and gives Hogan plenty of chances to break them up.
The best part of this movie? The older married couple that works for Hogan, Mr. And Mrs. Murphy, who are played by Paul Lynde and Imogene Coca.
Hogan's cat, Orangey, had quite the career. Trained by Frank Inn, who also was the owner of Green Acres' Arnold and Petticoat Junction's Higgins - also the first Benji - Orangey was in everything from the TV series Our Miss Brooks and The Beverly Hillbillies to This Island Earth and The Diary of Anne Frank. He's most famous for his roles as the cat in Breakfast at Tiffany's and for menacing Grant Williams in The Incredible Shrinking Man. He also was the lead in the movie Rhubarb, which was a name that he also used.
Director David Swift may be best known for Pollyanna and The Parent Trap, but he also wrote How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying and directed another movie on the Mill Creek Through the Decades: 1960s Collection set, Good Neighbor Sam.
Very goofy, very safe "sex comedy" with Lemmon going out on a limb.
Poseidon-331 July 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Films certainly underwent some massive changes during the 60's. Compare the "chaste" sex comedy of this 1963 movie with the far more permissive and blatant movies of the latter part of the decade. Lemmon plays a relentless, lascivious skirt-chaser who runs an apartment complex called Centaur Apartments. Renting only to women, he says goodbye to former flame Adams and, before he can adjust to it, has rented the vacant apartment to her pert and very attractive niece Lynley. Lemmon can barely contain his glee as he sets out to carve yet another notch on his figurative bedpost, but he's unaware that Lynley has arranged for her boyfriend Jones to live with her (platonically) as well as part of an experimental, pre-marital arrangement! While Lynley and Jones wrestle with their hormones and strive to shield each other from temptation, Lemmon peers through windows and hangs from the roof when he isn't just trotting right through the front door with one of his many, many keys. The goings-on are observed by Lynde, as an envious gardener, and Coca, as his disapproving, cleaning-lady wife. Plenty of predictable misunderstandings and shenanigans take place with opposing sides either vigilantly defending Lynley's virginity or trying to get it taken away. All of it is handled with a soft touch through suggestiveness, innuendo or comedy. Lemmon tackles a very unusual role for him and is at least partially successful with it. He outrageously skulks around like Wile E. Coyote, with a battery of tricks up his sleeve, while appropriately cartoonish music plays. His antics eventually grow tiresome and he overacts with abandon, but it's still fascinating to see him in this light. Lynley was probably never more beautiful than in this film and, most of the time, she's quite appealing. She handles a stock "liberal, progressive virgin" role with skill. Jones (impossibly skinny, especially during the seduction scene towards the end) is charming and endearingly lunkheaded. He and Lynley make a very nice couple. Adams is saddled with a fretful role, but she looks pretty nice and manages a few nice moments. Handsome Lansing, as her new fiancé, has a very thankless part (one which was not in the original Broadway play on which this is based.) Coca is afforded several amusing bits as is Lynde, but Lynde was capable of far more hilarious screen activity than he's allowed to show here. Some of the material was just a tad obvious and tired, even for 1963. The film would have benefited well from a little bit of pruning in the redundant dialogue and more lengthy sequences. Still, it's a very colorful, silly, wacky romp that, if nothing else, makes for a fascinating time capsule of what filmmakers of the era thought (or perhaps wanted audiences to think) was the right way for people to behave. The sets are quite amazing, actually, though patently artificial-looking at all times. The opening credits for the film are really bizarre with a big fake tree hovering over two dancers as James Darren croons the title song. It's amazing how similar Darren sounds to the much later Harry Connick Jr. Incidentally, among Lynley's belongings in the apartment is a Darren LP! Bixby appears briefly as a potential male tenant, given the brush-off by Lemmon. A few years later, Ryan O'Neal, Leigh Taylor-Young and Harold Gould would film a pilot movie intended to set this up as a series, but it didn't come to fruition.
a little bit of fun
SnoopyStyle17 April 2022
Robin Austin (Carol Lynley) is concerned about her compatibility with boyfriend Dave Manning (Dean Jones). She convinces him to live together first. Her divorced aunt Dr. Irene Wilson (Edie Adams) is moving out of her apartment to move in with her boyfriend Dr. Charles Howard. Hogan (Jack Lemmon) is the womanizing neighbor landlord and he's more than eager to rent the place to Robin.
It's a little bit of fun especially with Lemmon. It could be funnier. It should be funnier. Lemmon and Jones could be a fun rivalry but her choice is never in doubt. Lynley is plenty pretty enough and she is fine. There is some attempt at 60's sex comedy humor but the bite isn't sharp enough and it doesn't bite deep enough. This may be edgy for a 50's sex comedy but feels safe for the 60's. For Lemmon fans, this is interesting to complete their list.
It's a little bit of fun especially with Lemmon. It could be funnier. It should be funnier. Lemmon and Jones could be a fun rivalry but her choice is never in doubt. Lynley is plenty pretty enough and she is fine. There is some attempt at 60's sex comedy humor but the bite isn't sharp enough and it doesn't bite deep enough. This may be edgy for a 50's sex comedy but feels safe for the 60's. For Lemmon fans, this is interesting to complete their list.
Early 60s Relationship Comedy
iquine19 December 2022
A sleezy landlord (Jack Lemon) who only rents to pretty young and single women accidently rents to a couple who a trying some modern relationship plan....for the early 60s. They plan to get married after college and hope to avoid getting a divorce in the future. Thus. They decide to live together, without any physical intimacy, to see if they are compatible with everyday life stuff. Jack Lemon is lurking around their personal life. Will he try to sneak the woman away from the boyfriend or give him advice about trying to survive this new arrangement without succumbing to hanky panky. All the topics are dripping with humor and some physical comedy. Good for a few corny laughs.
So Sixties
atlasmb26 September 2023
This is the kind of comedy Jack Lemmon could do in his sleep. And he plays the part of Hogan, that icon of American sixties cinema-the swinging bachelor. And so he lives in a red-walled lair equipped with ultra-modern, electronic features designed to overcome any girl's inhibitions---a push-button passion pit. His raison d'etre is the seduction of the fairer sex.
He is also landlord and manager of the Centaur Apartments, where he can indulge his sybaritic desires with the numerous women who reside there, since he never rents to men.
The story starts with the arrival of a new tenant, Robin Austin (Carol Lynley), a comely blonde coed who is pleased to find a nice apartment at such a reasonable price. But complications ensue when Robin moves in with her boyfriend, Dave Manning (Dean Jones). The plan is for them to test the strength of their love via an experiment: cohabitation without sex. It's her plan, but he grudgingly agrees.
Lynley has the perfect blend of sexiness and innocence that makes the story concept work, much like a young Jane Fonda. Dean Jones, who would later become a Disney mainstay, gives a good performance as the true-blue boyfriend, rather like a poor man's James Garner. In support are Edie Adams and comedy icons Imogene Coca and Paul Lynde.
The result is a fun time, filled with characters and themes that are familiar to fans of the sixties.
Note that though Robin takes a class called "Education for Marriage" and she uses the lingo of the sixties couched in theoretical psychological jargon, she is liberated from intellectual ignorance but she is not liberated like some other young women of that era. When she says making a bed is "women's work", we know she is not a feminist as classically defined then. And so we know she is not doing battle with men, she is just willing to meet them as equals. And we want what is good for her, even though Hogan is the more fascinating character.
He is also landlord and manager of the Centaur Apartments, where he can indulge his sybaritic desires with the numerous women who reside there, since he never rents to men.
The story starts with the arrival of a new tenant, Robin Austin (Carol Lynley), a comely blonde coed who is pleased to find a nice apartment at such a reasonable price. But complications ensue when Robin moves in with her boyfriend, Dave Manning (Dean Jones). The plan is for them to test the strength of their love via an experiment: cohabitation without sex. It's her plan, but he grudgingly agrees.
Lynley has the perfect blend of sexiness and innocence that makes the story concept work, much like a young Jane Fonda. Dean Jones, who would later become a Disney mainstay, gives a good performance as the true-blue boyfriend, rather like a poor man's James Garner. In support are Edie Adams and comedy icons Imogene Coca and Paul Lynde.
The result is a fun time, filled with characters and themes that are familiar to fans of the sixties.
Note that though Robin takes a class called "Education for Marriage" and she uses the lingo of the sixties couched in theoretical psychological jargon, she is liberated from intellectual ignorance but she is not liberated like some other young women of that era. When she says making a bed is "women's work", we know she is not a feminist as classically defined then. And so we know she is not doing battle with men, she is just willing to meet them as equals. And we want what is good for her, even though Hogan is the more fascinating character.
Passable sex comedy.
g-hbe25 December 2022
I'm not sure that Jack Lemmon was the right choice for the part of the slightly-seedy womanising landlord, as he is more associated with 'Mr decent middle America' types. Maybe Walter Matthau or even Peter Lawford may have been better suited. As for the rest, Carol Lynley is always good for the eyes and here she puts in some very nice touches, and Paul Lynde is good too, although he is slightly toned-down from his usual style. Overall it's an enjoyable watch, not a million miles away from the excellent Doris Day films of the time. The theme song is good too, with James Darren sounding like a young Frank Sinatra.
Bitter fruit
moonspinner5512 July 2007
Lawrence Roman's popular stage farce comes to the screen seeming a bit undernourished, with everyone playing 'perky' to perfection but without benefit of any funny lines. With a whole apartment complex full of sexy, single gals, landlord Jack Lemmon becomes fixated on innocuous college girl Carol Lynley, who has just moved in with her boyfriend--a platonic arrangement that has Lemmon up in arms (and on the roof!). A shiny package with nothing inside, and Lemmon visibly strains to give the proceedings some bounce (tough to do since his wolfish character is thoroughly loathsome). The script, adapted by David Swift (who also directed), tries for snappy repartee, but since none of the characters are particularly sharp, the results here lack wit, sparkle and imagination. *1/2 from ****
Ensign Pulver's Dream House
bkoganbing9 September 2007
I'm sure that the reason Jack Lemmon was cast in the screen version of Under the Yum Yum Tree was the resemblance of his character of the landlord Hogan here with the part that got him his first Oscar, Ensign Frank Pulver in Mister Roberts. Superficially there is a resemblance.
But the womanizing frat boy gone to sea in Mister Roberts is behaving under acceptable standards. It's kind of expected that men act out their sexual fantasies being deprived of it when on sea duty. Those stories about sailors on shore leave aren't an exaggeration.
In Under the Yum Yum Tree it's as though Frank Pulver was left an inheritance of an apartment building which is obviously strategically located near a co-ed campus. What was acceptable behavior for Lemmon in Mister Roberts is unbelievable in this situation.
Try as he might Lemmon cannot make this character likable. He's a rich guy who never worked a day in his life which apparently is devoted to being a peeping tom in regard to all the beautiful young women he rents to. And he only rents to young women.
When you think about it, it's pretty darn scary. I can't believe one of these girls hasn't called the police on him.
On Broadway the play was a five character thing and only Dean Jones came over from Broadway. Lemmon, Carol Lynley's part, and Edie Adams part were taken by Gig Young, Sandra Church, and Nan Martin. Under the Yum Yum Tree had a respectable run of 173 performances on Broadway.
But if this is what the theater audience saw, how did it run so long?
But the womanizing frat boy gone to sea in Mister Roberts is behaving under acceptable standards. It's kind of expected that men act out their sexual fantasies being deprived of it when on sea duty. Those stories about sailors on shore leave aren't an exaggeration.
In Under the Yum Yum Tree it's as though Frank Pulver was left an inheritance of an apartment building which is obviously strategically located near a co-ed campus. What was acceptable behavior for Lemmon in Mister Roberts is unbelievable in this situation.
Try as he might Lemmon cannot make this character likable. He's a rich guy who never worked a day in his life which apparently is devoted to being a peeping tom in regard to all the beautiful young women he rents to. And he only rents to young women.
When you think about it, it's pretty darn scary. I can't believe one of these girls hasn't called the police on him.
On Broadway the play was a five character thing and only Dean Jones came over from Broadway. Lemmon, Carol Lynley's part, and Edie Adams part were taken by Gig Young, Sandra Church, and Nan Martin. Under the Yum Yum Tree had a respectable run of 173 performances on Broadway.
But if this is what the theater audience saw, how did it run so long?
Silly Fun but Extremely Dated
mls418221 March 2021
I don't even think this plot served as anything but farce even back in 1963. It is still a lot of fun. Carol Lynley is very funny in a rare comedic role and Dean Jones is excellent as well. Immogene Coca and Paul Lynde are at their comic best in supporting roles.
Carol Lynley was breathtakingly beautiful.
Carol Lynley was breathtakingly beautiful.
Lemmon's Worst Film
theowinthrop17 May 2005
UNDER THE YUM YUM TREE was one of three films in the middle 1960s that Jack Lemmon starred in that he despised. He had shown in THE APARTMENT and THE DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES that he was a gifted dramatic actor - an everyman fighting the pressures of modern society, be they big business bosses or alcoholism. Then he did GOOD NEIGHBOR SAM, HOW TO MURDER YOUR WIFE, and UNDER THE YUM YUM TREE. The first two films had good scripts and good productions. He was wrong about them, failing to see they were excellent entertaining (but minor) films. But his contempt for YUM YUM TREE is correct.
Based on a moderately successful play, it was a sex farce. Set in a California motel, Lemmon's character (Hogan) is a letch. All he does is think of going to bed with the young ladies who make the mistake of checking into his motel. If they have boy friends or husbands, he sidetracks the males as quickly as possible. He has a machine that makes copies of every key to every suite in the motel, and in one scene (which I always found very detestable) we see him humming happily to himself as he manufactures a new set of keys. When questioned about his still having a key after apparently giving it up to Dean Jones, he tells Jones glibly (and quickly - his delivery is quite fast and annoying in this movie) that he has an unlimited supply of keys.
In a sense, the eavesdropping Lemmon, so casually violating the privacy of his customers, is an attempt at a comic Norman Bates. Here, supposedly, the situation is all in good sexy fun. But one can make a case that Norman's attacks on young women in bathtubs were also done out of a sense of sexual fun - only a sadistic one. That Lemmon's character gets a good comeuppance at the end does not help this film at all. It still quite lousy. I don't think Lemmon ever played a less likable character or appeared in a worse movie part.
Based on a moderately successful play, it was a sex farce. Set in a California motel, Lemmon's character (Hogan) is a letch. All he does is think of going to bed with the young ladies who make the mistake of checking into his motel. If they have boy friends or husbands, he sidetracks the males as quickly as possible. He has a machine that makes copies of every key to every suite in the motel, and in one scene (which I always found very detestable) we see him humming happily to himself as he manufactures a new set of keys. When questioned about his still having a key after apparently giving it up to Dean Jones, he tells Jones glibly (and quickly - his delivery is quite fast and annoying in this movie) that he has an unlimited supply of keys.
In a sense, the eavesdropping Lemmon, so casually violating the privacy of his customers, is an attempt at a comic Norman Bates. Here, supposedly, the situation is all in good sexy fun. But one can make a case that Norman's attacks on young women in bathtubs were also done out of a sense of sexual fun - only a sadistic one. That Lemmon's character gets a good comeuppance at the end does not help this film at all. It still quite lousy. I don't think Lemmon ever played a less likable character or appeared in a worse movie part.
One big long smirk
marcslope26 January 2015
Ben Mankiewicz noted on TCM that Jack Lemmon was not happy being assigned this film version of a semi-hit Broadway sex comedy from 1960, and you can see why. As the libidinous landlord of a California complex who rents out only to nubile young things, he's playing an absolutely awful man, and for all his comic finesse, he's charmless and irritating. In Lawrence Roman's oversexed plot (he adapted his play with director David Swift), Lemmon's Hogan mistakenly rents a beautiful one bedroom (for $75 a month; oh, to be in 1963) to undergrad Carol Lynley, who plans to share it platonically with her fiancé, Dean Jones, who had played this part on Broadway. And from there it's one long smirk, with Lynley wiggling her fanny in short-short outfits, Jones bemoaning how difficult a no-sex policy is, and Lemmon mugging and being thoroughly unpleasant. Edie Adams, as Lemmon's ex and Lynley's aunt, is a pro, and Paul Lynde, as a horny-for-young-girls (ha) gardener, and Imogene Coca, as his disapproving wife, wring what laughs they can out of repellent material. If you want to know what '60s sex comedies were like, with endless jokes on will-she-won't- she-lose-her-virginity, this is a good example, typically over lit and supplemented with a cutesy Frank DeVol score. And Lynley and Jones are charming. But given the change in morality in intervening years, it looks it was made on another planet.
Leering, unfunny "sex comedy" wastes a good cast
mrb198018 October 2023
"Under the Yum Yum Tree" was advertised as "adult entertainment" back in 1963. I guess maybe the film's marketing department thought it would be too boring for kids, because it certainly isn't racy or "sexy" at all.
The plot is predictably dumb. Hogan (Jack Lemmon) is the leering manager of an apartment house who only rents to attractive young women. He spends his time peeping into his tenants' windows and lusting after them. When young, attractive Robin (Carol Lynley) and her boyfriend David (Dean Jones) move in, Hogan is determined to break up their relationship. Robert Lansing, Edie Adams, Imogene Coca, Paul Lynde, and Bill Bixby also have prominent roles.
The film is incredibly dated. Young women are portrayed as hopeless bimbos, and there's nothing funny about an apartment manager peeping into his female tenants' windows. Instead of being "sexy", the film gave me a pretty creepy feeling throughout, and I didn't find it funny at all. Paul Lynde's character is even more smarmy than the ones he usually played. It's too bad that so many good actors appeared in this movie, because they could have been starring in something much better.
The plot is predictably dumb. Hogan (Jack Lemmon) is the leering manager of an apartment house who only rents to attractive young women. He spends his time peeping into his tenants' windows and lusting after them. When young, attractive Robin (Carol Lynley) and her boyfriend David (Dean Jones) move in, Hogan is determined to break up their relationship. Robert Lansing, Edie Adams, Imogene Coca, Paul Lynde, and Bill Bixby also have prominent roles.
The film is incredibly dated. Young women are portrayed as hopeless bimbos, and there's nothing funny about an apartment manager peeping into his female tenants' windows. Instead of being "sexy", the film gave me a pretty creepy feeling throughout, and I didn't find it funny at all. Paul Lynde's character is even more smarmy than the ones he usually played. It's too bad that so many good actors appeared in this movie, because they could have been starring in something much better.
ladies man runs an apartment complex
helpless_dancer10 April 1999
A skirt chaser manages an apartment complex in which all the residents are beautiful women. He regularly wines and dines the ladies, and is a charming, although rascally fellow. He brings in a new tenant and begins his game on her, much to the annoyance of her boyfriend. Most of the film is spent with the landlord trying to get into the new tenant's pants, and her boyfriend making every effort to keep him out. Fairly funny spoof on the California lifestyle.
The message is actually good
innerlooper9619 April 2022
There are so many competent recaps, I will spare readers of my own. However, suffice it to say that this is a pretty simple movie.
The poor reviews were really fascinating to see before I watched the movie, so naturally, I felt even more intrigued. I will admit that this is not Oscar-worthy material in any way. It's a fluffy movie that had earnest attempts at humor and levity. It isn't going to make anyone see life differently, *unless*: you are able to open your mind a little.
The underlying message of the movie is initially "it's wrong to live together romantically unless you're married" (typical mid-century mindset). The secondary theme is "misunderstanding". The love interest is misled both intentionally and unintentionally, which results in the eventual winning of her heart.
But, the final message that I took from this movie is the one that was eloquently stated by Aunt Irene, who states that "love is created", and doesn't fall off a tree. Even when it seems that way, your relationship is not going to be butterflies and flowers forever, no matter how in-love you begin. It's about truly caring for the other, and trying to offer them grace and understanding.
This was at the very end of the movie, and it inspired me to actually like the movie enough to save it on my DVR!
The biggest downfalls of this movie, aside from the many you've read already, are the fact that it's boring when there is a lack of dialogue and only Jack Lemmon making goofy faces; the portions with the meddling groundskeeper and his wife were also like watching a sitcom, nothing special or unique. The most interesting non-plot feature to me was the incredible set, full of both real and fake objects. It was just so colorful, starting with the opening theme song.
The most impressive moment of all: when the celebrity kitty (Orangey) was holding himself up with front paws on a brick wall, while drinking a saucer of milk. Incredibly adorable and worth seeing!
The poor reviews were really fascinating to see before I watched the movie, so naturally, I felt even more intrigued. I will admit that this is not Oscar-worthy material in any way. It's a fluffy movie that had earnest attempts at humor and levity. It isn't going to make anyone see life differently, *unless*: you are able to open your mind a little.
The underlying message of the movie is initially "it's wrong to live together romantically unless you're married" (typical mid-century mindset). The secondary theme is "misunderstanding". The love interest is misled both intentionally and unintentionally, which results in the eventual winning of her heart.
But, the final message that I took from this movie is the one that was eloquently stated by Aunt Irene, who states that "love is created", and doesn't fall off a tree. Even when it seems that way, your relationship is not going to be butterflies and flowers forever, no matter how in-love you begin. It's about truly caring for the other, and trying to offer them grace and understanding.
This was at the very end of the movie, and it inspired me to actually like the movie enough to save it on my DVR!
The biggest downfalls of this movie, aside from the many you've read already, are the fact that it's boring when there is a lack of dialogue and only Jack Lemmon making goofy faces; the portions with the meddling groundskeeper and his wife were also like watching a sitcom, nothing special or unique. The most interesting non-plot feature to me was the incredible set, full of both real and fake objects. It was just so colorful, starting with the opening theme song.
The most impressive moment of all: when the celebrity kitty (Orangey) was holding himself up with front paws on a brick wall, while drinking a saucer of milk. Incredibly adorable and worth seeing!
Unfunny and badly dated
rosscinema14 January 2003
This is one of the most unfunny films that I have ever seen! I love Jack Lemmon and he's probably one of the top five actors that has ever lived but what was he thinking when he agreed to do this mess? I know its the sixties but people were not that prudish about a man and a woman living together at that time. And the character that Lemmon portrays is so annoying and lecherous that by the second time he barged into Carol Lynley's apartment they should have called the cops. And what was Dean Jones waiting for? He should have punched Lemmon right in the face for all the crap he was pulling. The one thing that I did enjoy was seeing one of my favorite actress's in another small role. Joy Harmon plays Lynley's friend Ardice and I wish her part was bigger. Also Irene Tsu who along with Joy Harmon was one of many hot chicks who played small roles in the sixties. But the film itself is a badly dated and extremely annoying embarrassment.
Jack Lemmon's Worst Movie
krdement12 July 2007
This movie is a real stinker. I confess that I never have understood the comic appeal of extremely annoying characters. They just grate on my nerves. That describes Jack Lemmon in spades in this so-called comedy (which is really a farce). If a farce depicts mostly unbelievable characters portrayed by hammy actors in situations that defy any credibility, then this is a farce, and for those of you out there who enjoy such movies, this is the one for you.
Almost as annoying as Mr. Lemmon's character is the boyfriend, portrayed by Dean Jones. I was, however, surprised to learn via this film that Mr. Jones appeared in films made outside of Disney - where he really belongs! Although Carol Lynley is no great shakes as an actress, she is beautiful - never more so than in this film. She is the only positive in this whole mess.
This is a prime example of Hollywood's implosion after the golden age - due in no small part to the Code. Hollywood was totally incapable of depicting the 60's in a way that remotely reflected the reality. To prove the point, you only have to listen to the soundtracks of films that attempt to reflect the Pop Culture of the time: NONE OF THE MOVIES OF THAT ERA use any contemporaneously popular music! It is always some Hollywood producer's ersatz imitation. The soundtracks are a joke! Films like Under the Yum Yum Tree have that same hopelessly out-of-touch feel, even though music is not a critical element. The bizarre distortion of those times in films such as this is just as annoying as Mr. Lemmon's character.
The equally bizarre concoction of morals - from hokey prudishness to monumental lecherousness - is not depicted with humor, but with that same Hollywood perspective that bears so little resemblance to reality that it is a hollow basis for humor.
Almost as annoying as Mr. Lemmon's character is the boyfriend, portrayed by Dean Jones. I was, however, surprised to learn via this film that Mr. Jones appeared in films made outside of Disney - where he really belongs! Although Carol Lynley is no great shakes as an actress, she is beautiful - never more so than in this film. She is the only positive in this whole mess.
This is a prime example of Hollywood's implosion after the golden age - due in no small part to the Code. Hollywood was totally incapable of depicting the 60's in a way that remotely reflected the reality. To prove the point, you only have to listen to the soundtracks of films that attempt to reflect the Pop Culture of the time: NONE OF THE MOVIES OF THAT ERA use any contemporaneously popular music! It is always some Hollywood producer's ersatz imitation. The soundtracks are a joke! Films like Under the Yum Yum Tree have that same hopelessly out-of-touch feel, even though music is not a critical element. The bizarre distortion of those times in films such as this is just as annoying as Mr. Lemmon's character.
The equally bizarre concoction of morals - from hokey prudishness to monumental lecherousness - is not depicted with humor, but with that same Hollywood perspective that bears so little resemblance to reality that it is a hollow basis for humor.
A real lemmon
ryancm20 September 2009
How could this movie have been made? A truly awful little comedy with top notch actors. JACK LEMMON plays the most despicable character ever in a comedy. No redeeming values what so ever. His character should have been arrested for his doings. A land lord can just open a tenants apartment any time he wants? The things he does to poor Dean Jones with his conivings and miss doings are horrific. Besides being dated, this movie isn't even funny and Lemmon's character borders on the insane. With so many great titles still unreleased on DVD, why put this one out? Even Jack Lemmon hated this movie. See it and you'll know why. But a fair warning. You can do something better with your time than spend one hour and 50 minutes watching this trash.
60's Morality Tale as Fun Lemmon Farce
js-5841727 February 2017
Warning: Spoilers
"Under The Yum Yum Tree" (1963) is not as bad as some reviewers may have you believe if you consider the time it was made.
It's hard to believe that no other reviewer seems to get the basic premise of this story. The concept is shown at the beginning titles (not to mention the film's title.) The "Yum Yum Tree" has grapes (fruit) hanging off of it while a man and woman dance around it. This is clearly representative of the Bible story in Genesis with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Eve is tempted by the snake (Satan) to take a bite of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Doing so will make her aware of her nakedness and therefore 'Carnal Sin'. She then corrupts Adam by convincing him to do the same.
In this film, a young college girl, Robin (Carol Lynley) moves into a new apartment with her boyfriend, Dave (Dean Jones in Goody-Two-Shoes mode) to prove that they can cohabitate as intelligent adults in a platonic situation before they get married. The landlord, Hogan (Jack Lemmon), is literally the devil incarnate. He spends the entirety of the movie doing all he can to entice the young couple to break their moral code and have sex. Even going so far as to make sexual advances toward her himself.
The film is presented as something of a fantasy/fairy tale, so the behavior and sets do seem a bit unreal. This sort of approach was popular as a sub-genre of the day. Compare it to "Damn Yankees" (1958) or "Bedazzled" (1967) as devil characters presented broadly, or even "Bell, Book & Candle" (1958). Therefore, Hogan is certainly a lecherous creep and Peeping Tom, surrounding himself in his apartment complex with young women of perhaps loose morals, which when considered as real human characteristics would be far beyond acceptable behavior. But when seen as the Devil himself his behavior makes more sense. It is supposed to be over-the-top! Hogan dresses in red, drives a red sports car, has an apartment with red carpet, walls, & furnishings. At one point Dave is sleeping on the couch snoring. Hogan sneaks in and waves his hand above Dave's head and the snoring stops, showing a bit of supernatural power. Later, Hogan mentioned that he is devilish while examining his key cabinet, then the film cuts to Dave who briefly prays "Oh God".
True, the premise isn't too complicated and there is very little plot, but for an early '60s foray into "modern" sexual relationships it's all pretty harmless. Especially since the couple passes the test to stay chaste until married. The fun is in the over-the-top performances by Lemmon and the always amusing Paul Lynde & Imogene Coca. Worthy viewing for fans of the era, genre, or stars.
It's hard to believe that no other reviewer seems to get the basic premise of this story. The concept is shown at the beginning titles (not to mention the film's title.) The "Yum Yum Tree" has grapes (fruit) hanging off of it while a man and woman dance around it. This is clearly representative of the Bible story in Genesis with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Eve is tempted by the snake (Satan) to take a bite of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Doing so will make her aware of her nakedness and therefore 'Carnal Sin'. She then corrupts Adam by convincing him to do the same.
In this film, a young college girl, Robin (Carol Lynley) moves into a new apartment with her boyfriend, Dave (Dean Jones in Goody-Two-Shoes mode) to prove that they can cohabitate as intelligent adults in a platonic situation before they get married. The landlord, Hogan (Jack Lemmon), is literally the devil incarnate. He spends the entirety of the movie doing all he can to entice the young couple to break their moral code and have sex. Even going so far as to make sexual advances toward her himself.
The film is presented as something of a fantasy/fairy tale, so the behavior and sets do seem a bit unreal. This sort of approach was popular as a sub-genre of the day. Compare it to "Damn Yankees" (1958) or "Bedazzled" (1967) as devil characters presented broadly, or even "Bell, Book & Candle" (1958). Therefore, Hogan is certainly a lecherous creep and Peeping Tom, surrounding himself in his apartment complex with young women of perhaps loose morals, which when considered as real human characteristics would be far beyond acceptable behavior. But when seen as the Devil himself his behavior makes more sense. It is supposed to be over-the-top! Hogan dresses in red, drives a red sports car, has an apartment with red carpet, walls, & furnishings. At one point Dave is sleeping on the couch snoring. Hogan sneaks in and waves his hand above Dave's head and the snoring stops, showing a bit of supernatural power. Later, Hogan mentioned that he is devilish while examining his key cabinet, then the film cuts to Dave who briefly prays "Oh God".
True, the premise isn't too complicated and there is very little plot, but for an early '60s foray into "modern" sexual relationships it's all pretty harmless. Especially since the couple passes the test to stay chaste until married. The fun is in the over-the-top performances by Lemmon and the always amusing Paul Lynde & Imogene Coca. Worthy viewing for fans of the era, genre, or stars.
"Yum Yum Tree" Gets A Dumb Dumb "C"
ferbs541 July 2010
What do the American film "Under the Yum Yum Tree" (1963) and the British film "The Magic Christian," made six years later, have in common? Well, not much really, except for the fact that they're both supposed comedies with a large cast of pros, and that both stunned me with appalled disappointment the first time I saw them. In "Yum Yum," Jack Lemmon plays a character only known as Hogan, the lecherous landlord of the Centaur Apartments, who only rents to nubile young women...until he slips up and lets an apartment to Carol Lynley and her fiancé (Dean Jones). Stretching the viewer's credulity, the two are cohabitating platonically; as Lynley's character puts it, she doesn't want to be carried away by her "own fermenting juices." What follows are some inane, cartoonish, hard-to-swallow situations, as the jealous Hogan (who would today be recognized as a serial sex addict) eavesdrops on the young couple, uses his "inexhaustible" supply of housekeys to barge in on them at all hours, and contrives to exhaust Jones with an exercise regimen to prevent him from getting amorous with his own fiancée. That Jones doesn't call the cops on Hogan or beat the crap out of him early on stretches all believability past the breaking point; Lemmon has rarely played such a thoroughly unlikable character in a "comedy." Indeed, the laffs are sadly few and far between here, but don't blame the three leads. Pros that they are, they give it their all, as do the always dependable Edie Adams, Imogene Coca and Robert Lansing ("Star Trek"'s Gary 7), but the script continuously lets them down miserably. Only Paul Lynde, with his trademarked smarmy line readings, manages to engender any chuckles. From the film's insipid title tune, sung by James Darren, to its entirely predictable ending, this picture is something of a drag. I can't believe I'm writing this, but I've finally seen a Jack Lemmon movie that's a labor to sit through. Guess I'll have to screen "The Apartment" for the 30th time or so to wash the memory of this lemon out of my head....
While it purports to be an adult film, it's really just a bad movie in disguise.
planktonrules8 September 2011
Back when it debuted, I am pretty sure that "Under the Yum Yum Tree" made a bit of a splash with its plot that was strongly infused with sex. However, despite the novelty of the story, the film, down deep, just isn't very good. Mostly it's due to the writing--as the characters are more like caricatures and are very, very difficult to believe. As a result, I found it an absolute chore to watch this movie.
The film is set in an apartment complex run by a creepy guy (Jack Lemmon). I am sure back in 1963, he was seen as a great comic character by the filmmakers. However, today he really comes off as a guy you'd expect to see registering as a sex offender--he was THAT creepy. A young engaged (Carol Lynley and Dean Jones) move in together. She sees it as a great experiment to see if they are compatible--he sees it as Purgatory, as this is supposed to be a sex-less experiment. Throughout their stay, their nosy landlord keeps dropping by to either offer Jones unneeded advice or to try to score with Linley. However, neither one seems to understand the true nature of Lemmon's attention--he is neither helpful nor innocent but a perv who thinks of nothing but sex 24-7.
The sad fact is none of the people in the film are the least bit believable or likable. Lynley is an oblivious idiot who talks and talks about modern love and relationships but she obviously knows nothing. She speaks in platitudes and faux intellectualism so much that she sounds more like a comic book character than a real woman. Jones is a bundle of sexual tension and nothing more--and his character is given no opportunity to be any more. And, as for Lemmon, well, I have already talked about how he's just super-creepy.
By the way, the IMDb summary describes Lemmon as a "love-struck landlord"! This is NOT at all accurate. Love is not what he's interested--the guy is a sex offender. He likes to climb on windows to peek at his female residents--hoping to see them naked. This is not what I'd call love-struck!! Overall, the film tries very hard to be adult and edgy--pushing the 'new morality'. However, instead of making you think or being clever, it just comes off as badly written. All the characters are unlikable and plastic and the film never engages.
By the way, I sure found it surprising to see Dean Jones in a movie like this considering his squeaky clean image and promotion of family values. It just didn't seem to fit in this case.
The film is set in an apartment complex run by a creepy guy (Jack Lemmon). I am sure back in 1963, he was seen as a great comic character by the filmmakers. However, today he really comes off as a guy you'd expect to see registering as a sex offender--he was THAT creepy. A young engaged (Carol Lynley and Dean Jones) move in together. She sees it as a great experiment to see if they are compatible--he sees it as Purgatory, as this is supposed to be a sex-less experiment. Throughout their stay, their nosy landlord keeps dropping by to either offer Jones unneeded advice or to try to score with Linley. However, neither one seems to understand the true nature of Lemmon's attention--he is neither helpful nor innocent but a perv who thinks of nothing but sex 24-7.
The sad fact is none of the people in the film are the least bit believable or likable. Lynley is an oblivious idiot who talks and talks about modern love and relationships but she obviously knows nothing. She speaks in platitudes and faux intellectualism so much that she sounds more like a comic book character than a real woman. Jones is a bundle of sexual tension and nothing more--and his character is given no opportunity to be any more. And, as for Lemmon, well, I have already talked about how he's just super-creepy.
By the way, the IMDb summary describes Lemmon as a "love-struck landlord"! This is NOT at all accurate. Love is not what he's interested--the guy is a sex offender. He likes to climb on windows to peek at his female residents--hoping to see them naked. This is not what I'd call love-struck!! Overall, the film tries very hard to be adult and edgy--pushing the 'new morality'. However, instead of making you think or being clever, it just comes off as badly written. All the characters are unlikable and plastic and the film never engages.
By the way, I sure found it surprising to see Dean Jones in a movie like this considering his squeaky clean image and promotion of family values. It just didn't seem to fit in this case.
Good Cast in a Bad Situation
wes-connors9 September 2007
Jack Lennon (as Hogan) is a promiscuous landlord who loves to rent apartments to hot prospects, like young Carol Lynley (as Robin); trouble is, she moves her fiancée Dean Jones (as David) in for a platonic "try-out" living arrangement. Mr. Lemmon spends much of the movie lecherously peeping at the young couple, while plotting how to seduce Ms. Lynley.
The cast is very nice, but the story is really, really dumb. Mr. Lemmon is a terrific actor, but this role just doesn't work for him; you have to wonder about all of his peeping. This movie might have worked if the Lemmon character were unsuccessfully promiscuous, in a supporting role, and without the peeping (like a Dudley Moore or Don Knotts role). Mr. Jones and Ms. Lynley are very likable, but they want to undress, and tease each other so quickly. The orange cat was a (sex?) joke I didn't get.
** Under the Yum Yum Tree (1963) David Swift ~ Jack Lemmon, Carol Lynley, Dean Jones
The cast is very nice, but the story is really, really dumb. Mr. Lemmon is a terrific actor, but this role just doesn't work for him; you have to wonder about all of his peeping. This movie might have worked if the Lemmon character were unsuccessfully promiscuous, in a supporting role, and without the peeping (like a Dudley Moore or Don Knotts role). Mr. Jones and Ms. Lynley are very likable, but they want to undress, and tease each other so quickly. The orange cat was a (sex?) joke I didn't get.
** Under the Yum Yum Tree (1963) David Swift ~ Jack Lemmon, Carol Lynley, Dean Jones
a delicious sexual frolic for Jack Lemmon fans
fairwaters12 January 2004
Love Jack Lemmon? Then give this naughty little comedy a spin! Of course films made 40 years ago were not made to today's social standards. but that doesn't stop this wicked romp from being completely enjoyable. Imogene Coca offers up a spirited protagonist in this film. a performance that should not be missed! Shake up a swinging cocktail and sit back in your velvet lounge for a delicious sexual frolic.
- 34 year old female.
Not. Funny.
scareduck23 April 2004
It's been so many years since I've seen this, but I remember watching it as a teenager and thinking -- these are grownups here. *I'm* old enough to know what's going on. And this isn't funny. It reminds me of Matt Groening's Paradox:
* The French are funny.
* Sex is funny.
* Comedies are funny.
Yet, NO FRENCH SEX COMEDY IS FUNNY. Replace "French" with "Jack Lemmon", and, had you stumbled onto this film as your first and only exposure to that otherwise great actor, you might be tempted to banish Lemmon from your living room forever.
* The French are funny.
* Sex is funny.
* Comedies are funny.
Yet, NO FRENCH SEX COMEDY IS FUNNY. Replace "French" with "Jack Lemmon", and, had you stumbled onto this film as your first and only exposure to that otherwise great actor, you might be tempted to banish Lemmon from your living room forever.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
