Boeing, Boeing (1965) User Reviews

French bedroom farce, American style

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 11 May 2008]

1965's "Boeing Boeing" is a dated but mildly amusing film starring Tony Curtis, Thelma Ritter, Jerry Lewis and Dany Saval. Curtis is a swinging bachelor living in Paris who is juggling three flight attendants at one time, all of whom live with him, and all of them are his fiancees. He's able to do this with the help of his able housekeeper (Ritter) and his carefully worked-out airline schedules. Unfortunately, the new fast planes are goofing up the schedules. Adding to the confusion is a visit by his friend Robert (Lewis), a reporter. The two men and an exhausted Ritter try to keep the women from running into one another at the apartment as their arrivals overlap.

"Boeing Boeing" was originally a play that had a very brief run on Broadway in the 1960's and went on to become the mainstay of dinner theaters throughout the U.S. After a very successful run in London, it has recently been revived on Broadway starring Christine Baranski as the maid, Bradley Whitford in the Tony Curtis role, Gina Gershon as an Italian flight attendant and Maureen McCormack as a German one. Not having seen the original play, it's hard to know what if anything in the film was changed from the play. In the current Broadway production, the Jerry Lewis character, done to great acclaim on both continents by Mark Rylance, is totally different - he's a shlub who's never seen a woman before. Lewis would have been perfect playing it that way - instead, in the film, the character of Robert is very against type, quite serious. The handsome Curtis does comedy well and is a perfect playboy. Baranski currently does the Ritter role with a French accent, which wrecks most of the dry humor that Baranski, like Ritter, brings to a role. Ritter is very funny as she changes the photograph on the desk, cooks sauerkraut for the German flight attendant, tosses it when the French flight attendant arrives and makes a soufflé instead and basically wears herself out.

"Boeing Boeing" is pleasant and fun to watch as an example of that great comedy form, the farce.

A delightful surprise

[fletch5 · 7/10 · 27 October 2000]

I first saw "Boeing Boeing" almost exactly a year ago when it came on TV, and I must say that I was delightfully surprised. While it was no comedy masterpiece, it still offered many genuinely amusing moments. The pairing of Tony Curtis and Jerry Lewis worked perfectly and it was interesting to see Thelma Ritter (who appeared in Hitchcock's "Rear Window") as the over-employed housekeeper.

Good entertainment, if you can ignore its staginess (the film takes place almost entirely in one apartment).

Jerry as a "second banana" again - briefly

[theowinthrop · 7/10 · 18 May 2008]

Farce is tricky - you need a good cast who are directed to be fast at split second timing, so that the appearance of people just missing each other add to the hilarity. It also depends on translation or state of the script.

BOEING (707) BOEING (707) is a French farce that became a hit there and then in Great Britain in the 1960s. It was brought to Broadway, but flopped. Still a movie version was made which is unique because it was the only pairing of Tony Curtis and Jerry Lewis, with Lewis playing a more subdued character than in other films. The film's plot is about how Curtis (a foreign correspondent in Paris) has an apartment which he sets up as a private harem with three girlfriends - all flight attendants (back then stewardesses): one English (Suzanne Leigh), one French (Dany Saval), and one German (Christiane Schmidtmer)each from their own nation's airlines (Schmidtmer is frequently referred to as "Lufthansa"). The only person who is aware that Curtis has this harem is his maid Berthe (Thelma Ritter). The ladies don't because Curtis has timed their arrivals and departures to the minute so that as two are gone the third is arriving.

Two disasters destroy the perfect love system Curtis has made - first the announcement of a more powerful airliner all the airlines will be switching to soon. That speeds up the arrivals and departures of the three women. Secondly, Curtis finds that he is being imposed on by a fellow journalist (Lewis) who needs a room for a few days before he can rent an apartment. Curtis and Lewis have a half-friendly and half-unfriendly relationship due to being rival correspondents and rivals with women. But Lewis discovers about the various ladies (all of whom claim they are Curtis's fiancé) and basically blackmails Curtis into putting him up.

The problems of the earlier arrivals of the three ladies perplex Curtis and Lewis, as their rivalry for the ladies mount. At the same time the one person stuck in the apartment all the time (Thelma Ritter) is getting more and more upset about the set-up which is tiring and thankless...and not as well paid as Ritter would like.

Curtis was always an adept farceur, but Lewis comes across as an accomplished one too - no geek like "Nutty Professor" or accident prone "Errand Boy" or "Disorderly Orderly" here. Instead we have a smooth operator - a cousin to "Buddy", the alter ego of the "Nutty Professor". The three ladies are good, particularly the German Ms Schmidtmer who is lovely but formidable (and a lady who dislikes French soufflés, and prefers knock-wurst and sauerkraut - much to the disgust of Ritter, who hates the smell). All the ladies love national styles of food. Ms Saval enjoys soufflés (and detests knock-wurst and sauerkraut). As for Ms Leigh, she loves deviled kidneys in their own juice (the juice, she mentions, is good for the complexion). Ritter dislikes the kidneys too, but always make extra ones for Leigh - she knows Leigh wants seconds.

BOEING BOEING was a mediocre film at the box office. But it is amusing enough to most viewers. Right now the original play is on Broadway with Bradley Whitford in the Curtis role and Christine Baransky as Berthe. It seems to be a better production than the original one. Baransky has a hard job in her role, but she is one of our finest female comics. The reason is that the best of the performers in the film was Ritter, who gets more and more confused and irritated by the goings on she is witnessing. In the ends she wonders if she really would ever stand for it under any circumstances. For watching Ritter alone the film is worth while. Knowing Ms Baransky from past performances she is certainly worthy to take on the same role.

Jerry Lewis plays it straight to Tony Curtis.

[Doctor_Bombay · 17 March 1999]

When the opening credits run, and the supporting female cast members ‘measurements' are shown beneath their names, you have no doubt you're in the 60's, bedroom farce, defined. In a role reversal of sorts Jerry Lewis plays straight man to Tony Curtis this time around .

Bernie Lawrence (Curtis) is an American newspaper man stationed in Paris, the man for whom there is never too many airline hostesses, just too little time. His delicately balanced, and timed to the minute, 4-way love life comes totally unwound when old pal Robert Reed (Lewis) arrives for an unexpected stay.

Cliché after cliché, time stamped in most every shot, Boeing Boeing is a tribute to a different type of filmmaking than we see today, a different morality, a different approach to comedy.

Wonderful Paris sights are an added treat. Recommended.

An excellent film, with two of the greats as the leading men

[Sarah-95 · 7/10 · 26 August 1999]

In my mind Jerry Lewis and Tony Curtis are two of the best actors of that era, and they both bring to this film a star quality, which I don't think the film could do without. Jerry Lewis proving himself to actually be a good actor without having to resort to over the top slapstick. And I really don't think I need to say anything about the greatness that Tony brings.

The plot though kind of cute isn't all that, and I suppose nowadays is considered to be quite politically incorrect. However the plot is secondary to the interactions between the two main characters and the housekeeper which is really what the film is about.

I used to watch this film on a very regular basis, and I would encourage everyone else to do the same!

Great cast makes this an enjoyable farce

[stevepem · 7/10 · 27 December 2010]

Tony Curtis and Jerry Lewis reversing roles as straight man and funny man, that alone is brilliant casting. Of course even as a straight man Lewis still manages to steal nearly every scene that he is in with his inimitable comic style. Leigh, Schmidtmer and Saval are delightful as the three nationalities of flight attendants. Thelma Ritter of course is terrific as the maid.

One thing that some of the other reviewers seem to have missed is that Robert (Jerry Lewis) actually helped Bernard (Tony Curtis) manage the crisis, rather than contribute to the crisis as some have suggested. The sole cause of the unraveling of the "perfect crime" had nothing to do with Robert's arrival, it was the sudden change in airline schedules due to the faster jets which caused Bernard's house of cards to start falling in. Robert, clearly in awe of the situation, was fully committed to helping Bernard keep the charade going. Yes, as a sub-plot Robert quickly became interested in siphoning off some of the action for himself, something that he had apparently done to Bernard before. However Robert was not a total heel. Initially he had no intention of going after Vicky (British United) when he thought that she was Bernard's fiancée. It was only after he learned that Bernard had two, no make that three fiancées that Robert started making some moves of his own. However in no way did Robert's presence (and move making) jeopardize the operation as some have suggested. Rather his help, oftentimes on his own initiative, turned out to be desperately needed by Bernard as the chaos unfolded. As the new schedules kicked in and one by one each fiancée arrived home sooner than expected, Robert played a vital role in keeping them separated and he also kept an increasingly beleaguered Bernard informed of the latest developments. In fact even before Robert arrived Bernard was using him as an excuse for why there were kidneys left over from breakfast. Robert and Bernard were at once both rivals and partners, a complicated relationship that in my opinion Jerry Lewis played brilliantly.

I refer to Boeing Boeing as being a farce because of one minor and one major problem with the plot that makes it totally unbelievable. The minor one is the aircraft references. In the late 50's and early 60's the introduction of jet passenger planes did in fact dramatically alter airline schedules, as the average speed jumped from around 325 mph for piston engine propeller airplanes to around 550 mph for jet airliners. In many cases what were previously overnight trips for the crew were now one day round-trips. However in the movie the drastic schedule changes were due not to the transition from propeller planes to jets, but a transition from existing jets to newer models with higher thrust. In reality, in spite of much higher thrust, jet airliners today fly at roughly the same speed as the original Boeing 707 that was introduced in 1958. Advances in jet engine technology sometimes resulted in increased range which meant fewer stops on some routes, and it is true that there are some minor speed differences between different models of jets (not counting the now-retired Concorde) but neither of these would have resulted in the drastic effect on crew schedules as portrayed in the movie. The original French play which debuted in 1960 was more realistic as it was based on the transition from props to jets which would have been going on at that time. However I can guess that in 1965 when the movie was produced the writers probably desired to modernize the script by having the plot revolve around new models of jets, even though technically this wasn't very realistic. The good news is that the airplane references were pretty accurate, i.e. British United actually flew VC-10's, Air France flew Caravelles, etc. One goof was when Robert informed Bernard that Vicky (British United) has arrived early, Bernard says "But the Super Boeing isn't due until midnight" to which Robert replies "Boeing, Boeing". However it had already been established that the new British United plane that Vicky was on was a VC-10. The VC-10 was built by Vickers-Armstrongs of England, not by U.S. based Boeing.

Aircraft inaccuracies in a movie are to be expected and can be forgiven, but the much larger, and perhaps unforgivable plot issue has to do with the fact that each of the three flight attendants lived in Bernard's apartment. That arrangement wouldn't last a week. I could believe that Bernard could juggle three girlfriends by meticulously tracking their schedules, and then coming up with excuses as needed as to why he couldn't see them or have them over when they were in town. However since all three lived in his apartment (which each had a key to) this meant that they would always go there when they were in town, even if he was at work. It would be impossible for Bernard to keep coming up with excuses why they couldn't go home to "their" apartment. Bernard couldn't control their schedules, only track them, so in no time an unavoidable "collision" would have occurred. Maybe if they all worked for the same airline and he was a crew scheduler (or he could bribe one) it could have worked, however they each worked for different airlines and he was a newspaper reporter with no control over their comings and goings. Allowing them to live in his apartment doesn't work even in a movie without total suspension of disbelief. If the writers had fixed this one thing the plot would have been much more believable. Would it have been funnier? I doubt it. So I have no real issue with the plot I'm just pointing out the facts. And actually now that I think about Christiane Schmidtmer being repeatedly dragged and carried unconscious around the apartment, all is forgiven.

too silly to laugh at, yet totally unavoidable

[daviddaphneredding · 6/10 · 29 April 2015]

In this 1965 Paramount Pictures comedy, Tony Curtis and Jerry Lewis are nutty and, for all practical purposes, perpetual kids. The setting is Paris where Bernard Lewis (played by Curtis) is definitely a philanderer who never wants to marry but have only fiancees, and he has three who are all airline stewardesses; there is the beautiful actress Christiane Schmitdner who plays a stewardess for Lufthansa, Davy Saval plays a stewardess for Air France, and Suzanna Leigh plays a stewardess for British Airways. Robert Reed, played by Lewis, is a newspaper man assigned to Paris where he stays with his friend of many years Bernard. During his time there, against his wishes Bernard's fiancees end up arriving at his apartment at the same time due to sudden changes in flight schedules, but one doesn't know the others are there. It does become silly and comical when the two men are hiding each girl in a separate bedroom, sometimes moving them around fast, and coming up with weak last-minute excuses as to why each one of them cannot stay where she has been resting. Thelma Ritter is quite comical as the maid who gets caught in the middle of the entire zany situation. The Paris sights are beautiful and, again, despite the bizarre story line, it is hard not to laugh at the nutty piece

Boeing, Boeing, Gone

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 28 October 2008]

Boeing Boeing is known primarily today as the film where Jerry Lewis stepped out of his schnook character and played a lead role in a Sixties sex comedy. Jerry does all right in expanding his range on this one, but the whole thing itself is not the greatest these type of films ever.

It's more of a warmed over version of The Tender Trap than anything else with Lewis playing not quite so second a banana to Tony Curtis as David Wayne did with Frank Sinatra.

Curtis has a great little operation going over at his place, he's got three fiancés, all airline stewardesses working at different airlines who live at his rather sumptuous bachelor pad in Paris. He keeps complete track of the schedule of Dany Saval for Air France, Christine Schmidtmer for Lufthansa, and Susanna Leigh for British Airways. But one fine day schedules change. Not only that, but an old rival Jerry Lewis comes into town and watches in amazement.

I'm still trying to figure out just how Tony Curtis could afford the living quarters he was in together with live-in maid Thelma Ritter who helps him keep the pretenses up. Just how a Jewish maid from Queens got to be living in Paris is also a mystery. All this mind you is on a reporter's salary and no one said that Curtis was Carl Bernstein.

Good thing he could afford her because Thelma Ritter as usual is the best thing in the film despite the statuesque proportions of the ladies involved. Especially Schmidtmer as Ritter caustically commented.

In his memoirs Tony Curtis says he liked making Boeing Boeing and thinks highly of Jerry Lewis as a person and comedian. He also said Lewis even when not doing his usual shtick in a film was still the greatest scene stealer on the planet with whom he had to stay constantly alert.

It's not a bad comedy, some will find it incredibly sexist for their taste. It does suffer by comparison to The Tender Trap.

Enjoyable Farce Similar to Hope & Crosby Movies

[HalGuentert · 8/10 · 29 October 2008]

I happened to see " Boeing, Boeing" on the TCM cable channel, and enjoyed seeing Tony Curtis and Jerry Lewis in this farce. They reminded me of a slightly more modern version of the comical "Road to ..." series of movies with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.

Although not quite as polished as Hope & Crosby, Curtis & Lewis performed better than I expected together, and all the actors performed well. The story idea of a bachelor trying to juggle relationships and schedules with three flight attendants staying in one Paris apartment was interesting even if flawed at times.

Fans of Hope & Crosby movies, or Tony Curtis & Jack Lemon should like this pairing of Curtis & Lewis working together to keep the three flight attendants, all engaged to Curtis, from discovering each other. As the scheme falls apart due to flight schedule changes and early arrivals, it is enjoyable to find out how long the girls can be kept unaware that they are sharing the same fiancé and apartment.

I do agree with another reviewer that the movie retains a stage play quality, but that is not a significant drawback to the story.

It has a lot of energy and some funny moments...but almost all the characters are selfish or nasty.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 29 June 2016]

"Boeing, Boeing" is a very unusual film for the time because although Jerry Lewis is one of the stars of the picture, he neither directed nor wrote it. He's simply there as an actor and isn't quite the same goofy guy he is in his other films. In fact, in some ways he's quite a jerk...a definite departure.

The story is about a super-selfish guy. Bernard (Tony Curtis) is a major womanizer. He's arranged his life in Paris so that he's engaged to three different stewardesses at the same time. It works out because each thinks she's his only woman and because their schedules work out so, they are oblivious to his machinations. However, two things upset his plans...the arrival of Robert (Lewis) and the women's schedules...which suddenly start getting discombobulated. So for most of the film, Bernard works tirelessly to hide each woman from the others...sometimes with Robert's help and sometimes Robert seems to be out for just himself.

This American-made bedroom farce suffers because Bernard and Robert are jerks...and two of the three fiancees seem pretty nasty. The third fiancé is just kind of dumb. Because of all this, the film doesn't work as well as it could and it's obvious that the director and stars try to make up for a somewhat weak plot by putting TONS of energy into their performances. It's not unpleasant but can understand why this isn't one of Lewis' or Curtis' more famous efforts.

Fun

[JasparLamarCrabb · 5/10 · 23 March 2008]

A lot of fun. BOEING BOEING is not exactly a jewel in the Jerry Lewis canon, but it's still highly enjoyable. Tony Curtis stars as a crafty foreign correspondent in Paris juggling three fiancés. His troubles go from big to huge when rival newspaper man Lewis shows up to cause even more chaos. Curtis is very funny and Lewis is remarkably restrained, playing what is essentially the straight-man. The three woman playing Curtis's harem are quite fetching and Christiane Schmidtmer, as the German stewardess, is really funny. It's all silly, very glossy and totally entertaining. Thelma Ritter is a big plus as Curtis's not so patient housekeeper.

Engaged to three

[Petey-10 · 10/10 · 14 December 1999]

Boeing Boeing is a great 1960's comedy about a reporter called Bernard Lawrence, played by Tony Curtis, who has three fiancees. They all are air hostesses, one is working for Luftansa, one for Air France and one for British United.Bernard has to keep looking the air schedules very often, that the ladies won't be at Bernard's Paris apartment at the same time.Bernard has a little helper in the house called Bertha (Thelma Ritter), so Bernard's doesn't have to do all the work.But everything starts going wrong when Bernard's reporter buddy Robert Reed ,played by the great Jerry Lewis, comes to stay at Bernard's place.And everything goes even worse when the air schedules change. Bernard's perfect plan starts to fail. It is very funny to watch Bernard and Robert try to hide the ladies from each others.Tony Curtis and Jerry Lewis are great comedy actors and they do a great acting job in this 1965 comedy called Boeing Boeing.

Paris When It Sizzles

[wes-connors · 6/10 · 14 September 2008]

"All you need is a timetable," explains playboy Tony Curtis (as Bernard Lawrence), an American reporter working in Paris. Mr. Curtis keeps three blondes in one apartment, each thinking she is Curtis' "one-and-only" fiancée. The rotating women are all airline stewardesses, on different timetables. Curtis' sexy arrangement is discovered by envious old pal Jerry Lewis (as Robert Reed). Mr. Lewis plots to take over the satisfying arrangement of women, after he learns Curtis may be transferred to New York. But, both men are threatened when the stewardesses' flight patterns change; and, everyone heads for the apartment bed!

Funnier than its reputation; perhaps, the film's celebration of pseudo-promiscuity distanced it from other sixties sex comedies - the "romance" between Lewis and Suzanna Leigh (as Vicky "British United" Hawkins) comes closest to "acceptable" for the genre. The other two women, hefty knockwurst-loving Christiane Schmidtmer (as Lise "Lufthansa" Bruner) and wispy soufflé-loving Dany Saval (as Jacqueline "Air France" Grieux), are more funny than romantic. Curtis is finely frantic; however, Lewis, in a lower key, and Thelma Ritter (as Bertha) are more outstanding.

****** Boeing Boeing (12/22/65) John Rich ~ Tony Curtis, Jerry Lewis, Thelma Ritter, Dany Saval

Simply Painful

[Nemesis7293-1 · 2/10 · 12 March 2008]

A prime example of cookie-cutter 60's sex comedy. Tired, banal, limp, lukewarm, strenuously forced drivel who's only source of real humor is the wonderful Thelma Ritter, and the laughs she gets come much more from her persona than from the dry well of the script she had to work with. Curtis tries, but his efforts are in vain. Lewis is actually quite good in a very restrained performance, which is a shame in that it's wasted in this wasteland. None of the characters, save Ritter's, behave in a fashion even beginning to resemble a human being, let alone an intelligent human being. The resulting "humor" is numbingly artificial and contrived. In an outlandish situation genuine humor comes from realistic reactions and behavior. Something you need not expect from the cartoons that populate this sad, inane excuse for comedy.

Just One! Not for Tony!

[JLRMovieReviews · 7/10 · 18 December 2014]

Tony Curtis has a tight schedule keeping track of the airline stewardesses or hostesses, as they call them here, that are coming and going at his bachelor pad, so the last thing he needs is a roommate, but he gets one when Jerry Lewis shows up in "Boeing Boeing." Even Jerry picks one out for himself. A fast paced, almost frenetic time you will have if you spend any time here. Just ask Thelma Ritter, the cook and maid, who has to know the delicate palate of each and when to show whose picture when, as the picture in the frame is changed constantly. Tony is a news reporter, but that really plays hardly any part of the plot at all, when Tony is always at odds with keeping up with the revolving door. But he tells Jerry that three is just the right number. Four would be too much, and two would be too repetitive. Yes. Three girls to have and bed is just right. He says he's engaged to them, but he secretly has no plans to change the status quo. Despite the ever-changing roster of activity, Thelma Ritter supplies much of the film's humor with her usual delivery of witty one-liners. She does add a degree of respectability to this film, that, without her, would probably feel a bit sleazy. For a non-stop parade of young ladies in Tony Curtis' pad, check out "Boeing Boeing" and see if he and Jerry Lewis ever settle down!

It Was The Women's Movie

[richard.fuller1 · 19 June 2004]

Curtis and Lewis didn't work well as a comedy team. Lewis seemed to be wanting to do something more than his nasal simpletons. How about that name, Robert Reed?

For those who may not know, Robert Reed was Mike Brady in the Brady Bunch tv show.

The movie seemed to be wanting to be a racy European comedy, but the stewardess who roomed with Tony Curtis had her own room. The maid, Thelma Ritter, would change out all of the belongings of the stewardess who was leaving and replace them with the belongings of the one who was coming in.

Jerry wanted some of this action, which was weak. All the conflict could have taken place without Lewis being there.

Lewis would get beaten up as he spoke badly about Lufthansa (referring to the German stewardess) and some Germans overheard him. This became the code, to refer to each stewardess by the airline she flew for.

There would be one bad moment in the restaurant when Jerry would talk about another stewardess returning and one not leaving yet, and he would proclaim "Boeing, Boeing" as tho to say 'boing, boing' and this made for a very unnecessary inclusion of the title in the movie.

But hands down, the stewardesses and Thelma Ritter were the stars.

The British Vicky, played by Suzanna Leigh, liked kidneys. We began with her and she said everytime she was ready to go out, Thelma Ritter would get hostile toward her. She didn't know that Ritter now had to make way for the incoming flight.

Air France's Jacqueline, played by bobbed Dany Saval, was a tiny wisp of a girl who liked soufflets.

But it was Lufthansa's Lise, played by Christiane Schmidtmer, who made it all funny. Very well endowed (VERY well endowed!) she would arrive when the soufflet was still around.

"Soufflets are for people mitout teeth," she would state and want weiner-schnitzels.

As one stewardess would be leaving, Thelma Ritter would start getting snide.

the British stewardess would tell Ritter something.

"Vunderbar," Ritter would exclaim disinterested.

The funniest was when she was changing out the undergarments and said Jacqueline would get lost in Lise's brassiere.

She had to keep throwing away soufflets and sausages, in anticipation of which stewardess was coming next.

Then there would be one grand moment when two of the stewardesses were heading into the restroom at the same time! Oh no!

Turns out there was no need to worry, as the women didn't know one another.

The women were the stars of this movie in the end, including Thelma Ritter. The guys could have been played by anyone else.

Cute little "la la" tune played at the beginning and the end tho.

Staged, but same conclusion.

[Carrie_the_Oracle · 6/10 · 30 October 2005]

I saw this play in a 99-seat theater tonight in Sierra Madre, CA. I came to the same conclusion; the guys could have been anyone else. Berthe was the star of the show here, too--a really superb actress. The girls were good, But TWA was obviously anorexic. Luftansa was, well, Ruebenesquely cast.

The men were not slick enough for this phenotype, and they tended to garble and fall over the laughs. Most of the laughter came from this mostly SBNN (straight but not narrow) audience, who laughed at the self-delusion and naiveté of both the lead and his foil. They also wanted to know Berthe's cell number.

Jerry was kicked to secondary role!!!

[elo-equipamentos · 7/10 · 1 March 2019]

Unnoticed Jerry Lewis was totally shallowed by Tony Curtis in this sexy comedy by the way he appears around after half hour, when Curtis's character took over the picture and didn't share the leadership anymore, Sorry to Jerry who accepted a serious role instead a dumb guy which he used to do on Lewis & Martin era, but the three steward a breathtaking beauties who saves the whole picture of the entire flop, the germany there was the most sex appeal for all them, his voluptuous body size is outrageous sexy followed by Suzanna Leigh ( The Deadly Bees ) a really stunning beauty, Dany Saval was too skinny, lovely face only without attributes needs to this kind of role, also a speechless and priceless performance by Thelma Ritter!!

Resume:

First watch: 2012 / How many: 2 / Source: Cable TV-DVD / Rating: 7

old fashion sex comedy

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 18 July 2017]

Bernard Lawrence (Tony Curtis) is a reporter based in Paris. His British stewardess fiancée Vicky Hawkins (Suzanna Leigh) hates his housekeeper Bertha (Thelma Ritter). He's very careful with scheduling. He drops Vicky off at the airport, and surprisingly, picks up his other fiancée, German stewardess, Lise Bruner (Christiane Schmidtmer). In addition, there is his Air France girlfriend Jacqueline Grieux (Dany Saval). The tight precise juggling is threatened by any scheduling changes, the new faster planes, and fellow reporter Robert Reed (Jerry Lewis) with no hotel vacancy who insists on staying at his apartment.

The idea is cute. Starting with listing the girls' measurements in the opening credits, this is an old fashion sex romp. Jerry Lewis is playing straight in this one. It's not that funny especially in terms of modern sex comedies. There are a few fun moments but no big laughs. It's probably not a classic but a good choice for fans of these legends.

A beautiful evening

[sara-13779 · 8/10 · 28 January 2019]

You'll enjoy this movie from start to end if you take it as it is: a fun, entertaining film with two wonderful leading men. Tony Curtis was a brilliant actor, and in comedies he's simply amazing. I spent a wonderful evening laughing out loud in certain moments. See it!

nice chaotic comedy

[petersjoelen · 7/10 · 1 February 2024]

Nice film about a man who is engaged to three different flight attendants at the same time. A typical Hollywood farce. Entertaining developments and situations continue to follow one another. However, it is all a bit repetitive. The cast knows how to bring fun and it is always a pleasure to see Thelma Ritter at work.

Tony Curtis and Jerry Lewis do a nice job together, but the housekeeper Bertha provides the nicest one-liners and steals the show.

It's always fun to see Lewis busy, although he doesn't make the funny faces we're used to from him in this film, the interplay with his colleague Curtis makes for funny scenes, although the rest of the cast also do there job pretty good .

Mishandled opportunities...

[IslandMadMacs · 4/10 · 29 March 2006]

Unlike several of the IMDb reviewers who have obviously grinded their sexual/political axe when viewing it through their tinted prisms - I never go into a film with a 21st century predisposition. Still, this is a difficult movie to critique, even taking into consideration the period and accepting the mindset when this movie was filmed.

Clearly this falls into the farcical light comedies of the late 50's/early-mid 60's. Exemplfying the male 'heaven' where a dashing global man of means has several beautiful women (airline "hostesses" no less) plugged into his sexual carnival. But even taking this into account - 'Boeing Boeing' fails to deliver the barrel full of expected suggestive laughs. Levity is there of course, but very sporadic and uneven.

How and Where specifically?

Difficult to define. As both Curtis and Lewis bring their talents to bear, I can only point to the director, John Rich. He tries to capture the 'martini' energy of similar films of the period - 'Some Like It Hot' or 'The Love God?' - but lacked the skill to mesh the cast and material together. (not surprising to discover that he's a TV director and this was his one and only directorial attempt at a feature film) But equally at fault is a script clearly written for the rambling open stage - forced into the constrained demands of film. The harried and frenetic pace reflects a haphazard adaptation of the stage production material.

Rule of thumb to filmmakers: If your viewing audience needs a scorecard to keep track of the players and plot directions - your film needs new a edit, maybe even a new editor.

And scenes that should create sexual tension fall flat as they compete against, and not blend into or with, the slapstick. Conversely, slapstick scenes, which should've brought the skills of Curtis and/or Lewis to the forefront, dribble because they're competing against the sexual energy the scenes actually calls for. An example: When Jerry is "ordered" to massage Ms. Lufthansa - the scene itself isn't filmed; nor is Tony's natural reaction when this event is discovered. Both missing scenes would've led to hilarity. Can you imagine Lewis oiling up and slipping/sliding over Ms. Lufthansa who is curtly directing where he should put his hands or how hard he should push? Or Curtis confronting Lewis, while still covered in oil? Opportunity lost. Instead, the film cuts to Lewis wiping down his hands still *completely dressed* in suit and tie! He then snidely comments "It was like oiling down a baby whale." So is he supposed to be lusting after Ms. Lufthansa, as presented throughout the first half of the film? Or is he disgusted that she's a large woman and he did it only to fulfill her demands as suggested in the second half? Indecision on the part of the director = no laughs.

The entire film is a bunch of similar set-ups with mishandled deliveries. Imagine simultaneously being told ten jokes, but the punchlines are delivered out of order and left for you to decide what fits best and when.

Others have noted the incredible anchor of this film: Thelma Ritter. Cast into the role of 'straight man' against the wackiness of her male co-stars, her character steals this film. Notably, scenes with her in it are where the laughs can be found. This is both enjoyable and sad. So much potential and missed opportunities. It was all 'there' - if only this movie had the right director at its helm.

Because there's not enough laughs to justify purchasing this film at current market prices, which is considerable given it's "OOP" or "LOOP" status, this one is only for true devotees of the genre - or for dedicated fans of Tony Curtis and/or Jerry Lewis.

A must see...again and again and again

[paul-685-664575 · 10/10 · 4 October 2020]

I discovered the movie about 10 years ago after I saw the play. I saw it 5 times since then. One of my all time favorites. I read in Wikipedia that Jerry Lewis turned down Jerry's role in "Some Like It Hot". Can you imagine Tony Curtis and Jerry Lewis in the best comedy of all time? Well, they were finally paired up in this one. And then there is Thelma Ritter. A triple treat. Also, finally an American movie where the French and the German and even the British women are played by real life French, German, and British correspondingly.

I never saw any of the silly comedies by Jerry Lewis but I loved "King of the Comedy" where again he proves that he is a great actor.

In summary, the movie is perfect until they end up in the restaurant. After that not so much. Nevertheless, I give 10 stars and plan to see it again and again every couple of years or so.

Note that there is another movie that I saw 5 times: Pas sur la bouche. Highly recommended despite the similarly low score on IMDB.

Family-friendly bachelor escapades...

[moonspinner55 · 3/10 · 17 December 2006]

This Tony Curtis-Jerry Lewis combination, adapted from a play by Marc Camoletti, is yet another bedroom comedy without anything actually happening in the bedroom. Curtis plays an American in Paris juggling the affections of different sexy stewardesses. Director John Rich is faced with staging slapstick he has no intrinsic feeling or affection for; instead of a spirited good time, he has his cast running around crazily hoping it will translate into laughs. Perky Dany Saval (as "Air France") is the stand-out amongst the lovely ladies, none of whom gets an actual character to play. Curtis and Lewis might have been an interesting duo under better circumstances (and with snappier dialogue), but this material is beneath them. *1/2 from ****

As funny as it gets!

[Ru-Dy · 10/10 · 19 August 2021]

When I want to laugh, I watch this one! It is my favorite romantic comedy! Tony Curtis and Jerry Lewis are hilarious, and Thelma Ritter as the maid completes this non-stop laugh-a-thon! Give it a look, it's one of the all time classics!