Cactus Flower (1969)
I don’t mean to be insulting, but who thought to continually cast Walter Matthau as a ladies’ man? I’m not sure if he was supposed to be laughed at while in those roles, or if the audience was supposed to really believe that attractive women found him irresistible – but once the film is in the can, there’s nothing the audience can do but watch it. In Cactus Flower, he plays a middle-aged dentist having an affair with a young, adorable bimbo: Goldie Hawn. Goldie is very cute in this movie, but she’s also very green. It makes you cringe when you remember she won an Oscar for early performance.
Ingrid Bergman is the one who steals the show. Lauren Bacall originated the role on Broadway, and it’s easy to imagine her or any other middle-aged, straight-laced woman in the part, like Rosalind Russell or Deborah Kerr. Hollywood picked Ingrid, though, and she’s delightful. She has her stern work hat on as Walter’s devoted secretary. She rattles off quips as easily as she breathes, especially to Walter’s pal Jack West, who never pays his tab. Walter is a single man pretending to be married so his young girlfriends don’t expect a commitment, but when he decides he actually wants to marry Goldie, she insists on meeting his wife first to make sure she’s not really wrecking their home. Ingrid gets asked to “play wife” for a while, and she lets her hair down and turns into a totally different, groovy person! It’s very cute, and only gets more complicated from there.
In case this premise sounds a bit familiar to the young folks out there, it was recently remade as Adam’s Sandler’s Just Go With It. This original version is infinitely better, though, so don’t be put off if you didn’t make it through the remake. This version actually has a script, and it’s cute rather than irritating. Plus, it has the total 1969 vibe, complete with adorable outfits and groovy music.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Ingrid Bergman movies here!
Ingrid Bergman is the one who steals the show. Lauren Bacall originated the role on Broadway, and it’s easy to imagine her or any other middle-aged, straight-laced woman in the part, like Rosalind Russell or Deborah Kerr. Hollywood picked Ingrid, though, and she’s delightful. She has her stern work hat on as Walter’s devoted secretary. She rattles off quips as easily as she breathes, especially to Walter’s pal Jack West, who never pays his tab. Walter is a single man pretending to be married so his young girlfriends don’t expect a commitment, but when he decides he actually wants to marry Goldie, she insists on meeting his wife first to make sure she’s not really wrecking their home. Ingrid gets asked to “play wife” for a while, and she lets her hair down and turns into a totally different, groovy person! It’s very cute, and only gets more complicated from there.
In case this premise sounds a bit familiar to the young folks out there, it was recently remade as Adam’s Sandler’s Just Go With It. This original version is infinitely better, though, so don’t be put off if you didn’t make it through the remake. This version actually has a script, and it’s cute rather than irritating. Plus, it has the total 1969 vibe, complete with adorable outfits and groovy music.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Ingrid Bergman movies here!