Ask Any Girl (film)
Encyclopedia
Ask Any Girl is a 1959 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
romantic comedy
film starring David Niven
, Shirley MacLaine
and Gig Young
.
and takes a job in market research for a large firm. She's also keeping an eye open to meet the right man, her research making her aware that the United States has five million more females than males.
Upon meeting two clients, the reserved and somewhat stodgy Miles Doughton and his playboy younger brother Evan, it doesn't take long for Meg to realize she's romantically interested in Evan.
Miles is willing to help. He has seen so many of his brother's conquests come and go that he knows what Evan likes in a girl. Therefore, in a Pygmalion
-like way, he sets out to transform Meg into exactly that kind of girl. What she doesn't know is that Miles secretly comes to want her for himself.
at the 9th Berlin International Film Festival
. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe
, losing out to Marilyn Monroe
in Some Like It Hot
.
Rod Taylor's performance was much admired and helped lead to his casting in The Time Machine
(1960).
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
romantic comedy
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Comedy can refer to* Romantic Comedy , a 1979 play written by Bernard Slade* Romantic Comedy , a 1983 film adapted from the play and starring Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen...
film starring David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
, Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
and Gig Young
Gig Young
Gig Young was an American film, stage, and television actor. Known mainly for second leads and supporting roles, Young won an Academy Award for his performance as a dance-marathon emcee in the 1969 film, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?.-Early life and career:Born Byron Elsworth Barr in St...
.
Plot
A wide-eyed Meg Wheeler comes to New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and takes a job in market research for a large firm. She's also keeping an eye open to meet the right man, her research making her aware that the United States has five million more females than males.
Upon meeting two clients, the reserved and somewhat stodgy Miles Doughton and his playboy younger brother Evan, it doesn't take long for Meg to realize she's romantically interested in Evan.
Miles is willing to help. He has seen so many of his brother's conquests come and go that he knows what Evan likes in a girl. Therefore, in a Pygmalion
Pygmalion (play)
Pygmalion: A Romance in Five Acts is a play by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can train a bedraggled Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party by teaching her to assume a veneer of...
-like way, he sets out to transform Meg into exactly that kind of girl. What she doesn't know is that Miles secretly comes to want her for himself.
Cast
- David NivenDavid NivenJames David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
... Miles Doughton - Shirley MacLaineShirley MacLaineShirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
... Meg Wheeler - Gig YoungGig YoungGig Young was an American film, stage, and television actor. Known mainly for second leads and supporting roles, Young won an Academy Award for his performance as a dance-marathon emcee in the 1969 film, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?.-Early life and career:Born Byron Elsworth Barr in St...
... Evan Doughton - Rod Taylor ... Ross Tayford
- Jim BackusJim BackusJames Gilmore "Jim" Backus was a radio, television, film, and voice actor. Among his most famous roles are the voice of Mr...
... Maxwell - Claire Kelly ... Lisa
- Elisabeth FraserElisabeth FraserElisabeth Fraser , was a television, film and stage actress, best known for playing brassy blondes.Born as Elisabeth Fraser Jonker in Brooklyn, New York, Fraser began her acting career six weeks after graduating high school; she was cast as the ingenue in the Broadway production of There Shall Be...
... Jennie Boyden - Dodie Heath ... Terri Richards
- Read MorganRead MorganRead Morgan is a former American actor whose longest-running role was as a United States Army cavalry officer in the 1960-1961 season of The Deputy, a western television series on NBC created by Norman Lear. Morgan appeared in thirty episodes as the one-eyed Sergeant Hapgood Tasker, recognized by...
... Bert - Carmen PhillipsCarmen PhillipsCarmen Phillips was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 61 films between 1914 and 1926...
... Refined young lady
Awards and nominations
Shirley Maclaine won the 1959 BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress, and also the Silver Bear for Best ActressSilver Bear for Best Actress
The Silver Bear for Best Actress is the Berlin International Film Festival's award for achievement in performance by an actress.-Awards:- External links :*...
at the 9th Berlin International Film Festival
9th Berlin International Film Festival
The 9th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from June 26 to July 7, 1959.-Jury:* Robert Aldrich * Johan Jacobsen* Charles Ford* John Bryan* Ignazio Tranquilli* Shigueo Miyata* Wali Eddine Sameh* O. E...
. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe
17th Golden Globe Awards
The 17th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film for 1959 films, were held on March 10, 1960.-Best Actor - Drama: Anthony Franciosa - Career*Richard Burton - Look Back In Anger*Charlton Heston - Ben-Hur...
, losing out to Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
in Some Like It Hot
Some Like It Hot
Some Like It Hot is an American comedy film, made in 1958 and released in 1959, which was directed by Billy Wilder and starred Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and George Raft. The supporting cast includes Joe E. Brown, Pat O'Brien and Nehemiah Persoff. The film is a remake by Wilder and I....
.
Rod Taylor's performance was much admired and helped lead to his casting in The Time Machine
The Time Machine (1960 film)
The Time Machine is a 1960 American science fiction film based on the 1895 novel of the same name by H. G. Wells in which a man in Victorian England constructs a time-travelling machine which he uses to travel to the future...
(1960).