Bachelor Flat
Encyclopedia
Bachelor Flat is a 1962 American comedy film
starring Terry-Thomas
, Tuesday Weld
, Richard Beymer
and Celeste Holm
. Filmed in CinemaScope
in Malibu, the film is a revised version of director Frank Tashlin
's own Susan Slept Here
of 1954.
Professor Bruce Patterson (Terry-Thomas
) has to live with Helen Bushmill (Celeste Holm
), his fiancée. Helen is away traveling, and has failed to tell him that she has a seventeen-year-old daughter Libby (Tuesday Weld
), who shows up at her mother's home unaware that Helen in engaged. Meanwhile he has to resist the advances of the neighbourhood ladies who barge in unexpectedly. At the same time, Patterson must deal with the continual invasions of his cynical neighbor, and law student, Mike (Richard Beymer
), who soon develops a crush on Libby. Intertwined in the story is Mike's persistent dachshund
, determined to bury the professor's prize possession of a rare dinosaur bone.
In an interview with Peter Bogdanovich
, Tashlin said he included the dachshund as a satire on CinemaScope due to the dog's shape.
Eugene Archer in the New York Times did not find favor with the film, stating that Terry-Thomas "is at the mercy of the writer-director who usually turns out Jerry Lewis
' broadest japes," referencing director Tashlin as the "responsible party." He also calls the plot "flimsy" and that Terry-Thomas "seems perplexed" in his performance. He concludes that "viewers with a tolerance for brash vulgarity and a fitful pace" will most likely show "astonishment, resignation and, eventually, mild amusement."
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
starring Terry-Thomas
Terry-Thomas
Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens was a distinctive English comic actor, known as Terry-Thomas. He was famous for his portrayal of disreputable members of the upper classes, especially cads and toffs, with the trademark gap in his front teeth, cigarette holder, smoking jacket, and catch-phrases such as...
, Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld is an American actress.Weld began her acting career as a child, and progressed to more mature roles during the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960...
, Richard Beymer
Richard Beymer
George Richard Beymer, Jr. is an American actor known for playing Tony in the 1961 film version of West Side Story and Ben Horne on the 1990 television series Twin Peaks.-Life and career:...
and Celeste Holm
Celeste Holm
Celeste Holm is an American stage, film, and television actress, known for her Academy Award-winning performance in Gentleman's Agreement , as well as for her Oscar-nominated performances in Come to the Stable and All About Eve...
. Filmed in CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
in Malibu, the film is a revised version of director Frank Tashlin
Frank Tashlin
Frank Tashlin, born Francis Fredrick von Taschlein, also known as Tish Tash or Frank Tash was an American animator, screenwriter, and film director.-Animator:...
's own Susan Slept Here
Susan Slept Here
Susan Slept Here is a 1954 romantic comedy film starring Dick Powell and Debbie Reynolds. It was based on the play of the same name by Steve Fisher and Alex Gottlieb...
of 1954.
Plot
A charming British anthropologyAnthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
Professor Bruce Patterson (Terry-Thomas
Terry-Thomas
Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens was a distinctive English comic actor, known as Terry-Thomas. He was famous for his portrayal of disreputable members of the upper classes, especially cads and toffs, with the trademark gap in his front teeth, cigarette holder, smoking jacket, and catch-phrases such as...
) has to live with Helen Bushmill (Celeste Holm
Celeste Holm
Celeste Holm is an American stage, film, and television actress, known for her Academy Award-winning performance in Gentleman's Agreement , as well as for her Oscar-nominated performances in Come to the Stable and All About Eve...
), his fiancée. Helen is away traveling, and has failed to tell him that she has a seventeen-year-old daughter Libby (Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld is an American actress.Weld began her acting career as a child, and progressed to more mature roles during the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960...
), who shows up at her mother's home unaware that Helen in engaged. Meanwhile he has to resist the advances of the neighbourhood ladies who barge in unexpectedly. At the same time, Patterson must deal with the continual invasions of his cynical neighbor, and law student, Mike (Richard Beymer
Richard Beymer
George Richard Beymer, Jr. is an American actor known for playing Tony in the 1961 film version of West Side Story and Ben Horne on the 1990 television series Twin Peaks.-Life and career:...
), who soon develops a crush on Libby. Intertwined in the story is Mike's persistent dachshund
Dachshund
The dachshund is a short-legged, long-bodied dog breed belonging to the hound family. The standard size dachshund was bred to scent, chase, and flush out badgers and other burrow-dwelling animals, while the miniature dachshund was developed to hunt smaller prey such as rabbits...
, determined to bury the professor's prize possession of a rare dinosaur bone.
In an interview with Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich is an American film historian, director, writer, actor, producer, and critic. He was part of the wave of "New Hollywood" directors, which included William Friedkin, Brian De Palma, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Michael Cimino, and Francis Ford Coppola...
, Tashlin said he included the dachshund as a satire on CinemaScope due to the dog's shape.
Cast
- Terry-ThomasTerry-ThomasThomas Terry Hoar Stevens was a distinctive English comic actor, known as Terry-Thomas. He was famous for his portrayal of disreputable members of the upper classes, especially cads and toffs, with the trademark gap in his front teeth, cigarette holder, smoking jacket, and catch-phrases such as...
as Bruce Patterson - Tuesday WeldTuesday WeldTuesday Weld is an American actress.Weld began her acting career as a child, and progressed to more mature roles during the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960...
as Libby Bushmill - Richard BeymerRichard BeymerGeorge Richard Beymer, Jr. is an American actor known for playing Tony in the 1961 film version of West Side Story and Ben Horne on the 1990 television series Twin Peaks.-Life and career:...
as Mike Polaski - Celeste HolmCeleste HolmCeleste Holm is an American stage, film, and television actress, known for her Academy Award-winning performance in Gentleman's Agreement , as well as for her Oscar-nominated performances in Come to the Stable and All About Eve...
as Helen Bushmill - Francesca Bellini as Gladys
- Howard McNearHoward McNearHoward Terbell McNear was an American film, television and radio character actor. McNear is best remembered as Floyd Lawson, the barber in The Andy Griffith Show and as Doc Charles Adams in CBS Radio's Gunsmoke .-Career:McNear was born in Los Angeles, California to Luzetta M. Spencer and Franklin...
as Dr. Bowman - Ann Del Guercio as Liz
- Roxanne Arlen as Mrs. Roberts
- Alice Reinheart as Mrs. Bowman
- Stephen Bekassy as Paul
- Margo Moore as Moll
Critical reviews
Variety called it a "frivolous, farcical concoction" and credits much of the great comedy to the supporting cast. They praise Terry-Thomas' "comic intuition and creativity" saying it is also "responsible for most of the merriment." However, they say "neither Weld nor Beymer seems comfortably at home in farce, and the strain often shows through," and that Celeste Holm is "stuck regrettably in a rather bland role." The critic adds: "The dachshund, incidentally, is an accomplished low comedienne."Eugene Archer in the New York Times did not find favor with the film, stating that Terry-Thomas "is at the mercy of the writer-director who usually turns out Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
' broadest japes," referencing director Tashlin as the "responsible party." He also calls the plot "flimsy" and that Terry-Thomas "seems perplexed" in his performance. He concludes that "viewers with a tolerance for brash vulgarity and a fitful pace" will most likely show "astonishment, resignation and, eventually, mild amusement."
External links
- Bachelor Flat at TCMTurner Classic MoviesTurner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...