''How Sweet It Is!'' is a 1968

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

starring

James Garner James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, including ''The Great Escape (film), The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy ...

and

Debbie Reynolds Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career spanned almost 70 years. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her portra ...

, with a supporting cast including

Terry-Thomas Terry-Thomas (born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens; 10 July 19118 January 1990) was an English character actor and comedian who became internationally known through his films during the 1950s and 1960s. He often portrayed disreputable members of th ...

and

Paul Lynde Paul Edward Lynde (; June 13, 1926January 10, 1982) was an American comedian, actor and game show panelist. A character actor with a distinctively campy and snarky persona that often poked fun at his barely closeted homosexuality, Lynde was we ...

. Garner plays a photographer who accompanies his wife and teenage son on an assignment in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, with both husband and wife struggling to stay faithful under extreme temptation. The film was written by producers

Garry Marshall Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American filmmaker and actor. He started his career in the 1960s writing for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' before he developed Neil Simon's 1965 play '' The Odd C ...

and Jerry Belson (adapting

Muriel Resnik Muriel Resnik (August 15, 1915 – March 6, 1995) was an American playwright and novelist. She was known for her comedy play ''Any Wednesday'', performed for the first time on Broadway in 1964 and starring Sandy Dennis, Don Porter, Gene Hackma ...

's novel ''The Girl in the Turqoise Bikini'') and directed by

Jerry Paris William Gerald Paris (July 25, 1925 – March 31, 1986) was an American actor and director best known for playing Jerry Helper, the dentist and next-door neighbor of Rob and Laura Petrie, on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', and for directing the majo ...

Jimmy Webb Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including " Up, Up and Away", " By the Time I Get to Phoenix", " MacArthur Park", " Wichita Lineman", " Wo ...

wrote the title song, and Patrick Williams scored the sound track.

Plot

Teenager David Henderson wants to tag along with his girlfriend Gloria and a group of American students touring France. His mother Jenny hates the idea until she manages to get her professional photographer husband Graf to document the group's travels for his company. Jenny books passage for them all on an ocean liner, and a stay at a Riviera hotel, from Gilbert, a dishonest, shyster travel agent. On the ship, they are dismayed to be assigned bunk beds in separate, crowded rooms with many teenagers, and endure an emergency drill; there is little privacy. On arrival in Paris, Jenny leaves her husband with the school tour group, traveling alone to the bogus address shown as their Riviera hotel, hundreds of miles away. When she arrives at the luxious mansion, she acts like she owns the place. She is puzzled to find it is instead a private home owned by a wealthy lawyer, Phillipe Maspere, who is equally puzzled at her arrival. Jenny is unable to contact the phony travel agent. Nevertheless, Phillipe, who is attracted to her, offers her an extended stay there at a reasonable price with just him and his manservant/ butler. Phillipe turns out to be a notorious womanizer who tries to seduce Jenny at a wild poolside party, unsuccessfully. Grif, meanwhile, becomes friendly with an attractive chaperone with the American student group in Paris. When he indirectly learns of his wife Jenny's situation (by seeing a picture in a newspaper), he panics and impulsively drives cross-country alone at night, on a stolen school bus to get her. When Grif arrives, seeing Jenny in the pool with the Frenchman, he punches him. Storming off in the bus she follows on the back of the butler's tricycle. She catches up with Grif but, as they head back to the tour group's hotel, they are stopped by Italian patrolmen, since the bus was reported stolen. Jenny is placed in a jail cell with prostitutes, who are then all bailed out by their pimp and taken to a very fine hotel. Jenny is shocked to see her son at the brothel. The family is eventually reunited and they return home.

Cast

as "Grif" *

as Jenny *

Maurice Ronet Maurice Ronet (13 April 1927 – 14 March 1983) was a French film actor, director, and writer. Early life Maurice Ronet was born Maurice Julien Marie Robinet in Nice, Alpes Maritimes. He was the only child of professional stage actors Émile Rob ...

as Phillipe * Alexandra Hay as Gloria *

as Gilbert *

as the Purser *

Donald Losby Donald A. Losby, Jr (born May 26, 1951 in San Francisco, California) is an American actor, known primarily for his many character roles in popular television during the 1950s and 1960s in programs such as ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'', ' ...

as Davey *

Hilary Thompson Hilary Thompson ( "Hilarie" Thompson) is an American actress, known primarily for her character roles in popular television throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Early years Born in Birmingham, Michigan, Thompson is the daughter of Elizabet ...

as "Bootsie" *

Marcel Dalio Marcel Dalio (born Marcel Benoit Blauschild; 23 November 1899 in Paris – 18 November 1983) was a French movie actor. He had major roles in two films directed by Jean Renoir, '' La Grande Illusion'' (1937) and '' The Rules of the Game'' (1939) ...

as Louis * Gino Conforti as Agatzi *

Vito Scotti Vito Giusto Scozzari (January 26, 1918 – June 5, 1996), also known as Vito Scotti, was an American character actor who played both dramatic and comedy roles on Broadway, in films, and later on television, primarily from the late 1930s to the ...

as The Chef *

Don Diamond Donald Alan Diamond (June 4, 1921 – June 19, 2011) was an American radio, film, and television actor who portrayed "Crazy Cat", the sidekick and heir apparent to Chief Wild Eagle on the popular 1960s television sitcom, ''F Troop'' (1965–19 ...

as The Bartender *

Penny Marshall Carole Penny MarshallBorn Carole Penny Marshall in 1943, as per ''My Mother Was Nuts, a Memoir'', p. 10; . Copyright 2012 (October 15, 1943 – December 17, 2018) was an American actress, director and producer. She is known for her role as ...

as School Girl *

Erin Moran Erin Marie Moran-Fleischmann (October 18, 1960 – April 22, 2017) was an American actress, best known for playing Joanie Cunningham on the television sitcom ''Happy Days'' and its spin-off ''Joanie Loves Chachi''. Early life Erin Marie ...

as Little Girl At Phone Booth *

Walter Brooke Walter Brooke (born Gustav William Tweer Jr., October 23, 1914 – August 20, 1986) was an American actor. Career Brooke's film career stretched from '' You're in the Army Now'' (1941 to '' Jagged Edge'' (1985). One of his best-remembered roles ...

as Haskell *

Elena Verdugo Elena Angela Verdugo (April 20, 1925 – May 30, 2017) was an American actress who began in films at the age of five in '' Cavalier of the West'' (1931). Her career in radio, television and film spanned six decades. Early life Elena Angela V ...

as Vera *

Ann Morgan Guilbert Ann Morgan Guilbert (October 16, 1928 – June 14, 2016), sometimes credited as Ann Guilbert, was an American television and film actress and comedian who portrayed a number of roles from the 1950s on, most notably as Millie Helper in 61 episode ...

as Bibi

Production and release

''How Sweet It Is!'' was the first production for National General Pictures. The title is taken from a television catchphrase popularized in the 1950s by comedian

Jackie Gleason John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...

. Garner wrote in his memoirs that he "loved Debbie Reynolds. Loved Paul Lynde. Loved Terry Thomas. Hated the movie." Upon its release in August 1968, the film received a mixed response with critics and audiences. According to Howard Thompson of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', "This tired, aimlessly frisky comedy ... is about as sweet as a dill pickle."

References

External links

* * * {{Garry Marshall 1968 films 1960s sex comedy films American sex comedy films 1960s English-language films Films scored by Patrick Williams Films based on American novels Films set in Paris Films with screenplays by Jerry Belson Films directed by Jerry Paris 1968 comedy films 1960s American films

Plot

Cast

Production and release

See also

References

External links