''The Birds and the Bees'' is a 1956 screwball comedy film with songs, starring

George Gobel George Leslie Goebel (May 20, 1919 – February 24, 1991) was an American humorist, actor, and comedian. He was best known as the star of his own weekly comedy variety television series, ''The George Gobel Show'', broadcasting from 1954 to 195 ...

Mitzi Gaynor Mitzi Gaynor (born Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber; September 4, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Her notable films include '' We're Not Married!'' (1952), '' There's No Business Like Show Business'' (1954), '' The Birds ...

and

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in '' Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...

. A remake of

Preston Sturges Preston Sturges (; born Edmund Preston Biden; August 29, 1898 – August 6, 1959) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and film director. In 1941, he won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the film '' The Great McGinty'' (1940), h ...

' 1941 film ''

The Lady Eve ''The Lady Eve'' is a 1941 American screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda.Norman Taurog Norman Rae Taurog (February 23, 1899 – April 7, 1981) was an American film director and screenwriter. From 1920 to 1968, Taurog directed 180 films. At the age of 32, he received the Academy Award for Best Director for '' Skippy'' (1931). He i ...

and written by

Sidney Sheldon Sidney Sheldon (February 11, 1917 – January 30, 2007) was an American writer. He was prominent in the 1930s, first working on Broadway plays, and then in motion pictures, notably writing the successful comedy '' The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxe ...

. The costumes for the film were designed by

Edith Head Edith Head (October 28, 1897 – October 24, 1981) was an American costume designer who won a record eight Academy Awards for Best Costume Design between 1949 and 1973, making her the most awarded woman in the Academy's history. Head is cons ...

Plot

George "Hotsy" Hamilton (

), a very eligible but naive vegetarian heir to a meat-packing fortune, returns home to Connecticut by luxury cruise ship, accompanied by Marty Kennedy (

Harry Bellaver Harry Bellaver (born Enricho Bellaver; February 12, 1905 – August 8, 1993) was an American stage, film and television actor who appeared in many roles from the 1930s through the 1980s. Early years Bellaver was born in Hillsboro, Illinois, the ...

), his valet, guardian and best friend, after spending three years together on a scientific expedition in the Belgian Congo looking for a rare snake. On board, the woman-shy George attracts a lot of attention from the opposite sex, despite being the consummate milquetoast, but the one he cannot avoid is Jean Harris (

), a beautiful con artist travelling with her equally larcenous father, Colonel Patrick Henry "Handsome Harry" Harris (

), and his partner-in-crime Gerald ( Reginald Gardiner). The three con artists are out to fleece George of a small fortune, but even the best-laid plans can go astray. First, Jean falls hard for George and shields him from her card sharp father. Then, when Marty discovers the truth about her and her father and tells George about them, he dumps her. Furious at being scorned, she re-enters his life masquerading as the posh "Countess Louise", the cousin of "Jacques Duc de Montaigne" (

Hans Conreid Hans Georg Conried Jr. (April 15, 1917 – January 5, 1982) was an American actor and comedian. He was known for providing the voices of George Darling (Peter Pan character), George Darling and Captain Hook in Walt Disney's ''Peter Pan (1953 film ...

), who is actually Frenchie, another con man who is swindling the rich folks of Connecticut. Jean is determined to get back at George, so she sets out to seduce him, again. George's domineering father ( Fred Clark) throws a party in honor of the visiting French royalty, and George is completely taken in by Jean's masquerade. Soon her hapless victim is so confused and bothered he does not know which way is up, but, in the end, after all the twists and turns, deceptions and lies, true love wins out.

Cast

as George "Hotsy" Hamilton II *

as Jean Harris aka Countess Louise *

as Colonel Patrick Henry Harris * Reginald Gardiner as Gerald * Fred Clark as Horace Hamilton *

as Marty Kennedy *

Hans Conried Hans Georg Conried Jr. (April 15, 1917 – January 5, 1982) was an American actor and comedian. He was known for providing the voices of George Darling and Captain Hook in Walt Disney's ''Peter Pan'' (1953), Snidely Whiplash in Jay Ward's '' Dud ...

as Duc Jacques de Montaigne *

Margery Maude Margery Kathleen Maude (April 29, 1889 – August 7, 1979) was an English actress of stage, screen and television. Early life Margery Maude was born in Wimbledon, London, the elder daughter of the actors Cyril and Winifred (née Emery) Maude. ...

as Mrs. Hamilton *

Clinton Sundberg Clinton Charles Sundberg (December 7, 1903 (some sources say 1906) – December 14, 1987) was an American character actor in film and stage. Early years Sundberg was born in Appleton, Minnesota. He graduated from Hamline University in St. Pau ...

as Purser * Milton Frome as Assistant Butler *Rex Evans as Burrows - Butler *

King Donovan King Donovan (January 25, 1918 – June 30, 1987) was an American film, stage, and television actor, as well as a film and television director. Early years Francis King Donovan was born in Manhattan on January 25, 1918. His parents were vaudev ...

as Waiter * Mary Treen as Mrs. Burnside * Charles Lane as Charlie Jenkins - Bartender

Songs

The songs in ''The Birds and the Bees'' were written by

Harry Warren Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...

(music) and

Mack David Mack David (July 5, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning the period between the early 1940s and the early 1970s. David was credited with writing ...

(lyrics): *" (The Same Thing Happens with) The Birds And The Bees" – performed by George Goebel and Mitzi Gaynor *"La Parisienne" – sung by Mitzi Gaynor Two other songs were written for the film but not used: *"Each Time I Dream" – by Harry Warren (music) and Mack David (lyrics) *"The Songs I Sing" – by

Walter Scharf Walter Scharf (August 1, 1910 – February 24, 2003) was an American musician, best known as a film, television and concert composer and arranger/conductor. Biography Broadway theatre Born in Manhattan, he was the son of Yiddish theatre comic B ...

(music) and Don Hartman (lyrics)TC
Notes
/ref> "(The Same Thing Happens with) The Birds And The Bees" has been recorded by a number of singers, including

Barbara Lyon Barbara Bebe Lyon (September 9, 1931 – July 10, 1995) was a singer of popular songs and actress, born in the United States but primarily active in the United Kingdom. Life and career She was born in Hollywood, California. Her parents, Ben Ly ...

Alan Dale Alan Hugh Dale (born 6 May 1947) is a New Zealand actor. As a child, Dale enjoyed theatre and rugby. After retiring from the sport, he took on a number of occupations, before deciding to become a professional actor at age 27. Dale subsequent ...

and Alma Cogan. Cogan had a #25 hit with this song in the UK in 1956, credited as "The Birds and the Bees". The full title distinguishes the song from

Jewel Akens Jewel Eugene Akens (September 12, 1933 – March 1, 2013) was an American singer and record producer. Career He recorded with The Medallions on Dootone, with The Four Dots on Freedom, and then with singer Eddie Daniels as "Jewel and Eddie" on t ...

' later song " The Birds and the Bees", which in 1965 was a #3 hit in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Production

At the time ''The Birds and the Bees'' went into production, "Lonesome" George Gobel had the highest rated television show on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

, which had been running since

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

, but he had not yet appeared in a film. This remake of ''

The Lady Eve ''The Lady Eve'' is a 1941 American screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda.

, third-billed under Gobel and Gaynor for this film, starred in the epic smash hit ''

Around the World in Eighty Days ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' (french: link=no, Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours) is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employe ...

'' later that same year. The film was in production from mid July to 22 April 1955, and opened with a series of invitational premieres in thirty-two key cities across the United States on 20 March 1956, followed by a New York City premiere on 22 April and a general release in May.IMD
Release dates
/ref>

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Birds And The Bees, The (Film) 1956 films 1956 musical comedy films 1950s screwball comedy films American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films American screwball comedy films Comedy of remarriage films 1950s English-language films Remakes of American films Films about con artists Films based on works by Monckton Hoffe Films based on works by Preston Sturges Films directed by Norman Taurog Films scored by Walter Scharf Paramount Pictures films 1950s American films