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''If a Man Answers'' is a 1962 American
romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...
film directed by Henry Levin and stars then real-life husband-and-wife
Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who performed Pop music, pop, Swing music, swing, Folk music, folk, rock and roll, and country music. Darin started ...
and
Sandra Dee Sandra Dee (born Alexandra Zuck; April 23, 1942 – February 20, 2005) was an American actress. Dee began her career as a child model, working first in commercials and then film in her teenage years. Best known for her portrayal of ingénues ...
. It was produced by Ross Hunter Productions, Inc, shot in Eastman color, and distributed by
Universal-International Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American film production and distribution company headquartered at the Universal Studios complex in Universal City, ...
. The screenplay was written by Richard Morris from a novel by Winifred Wolfe.


Plot

Chantal Stacy is a very cute girl who is the daughter of Germaine Stacy, a former French showgirl, and John Stacy, a conservative
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
antiques dealer, who met in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. Chantal was the product of their "soufflé-and-beans romance." Her father worries about her French side leading her into pregnancy before her Boston side finds a husband; a foghorn sounds every time a man gets too close to her. Her father gets a promotion and the family moves to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Chantal gets picked up on Fifth Avenue by Eugene "Gene" Wright, a photographer who invites her to model for him. During Chantal's first shoot, her father shows up to the set, punches Gene, after seeing the skimpy outfit Chantal is modeling in, and takes his daughter home. Chantal admits to her mother that she likes Gene and wants to continue modeling for him without John's interference; with her mother's advice, she marries Gene. However, now that she is his wife, Gene refuses to let Chantal model, effectively making her a housewife. Shortly after their marriage, Chantal's college friend Tina arrives in New York. A spoiled rich girl, she goes after Gene, and he responds positively to Tina's flirting tactics, making Chantal start to become nervous about her marriage. When Chantal is at a loss, her mother gives her a book on "How To Train Man's Best Friend" and advises Chantal that many men aren't treated as well as pets. She begins to use the dog-training techniques from the book on her husband and to her delight, the results are astounding. Germaine later explains that the book was not really for Chantel to train her husband to obey her like a dog but rather, it has been teaching her how to live with her husband. Tina continues to stir up trouble, by admitting in a drunken stupor that she is desperately lonely and envious of Chantal's marriage and telling Gene about the dog-training book. In response, Chantal's mother suggests another trick she used to keep her father interested: taking a lover. Chantal is shocked at first, but Germaine says that her lover, "Robert Swan," was only imaginary. She kept up the act by sending herself flowers and having her girlfriends call and hang up "if a man answers" the phone, resulting in making her husband jealous. All of this is confirmed when the girls ask John about his accounts. Before Chantal leaves to go home to try out these techniques, her mother tells her that whenever Gene confronts her, she needs to respond honestly; this would make him wonder if his wife is really telling the truth about having an affair (despite being told all about the trick, John still genuinely wonders if Robert Swan exists). All of this seems to work, after Chantal periodically sends herself two-dozen white roses and has her mom call in and click the receiver when Gene picks up the phone. Eventually, Gene goes to the florist to track down Robert Swan. Chantel goes to explain the entire situation, but Gene still pleads with her to end her affair, making her wonder why her mother's old tactics did not turn out as planned. To add to her confusion, Gene actually invites a "Robert Swan" to dinner and then asks him to move in and share Chantal in a
polyandrous Polyandry (; ) is a form of polygamy in which a woman takes two or more husbands at the same time. Polyandry is contrasted with polygyny, involving one male and two or more females. If a marriage involves a plural number of "husbands and wives ...
relationship. Chantal, in disbelief, phones her mother about the situation. Shocked, Chantal's mother and father come over to meet the fantasy man that has been sprung to life. Her father's suspicions that Robert Swan is a living person all the more real. After snooping around Swan's luggage and some thought, Chantal realizes Swan is actually Gene's father, Adam Wright, acting the role of her (and her mother's former) lover. She and her mother decide to play along, turning the tables on the men for a few moments. Germaine finds out from John that he, Gene, and Adam were all in on the "Swan" act from the very beginning, to which she "admits defeat" and commends her husband for "being loyal to his sex." In the end, they all reconcile, and it is revealed that Chantal is pregnant, just as Chantal's mother suspected.


Cast

*
Sandra Dee Sandra Dee (born Alexandra Zuck; April 23, 1942 – February 20, 2005) was an American actress. Dee began her career as a child model, working first in commercials and then film in her teenage years. Best known for her portrayal of ingénues ...
as Chantal "Chouchou/Charlotte/Charlie" Stacy *
Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who performed Pop music, pop, Swing music, swing, Folk music, folk, rock and roll, and country music. Darin started ...
as Eugene "Gene" Wright *
Micheline Presle Micheline Presle (; born Micheline Nicole Julia Émilienne Chassagne; 22 August 1922 – 21 February 2024) was a French actress. She was sometimes billed as Micheline Prelle. Starting her career in 1937, she starred or appeared in over 150 films ...
as Germaine Stacy * John Lund as John Stacy *
Cesar Romero César Julio Romero Jr. (February 15, 1907 – January 1, 1994) was an American actor. He was active in film, radio, and television for almost 60 years. His wide range of screen roles included Latin lover (stereotype), Latin lovers, historical ...
as Robert Swan/Adam Wright *
Stefanie Powers Stefanie Powers (born November 2, 1942) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Jennifer Hart on the mystery television series ''Hart to Hart'' (1979–1984), for which she received nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards an ...
as Tina *Christopher Knight as Richard *Ted Thorpe as the florist *Roger Bacon as Messenger *
John Bleifer John Melvin Bleifer (July 26, 1901 – January 24, 1992) was an American actor whose career began at the end of the silent film era, and lasted through the mid-1980s. He appeared in feature films and film serials, and in a number of televis ...
as Mr. Riordan, the Tobacconist *Pamela Searle as Model *Warrene Ott as Rita *Dani Lynn as Bunny *Charlene Holt as Lisa, Model *Gloria Camacho as Model *Edmay Van Dyke as Model *Rosalee Calvert as Model The role of the Model was played by real-life beauty queen Pamela Searle. In 1959 she was crowned Miss. England, and later came in third in the
Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...
contest.


Production

The film was based on a novel by Winifred Wolfe published in 1961. The ''New York Times'' called it "too cute to be clever." Film rights were bought by Universal. In March 1961, producer Ross Hunter assigned Richard Morris to write the script. Morris had never written a script before and was best known for doing the lyrics on ''The Unsinkable Molly Brown''. In August 1961, Hunter announced the film would star Nancy Kwan,
Claudette Colbert Claudette Colbert (koʊlˈbɛər/ kohl-BAIR, born Émilie "Lily" Claudette Chauchoin (ʃoʃwɛ̃/ show-shwan); September 13, 1903 – July 30, 1996) was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway theater, Broadway productions dur ...
and
David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was an English actor, soldier, raconteur, memoirist and novelist. Niven was known as a handsome and debonair leading man in Classic Hollywood films. His accolades include an Academ ...
. In October,
Tammy Grimes Tammy Lee Grimes (January 30, 1934 – October 30, 2016) was an American film and stage actress and singer. Grimes won two Tony Awards in her career, the first for originating the role of Molly Tobin in the musical '' The Unsinkable Molly Brow ...
was being discussed for the star. However, the lead role eventually went to Sandra Dee who made it after the birth of her child. By December, Dee's co star was Bobby Darin.


Reception

Philip K. Scheuer criticized the score in a review for the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
''. A. H. Weiler, in a review for the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', stated, "''If a Man Answers'' is an airy antic that would not hurt a dog but appears to be fashioned for the young in mind as well as the young in heart."


Awards

This comedy was nominated for a
Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...
for Best Motion Picture (Comedy) and Best Supporting Actor (
Cesar Romero César Julio Romero Jr. (February 15, 1907 – January 1, 1994) was an American actor. He was active in film, radio, and television for almost 60 years. His wide range of screen roles included Latin lover (stereotype), Latin lovers, historical ...
). It was also nominated for a Golden Laurel for Top Female Comedy Performance (Sandra Dee).


Home media availability

Universal first released the film on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
on August 3, 2004. It was re-released on February 7, 2017, as part of Universal's ''4-Movie Laugh Pack'' DVD series, being packaged with 3 other films starring
Sandra Dee Sandra Dee (born Alexandra Zuck; April 23, 1942 – February 20, 2005) was an American actress. Dee began her career as a child model, working first in commercials and then film in her teenage years. Best known for her portrayal of ingénues ...
('' That Funny Feeling'', '' Tammy Tell Me True'', and '' Tammy and the Doctor'').


References


External links

* *
If a Man Answers
at
Yahoo! Movies Yahoo! Movies (formerly Upcoming Movies), provided by the Yahoo! network, was home to a large collection of information on movies, past and new releases, trailers and clips, box office information, and showtimes and movie theater information. Ya ...
*Based upon the book: {{Ross Hunter 1962 films 1962 romantic comedy films American romantic comedy films Films based on American novels Films directed by Henry Levin Films produced by Ross Hunter Films set in New York City Universal Pictures films Films scored by Hans J. Salter 1960s English-language films 1960s American films English-language romantic comedy films