''Looking for Love'' is a 1964 romantic musical-comedy film starring popular singer

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero ( ; born December 12, 1937), known as Connie Francis, is a retired American Pop music, pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more th ...

Plot

Francis plays Libby Caruso, who has spent a whole month trying to get into show business with her singing, yet hasn't succeeded. Libby then decides to retire and get a job where she can meet the right man and get married. She is interested in pursuing Paul Davis (

Jim Hutton Dana Scott James Hutton (May 31, 1934 – June 2, 1979) was an American actor in film and television best remembered for his role as Ellery Queen in the 1970s TV series of the same name, and his screen partnership with Paula Prentiss in four ...

), whom she meets in the supermarket, but Paul is not interested. Libby later creates a clothes stand she calls the "Lady Valet". This product interests Paul who wants to promote it. Paul gets Libby on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...

'' to push her products. When Libby mentions that she was formerly a singer, Carson asks her to sing. Libby's singing career takes off, and Paul then becomes interested in Libby. Libby then changes her mind and falls for a young grocer (

Joby Baker Joseph N. "Joby" Baker (born March 26, 1934) is a Canadian actor and painter, long based in the United States. Career Baker was born in Montreal, Quebec. An early role in his career was in a 1958 episode of ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Sh ...

). Paul then decides to pursue Libby's roommate, Jan (

Susan Oliver Susan Oliver (born Charlotte Gercke, February 13, 1932 – May 10, 1990) was an American actress, television director, aviator, and author. Career Early years Oliver did numerous television shows in 1957, and appeared on stage. She began ...

Cast

as Libby Caruso *

as Paul Davis *

as Jan McNair *

as Cuz Rickover *

Barbara Nichols Barbara Marie Nickerauer (December 10, 1928 – October 5, 1976), known professionally as Barbara Nichols, was an American actress who often played brassy or comic roles in films in the 1950s and 1960s. Early life and career Nichols was ...

as Gaye Swinger *

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...

as Johnny Carson * George Hamilton as George Hamilton *

Yvette Mimieux Yvette Carmen Mimieux (January 8, 1942 – January 18, 2022) was an American film and television actress who was a major star of the 1960s and 1970s. Her breakout role was in ''The Time Machine'' (1960). She was nominated for three Golden Globe ...

as Yvette Mimieux *

Paula Prentiss Paula Prentiss (née Ragusa; born March 4, 1938) is an American actress. She is best known for her film roles in '' Where the Boys Are'' (1960), '' Man's Favorite Sport?'' (1964), '' What's New Pussycat?'' (1965), '' Catch-22'' (1970), '' The Par ...

as Paula Prentiss *

Danny Thomas Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz, (born January 6, 1912 – February 6, 1991) known professionally as Danny Thomas, was an American comedian, actor, singer, producer, and philanthropist. He created and starred in ''The Danny Thomas Show''. In additio ...

as Danny Thomas *

Jay C. Flippen John Constantine Flippen Jr. (J.C. or Jay C.) (March 6, 1899 – February 3, 1971) was an American character actor who often played crusty sergeants, police officers or weary criminals in many 1940s and 1950s pictures, particularly in film noir ...

as Ralph Front * Jesse White as Tiger Shay * Charles Lane as Director *

Joan Marshall Joan Marshall (born Joan Schrepferman; June 6, 1931 – June 28, 1992) was an American film and television actress. She is best known for her appearances in ''The Twilight Zone's'' " Dead Man's Shoes", and ''Star Trek's'' "Court Martial" alo ...

as Miss Devine Much of the supporting cast is from Francis' first screen role, ''

Where the Boys Are ''Where the Boys Are'' is a 1960 American CinemaScope comedy film directed by Henry Levin and starring Connie Francis, Dolores Hart, Paula Prentiss, George Hamilton, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Hutton, and Frank Gorshin. It was written by George ...

'' (1960). A few celebrity cameos also appear, including

, George Hamilton and

. This film was

's first film cameo, p. 181 and his movie debut.

Reception

Johnny Carson used to joke that ''Looking for Love'' was so bad it was transferred to flammable nitrate film stock. In 1987,

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune'' who co-hosted a movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert. Siskel started writing for the '' ...

and

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

appeared on ''The Tonight Show'' and brought along an alleged clip from their movie review program, in which they reviewed Carson's performance in ''Looking For Love''. Gene slammed Johnny's acting, while Roger gave it a "thumbs up"—after which he admitted that he had been given a million dollars and other prizes for a positive review. Francis was meant to make a follow-up movie, ''Pizza for Breakfast'', but it was never filmed.

Home media

''Looking for Love'' was released to DVD by Warner Home Video on September 12, 2011 via its Warner Archive DVD-on-demand service available from online retailers.

References

External links