17 May 2008

Thoughts on The Tender Trap

Watched The Tender Trap on Turner Classic Movies the other night.

It's from 1955 but I still feel compelled to say: *Spoiler alert!* As if, maybe, you're privately working your way through the TCM comprehensive list of films, which you've decided is preferable to just watching TCM, and are just about to get to this one. It's in your Netflix queue, I know. Seriously, if you're thinking you might ever see this film and somehow can't divine what's going to happen by looking at the movie poster there on the left, um, don't read this post. And don't operate heavy machinery. Really. Sit down.

It stars Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, Celeste Holm, David Wayne and TCM gives it a 3-star rating, so it has to be pretty good, right? Weeeeeeeeeeellll, ... Okay, I've see worse. It was mildly amusing. But it's no Pillow Talk.

A couple thoughts:

  • Frank Sinatra's character, a swinging bachelor who is constantly pursued by women, ultimately struggles between two of the many: Sylvia (Holm) and Julie (Reynolds). What we learn about Sylvia: he's know her a long time and she's a great and supportive friend as well as an accommodating girlfriend. She's attractive, intelligent, articulate, talented and self-supporting: she plays violin, as the only woman in the NBC orchestra. That's right, she's on television every week. What we know about Julie: she wants to get married. That's it. That's all she cares about. Marriage first, everything else a distant second. Guess which one Romeo picks to marry? I'll give you a hint: it's 1955.
  • Martini glasses in 1955 were teeny.
  • Frank Sinatra was really quite skinny. Where did the heartthrob thing come from?
  • What did Debbie Reynolds have? A 16" waist? Maybe 15"?? Did she just sometimes fold in on herself like a mobius strip?

3 comments:

Kristin said...

Ah, TCM. I love the classics. Debbie Reynolds definitely grew into her image (I loved her in Queer as Folk) but she was TINY in 1955.

Anonymous said...

Ah, the 1950s. Sweet, weren't they? On the one hand, movies like this are a lovely anthropological glimpse at the past. OTOH, they make me want to gnash my teeth and laugh out loud in equal parts.

lacochran said...

Kristin: Alas, I don't have Showtime, but, on a queer tangent, I enjoyed her as Grace Adler's mom in Will & Grace. And its true, she no longer had that TINY waist.

J.M.: EXACTLY! Seems like life was so much simpler... and dumber...