ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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One of my fondest memories from those Saturday nights with my family in the 1960s as we watched NBC's Saturday Night at the Movies was this great comedy.

Tom Ewell's performance as an extremely imaginative man who yearns for greatness in a mundane world is absolutely inspired. His flights of fancy -- in which he lives a Walter Mitty existence -- are hilarious. In one scene he imagines his sexy secretary throwing herself at him (and throwing him onto his desk). The lovely lady was played by Marguerite Chapman from "Flight to Mars"!

In that movie, she didn't need to have a breeze blow her dress up, it was permanently thigh-high!





One of the aspects of the story I love the most is something that differs dramatically from the stage play. In the original stage play (also starring Tom Ewell) he and "the blond" actually do have sex. But the Hays office censors wouldn't allow that in 1955, so the entire flavor of the plot was transformed by this change in the story.

Ewell's character is portrayed as a man who yearns to be dashing and desirable — not as a horny guy who just wants to get laid!

As a result, the movie becomes a tale of basic human insecurity and the desire to be appreciated. Everybody on the planet can identify with Ewell's need to maintain a positive self image and to earn the respect of the people around him.

But please don't get me wrong. Ewell reacts to Marilyn like any male would — but he isn't really trying to seduce her. In fact, in the "air conditioner scene" (those of you familiar with the film know what scene I mean), Marilyn asks Tom if she can spend the night with him — and Tom suddenly gets nervous and starts making excuses!





Then Marilyn explains that she wants to sleep in his living room because Tom's apartment has air conditioning, and her apartment does not!

Tom is instantly relieved.

The fact that Marilyn is never named at any point in the story is consistent with a wild idea I've had for years about her character. Consider this:

She's insanely beautiful, but she doesn't consciously flirt or tease. Her basic nature is that of complete trust and open friendliness.

She talks about how men are constantly proposing to her — not how men are constantly trying to have sex with her. So, she inspires feelings of love, not just lust.

She accepts Ewell is a good man, and in the concluding scene she speaks from the heart about how women are drawn to sensitive, caring men like him — the very thing Tom yearns for.

In doing so, she soothes his troubled emotions and bolsters his self-image tremendously — effectively making him a much happier man.

And lastly, there's one more subtle clue as to Marilyn's true nature. She wears a lovely dress of pure white in her most famous scene — almost like she's the sexiest angel God ever made.

Conclusion: She's the sexiest angel God ever made!

She was sent to Earth to help George Bailey — oops, I mean, Richard Sherman — so he'll realize what A Wonderful Life he has!

I realize the producers of this movie made it the way they did because the Hays Code wouldn't let them portray Marilyn's character as a gorgeous sexpot whom the lonely married man bangs while his family is out of town. So, all this angel talk of mine is just based on a happy accident that resulted from the unwanted censorship that was imposed on the filmmakers.

But The Seven Year Itch is a much better movie if it's viewed in this manner — with Marilyn being heavenly in more ways than one, and Tom being noble in every way possible.

Anybody agree?

On a more lecherous note, I don't know how many photos were taken of sweet Miss Monroe with her dress blowing up, but I think this one is the sexiest.

I mean, like . . . damn . . .


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However, this one is mighty nice too, with Marilyn's dress rising up on both side to form . . . angel's wings?

My goodness. What a wonderful coincidence.


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Gentlemen, I rest my case.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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A great trailer for a great movie. Watch this . . . and then try to resist the urge to watch the movie.

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Custer]

Yes, I see what you mean about those angel wings. I definitely need to watch more Marilyn movies!

[Bud Brewster]

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"TCM Backstory" does wonderful "Making of . . . " documentaries like this one.

Enjoy the documentary!
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The Making Of "THE 7 YEAR ITCH" and "BUS STOP"


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Krel.]

Bud, it might not have been Fox that caused the changes. That was the era of the Hay's Office, the Motion Picture Production Code which DEFINITELY wouldn't have allowed any infidelity on Tom Ewell's character's part, no matter what the studio wanted.

I'm surprised that you didn't mention that his Son was wearing a "Space Patrol" helmet when he left.

David.

[Bud Brewster]

[Krel]

[Bud Brewster]

[Bud Brewster]

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IMDB has 58 trivia items for this movie. Here’s a few of the ones I found the most interesting, in the blue text.
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~ Billy Wilder preferred shooting in black and white, but Marilyn Monroe's contract with Fox called for all of her movies to be shot in color. Monroe always thought that she looked far more attractive and glamorous in color than in black and white.

Note from me: Wilder was nuts. Fox was right. Bud can prove it.







I rest my case . . .

~ According to George Axelrod, the reason The Girl has no name is because neither he nor Billy Wilder could think of one.

Note from me: As I state above, Marilyn was an "angel", which is why she had no name.

~ Not without a distinct ring of irony, the nine-month Marilyn Monroe-Joe DiMaggio marriage officially ended during this shoot. DiMaggio was furious about the filming of the scene where his wife's dress blows up, and the next day, Monroe reportedly required make-up to cover up bruises from the ensuing domestic fight. Three weeks later, she filed for divorce.

Note from me: He HIT her! Just because she let her legs show! Jeez, what an asshole!

~ In the 1970s Billy Wilder called the movie "a nothing picture because the picture should be done today without censorship . . . Unless the husband, left alone in New York while the wife and kid are away for the summer, has an affair with that girl there's nothing. But you couldn't do that in those days, so I was just straitjacketed. It just didn't come off one bit, and there's nothing I can say about it except I wish I hadn't made it. I wish I had the property now."

Note from me: If this movie had followed the play it was based on, it would would have end up as tacky as Kiss Me, Stupid (1964), the drab little movie with Dean Martin and Kim Novak. Instead, it's wonderful movie about a husband who loves his wife and son so much he isn't resist his urges and shows what a noble guy he is.

~ After seeing Walter Matthau's screen-test performance in the part of Richard Sherman, Billy Wilder believed he had found his leading man. However, 20th Century-Fox was unwilling to take the risk on a newcomer. That's when Wilder next turned his sights on the actor who had originated the role on Broadway, Tom Ewell -- who is inexplicably billed as "Tommy Ewell" in the opening credits.

Note from me: I'm a big Walter Matthau fan. His performance in A Guide for the Married Man delivers the same noble message as this movie about me resisting their sexual urges and remaining faithful to their wive.

But Walter would NOT have been as good as Tom in this role. Period.

~ Marilyn Monroe's lifelong bouts with depression and self-destruction took their toll during filming; she frequently muffed scenes and forgot her lines, leading to sometimes as many as 40 takes of a scene before a satisfactory result was produced.

Note from me: And yet when we watch this movie it seems like Marilyn's performance was flawless. Wow . . . Hollywood magic.

~ Adapted from the Broadway play by George Axelrod starring Tom Ewell and Vanessa Brown. When the project moved from Paramount to 20th Century-Fox, Brown was replaced by Marilyn Monroe. Due to the Hays Code, not only was most of the racy dialogue omitted, over the objections of Axelrod and Billy Wilder, Sherman's romance with The Girl became a product of his imagination.

Note from me: And thus the movie was transformed form a sleaxy sex comedy to a beautiful story about what it's like to be an insecure man and a devoted husband in a world of beautiful women.

Okay, so was NOT intentional . . . but it still works like a charm.

~ The film was banned in Ireland due to the fact it was "indecent and unfit for general exhibition."

Note from me: Boy, did THOSE guys miss the point!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)