Kiss Me, Stupid (1964)

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Anna Bonacci (play)
I.A.L. Diamond (writer)

Release Date:

25 December 1964 (Finland)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

A jealous piano teacher Orville Spooner sends his beautiful wife, Zelda, away for the night while he tries to sell a song to a famous nightclub singer Dino, who is stranded in town.

Plot Keywords:

Piano | Singer | Piano Teacher | Nightclub | Gas Station

Cast

Dean Martin	...	Dino
Kim Novak	...	Polly the Pistol
Ray Walston	...	Orville Jeremiah Spooner
Felicia Farr	...	Zelda Spooner
Cliff Osmond	...	Barney
Barbara Pepper	...	Big Bertha
Skip Ward	...	Milkman (as James Ward)
Doro Merande	...	Mrs. Pettibone
Bobo Lewis	...	Waitress
Tom Nolan	...	Johnnie Mulligan (as Tommy Nolan)
Alice Pearce	...	Mrs. Mulligan
John Fiedler	...	Reverend Carruthers
Arlen Stuart	...	Rosalie Schultz
Howard McNear	...	Mr. Pettibone
Cliff Norton	...	Mack Gray

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (original rating) | USA:GP (re-rating) (1970) | USA:PG-13 (re-rating) (1994) | West Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Aquarius Theatre - 6239 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Mirisch Corporation, The

Trivia:

The role of Zelda was originally written for Marilyn Monroe.

Quotes:

Mack Gray: [congratulating Dino for his act] Great, Dino, you were great. They were rolling in the aisles.
Dino: Why didn't somebody take the dice away?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Unknown Peter Sellers (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Sophia

Unjustly Maligned-Not Great but Far From a Disaster

Billy Wilder's career as a hitmaker ended with this for-its-time smutty sex comedy, yet it shows all of the flaws and strengths that once made him one of Hollywood's top directors and, for all its sexual innuendo, is really a very sweet film. Although Ray Walston is terribly miscast as small-town songwriter Orville J. Spooner, who hires a local prostitute (Kim Novak) to impersonate his wife (Felicia Farr) so he can use her to sell singing star Dino (Dean Martin) his songs, the other three stars are dynamite. Farr displays a crack sense of comic timing. Martin, one of Hollywood's most underrated actors, is dead on in a parody of his own image. And Novak gives the performance of her career as the romantic small-town slut trying to earn enough money to get her trailer out of the desert.

As with most of Wilder's films, all the cynicism and sex play mask a romantic heart: Polly and Orville begin to believe in her masquerade as his wife, until he kicks Dino out to protect her honor. The two develop a genuine affection for each other that transcends their brief sexual encounter.

At the time of its release, it was a major scandal, condemned by the Legion of Decency and disowned by United Artists. Now, it seems less shocking and ranks among the second tier of Billy Wilder's work. It's hardly as good as "Some Like It Hot" or "Sunset Boulevard," but never descends to the shoddiness of "The Front Page."