The Facts of Life (film)
The Facts of Life is a 1960 romantic comedy starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball as married people who have an affair. Written, directed and produced by longtime Hope associates Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, the film is more serious than many other contemporary Hope vehicles. The film features an opening animated title sequence created by Saul Bass.
| The Facts of Life | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Melvin Frank Norman Panama |
| Screenplay by | Norman Panama |
| Story by | Melvin Frank |
| Produced by | Melvin Frank Norman Panama |
| Starring | Bob Hope Lucille Ball |
| Cinematography | Charles Lang |
| Edited by | Frank Bracht |
| Music by | Leigh Harline Johnny Mercer |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
|
Running time | 103 minutes |
| Language | English |
The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one for Best Costume Design (for Edith Head and Edward Stevenson). Lucille Ball was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress – Comedy.
Plot
As the yearly vacation of six neighbors, the Gilberts, Masons and Weavers, approaches, Kitty Weaver and Larry Gilbert find themselves frustrated with the routine. When their spouses are kept away from the vacation, Kitty and Larry find themselves alone in Acapulco, with the Masons bedridden with illness. Forced together, Kitty and Larry fall in love. However, when the vacation is over, they face difficulties deciding whether to continue the romance. They can't bear seeing each other at their usual social activities, without being together. This leads to a rendezvous at the drive-in movie, where they are recognized, followed by a botched visit to a local motel with humorous consequences. They arrange a weekend together in Monterey, and Kitty leaves behind a note for Jack telling him she is leaving him. The bungalow with a leaky roof rented by Larry becomes the backdrop for their gradual realization that leaving their families is much more complicated, and Larry and Kitty are much less compatible than they thought. The result is a madcap race back home to retrieve Kitty's breakup note before her husband Jack reads it.
Cast
- Bob Hope as Larry Gilbert
- Lucille Ball as Kitty Weaver
- Ruth Hussey as Mary Gilbert
- Don DeFore as Jack Weaver
- Louis Nye as Hamilton Busbee
- Philip Ober as Doc Mason
- Marianne Stewart as Connie Mason
- Hollis Irving as Myrtle Busbee
Awards and nominations
Reception
In a positive contemporary review in The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther called the script "... a wonderfully good-humored estimation of an essentially pathetic state of affairs" and wrote: "It is a grandly good-natured picture, full of thoroughly sparkling repartee and word-gags and sight-gags that crackle with humor and sly intelligence."[2]
In 1964, Stanley Kauffmann of The New Republic wrote that the film "... was probably Bob Hope's best picture."[3]
References
- "NY Times: The Facts of Life". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-06-25. Retrieved 2008-12-23.
- Crowther, Bosley (1961-02-11). "Screen: 'The Facts of Life' Opens". The New York Times. p. 27.
- Kauffmann, Stanley (1974). Living Images Film Comment and Criticism. Harper & Row Publishers. p. 202.