Ask Any Girl

Plot

Viewers know they're in a 1959 comedy film early in the proceedings of Ask Any Girl, when secretary Shirley MacLaine is advised by her new supervisor Jim Backus to wear a sweater "a size too small." But she is a good girl: like Doris Day, she won't offer any carnal favors unless a wedding ring is part of the bargain. She targets irresponsible CEO Gig Young for matrimony, asking Young's sober-sided older brother David Niven to help her out. The highlight of Ask Any Girl is Shirley MacLaine's extended drunk scene in the club car of a commuter train. The film was based on a satirical novel by Winifred Wolfe. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Review

Ask Any Girl is very much in the mold of other sex comedies of the period, especially those involving Doris Day. There are some differences, of course. In Girl, the boy who gets the girl is not Rock Hudson but David Niven, an altogether different type. And the authors ring a few other changes, such as the Day-inspired Meg Wheeler relentlessly pursuing a man, rather than the other way around. It's also a nice change (for this genre, though perfectly in keeping with the dictates of more traditional romantic comedies) that Wheeler doesn't know that the man she wants is NOT the man she is chasing. Otherwise, there's not a lot to the script that hasn't been seen before; still, the dialogue is light and breezy, if hardly memorable, and the situations do produce the desired chuckles, even if out-and-out guffaws are in short supply. Girl boasts an impressive cast, although Shirley MacLaine is not shown to her best advantage. Sporting an unflattering dishwater blond hairdo (which later gives way to an odd pinkish-orange bob), she's being asked to play Doris Day and it's not a totally comfortable match. MacLaine's own personality keeps breaking out, adding spice to the proceedings, but also working at odds with the character. Niven and Gig Young are much more fittingly cast, and Claire Kelly and Elisabeth Fraser are memorable in supporting roles. Girl is dated but enjoyable, if one isn't bothered by the single-minded determination of the female characters to catch a husband. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Cast

• David Niven - Miles Doughton
• Shirley MacLaine - Meg Wheeler
• Gig Young - Evan Doughton
• Rod Taylor - Ross Taford
• Jim Backus - Mr. Maxwell

Claire Kelly - Lisa; Dody Heath - Terri Richards; Read Morgan - Bert; Carmen Phillips - Refined young lady; Mae Clarke - Woman on train; Elisabeth Fraser - Jeannie Boyden; Myrna Hansen - Person; Boyd "Red" Morgan - Bert; Kasey Rogers - Person; Mickey Shaughnessy - Man smoking cigarettes; Helen Wallace - Hotel Manager; Norma French - Person

Credit

William Horning - Art Director, Urie McCleary - Art Director, Helen Rose - Costume Designer, Al Jennings - First Assistant Director, Charles Walters - Director, John McSweeney, Jr. - Editor, Jeff Alexander - Composer (Music Score), Robert J. Bronner - Cinematographer, Joe Pasternak - Producer, George Wells - Screenwriter, Winifred Wolfe - Book Author

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