Ask Any Girl

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Ask Any Girl

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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

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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Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Ask Any Girl (film)

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Ask Any Girl

Theatrical poster
Directed by Charles Walters
Produced by Joe Pasternak
Written by George Wells
Winifred Wolfe (novel)
Starring David Niven
Shirley MacLaine
Gig Young
Music by Jeff Alexander
Cinematography Robert J. Bronner
Editing by John McSweeney Jr.
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Country United States
Language English
Budget $1.14 million[1]
Box office $3.475 million[2]

Ask Any Girl is a 1959 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer romantic comedy film starring David Niven, Shirley MacLaine and Gig Young.[3]

Contents

Plot

A wide-eyed Meg Wheeler comes to New York City and takes a job in market research for a large firm. She's also keeping an eye open to meet the right man, her research making her aware that the United States has five million more females than males.

Upon meeting two clients, the reserved and somewhat stodgy Miles Doughton and his playboy younger brother Evan, it doesn't take long for Meg to realize she's romantically interested in Evan.

Miles is willing to help. He has seen so many of his brother's conquests come and go that he knows what Evan likes in a girl. Therefore, in a Pygmalion-like way, he sets out to transform Meg into exactly that kind of girl. What she doesn't know is that Miles secretly comes to want her for himself.

Cast

Awards and nominations

Shirley Maclaine won the 1959 BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress, and also the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 9th Berlin International Film Festival.[4] She was also nominated for a Golden Globe, losing out to Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot.

Rod Taylor's performance was much admired and helped lead to his casting in The Time Machine (1960).[5]

References

  1. ^ 'The Eddie Mannix Ledger’, Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study, Los Angeles
  2. ^ 'The Eddie Mannix Ledger’, Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study, Los Angeles
  3. ^ Bosley Crowther (May 22, 1959). "NY Times review". New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=950DE0DF163BEF3BBC4A51DFB3668382649EDE. Retrieved 22 November, 2008. 
  4. ^ "Berlinale 1959: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1959/03_preistr_ger_1959/03_Preistraeger_1959.html. Retrieved 2010-01-05. 
  5. ^ Stephen Vagg, Rod Taylor: An Aussie in Hollywood, Bear Manor Media 2010 p61

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