Main Cast: Steve McQueen, Brigid Bazlen, Jim Hutton, Paula Prentiss, Dean Jagger, Jack Mullaney
Release Year: 1961
Country: US
Run Time: 87 minutes
Plot
Just a few years before The Great Escape would catapult Steve McQueen to stardom, the charismatic actor played the lead, Lt. Fergie Howard, in this light romantic farce involving the computers on a Navy ship. Lt. Howard is playing poker on the good ship El Mira when he gets a brilliant idea. Why not use the ship's computer "Max" to figure out where the ball will land on a roulette wheel? After the ship docks near Venice, he and Ensign Beau Gillaim (Jack Mullaney), along with navy scientist Jason Eldridge (Jim Hutton) check out the casino there. Then they set up the ship's computer to receive incoming signals from the results at the roulette wheel, planning on it to predict which numbers will come up next. Trouble lies ahead when Admiral Fitch (Dean Jagger) intercepts the signals and assumes that the fleet is about to be attacked. While the subsequent chaos reigns, the women (Paula Prentiss and Brigid Bazlen) in these men's lives get involved. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
Review
The Honeymoon Machine is a middling armed forces comedy, meaning that there are plenty of wily enlisted men attempting to put something over on a not-so-bight superior officer. There are also a number of female counterparts to add complications, if not depth, to the proceedings. What there is not is a great deal of wit or originality; the lack of the latter is regrettable, but it's really the lack of the former that keeps Honeymoon from being a lot more fun. With a movie like this, the viewer pretty much knows what is going to happen from one moment to the next, so lacing the proceedings with genuine humor is crucial. It also doesn't help that the film is clearly based on a stage play; the few excursions into Venice and the use of CinemaScope don't change the fact that the play has been opened up only minimally. Star Steve McQueen also is part of the problem; he's fine, but nothing more, and the part really calls for a Tony Curtis type who can carry off the role with innate ease. McQueen either tries too hard or not at all; he has enough star power to make him worth watching, but The Honeymoon Machine has a hole in its center where his performance needs to be. Fortunately, the supporting cast is much better, with especially valuable performances from Paula Prentiss, Jim Hutton, Jack Weston, and Dean Jagger. If Richard Thorpe's direction is not outstanding, it still keeps the pace up -- and that's what is really required here. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
George W. Davis - Art Director, Preston Ames - Art Director, Helen Rose - Costume Designer, Richard Thorpe - Director, Ben Lewis - Editor, Leigh Harline - Composer (Music Score), Jack Brooks Harline - Songwriter, William J. Tuttle - Makeup, Joseph La Shelle - Cinematographer, Lawrence Weingarten - Producer, Henry W. Grace - Set Designer, Jerry Wunderlich - Set Designer, Lee Le Blanc - Special Effects, Robert R. Hoag - Special Effects, Hoag LeBlank - Special Effects, Lorenzo Semple, Jr. - Screenwriter, George Wells - Screenwriter, Lorenzo Semple, Jr. - Play Author
Steve McQueen ... Lt. Ferguson 'Fergie' Howard Brigid Bazlen ... Julie Fitch Jim Hutton ... Jason Eldridge Paula Prentiss ... Pam Dunstan Dean Jagger ... Admiral Fitch Jack Weston ... Signalman Burford Taylor Jack Mullaney ... Lt. Beauregard 'Beau' Gilliam
Marcel Hillaire ... Inspector of casino games
Ben Astar ... Russian consul
William Lanteau ... Tommy Dane
Ken Lynch ... Capt. James Angle
Simon Scott ... Capt. Harvey Adam
Rough Ridin' (with John P. McCarthy) •Rarin' to Go •Battling Buddy •Fast and Fearless •Hard Hittin' Hamilton •Rip Roarin' Roberts •Bringin' Home the Bacon •Thundering Romance •Gold and Grit •Full Speed •Fast Fightin' •On the Go •Double Action Daniels •Quicker 'n Lightnin' •Tearin' Loose •The Desert Demon •Saddle Cyclone •Galloping On •A Streak of Luck •The Last Card •The Roaring Rider •Trumpin' Trouble •The Fighting Cheat •Coming an' Going •The Twin Triggers •Deuce High •Easy Going •Rawhide •Speedy Spurs •Double Daring •The Dangerous Dub •Twisted Triggers •The Bonanza Buckaroo •College Days •Josselyn's Wife •The Bandit Buster •The First Night •The Cyclone Cowboy •Between Dangers •The Galloping Gobs •Tearin' Into Trouble •The Ridin' Rowdy •The Meddlin' Stranger •Pals in Peril •Skedaddle Gold •White Pebbles •The Interferin' Gent •The Soda Water Cowboy •Ride 'em High •The Obligin' Buckaroo •Roarin' Broncs •The Desert of the Lost •The Ballyhoo Buster •Desperate Courage •The Cowboy Cavalier •The Valley of Hunted Men •Saddle Mates •Flyin' Buckaroo •The Bachelor Girl •Border Romance
1930s
The Dude Wrangler •Wings of Adventures •The Thoroughbred •Under Montana Skies •The Utah Kid •The Lawless Woman •The Sky Spider •The Lady from Nowhere •Wild Horse •Grief Street •Neck and Neck •Forgotten Women •The Devil Plays •Cross Examination •Murder at Dawn •Probation •Escapade •The Midnight Lady •Forbidden Company •Beauty Parlor •Thrill of Youth •The King Murder •Slightly Married •Women Won't Tell •Secrets of Wu Sin •Forgotten •Love Is Dangerous •I Have Lived •Strange People •Notorious But Nice •A Man of Sentiment •Murder on the Campus •Rainbow Over Broadway •The Quitter •Stolen Sweets •City Park •Green Eyes •Cheating Cheaters •Secret of the Chateau •Strange Wives •Last of the Pagans •The Voice of Bugle Ann •Tarzan Escapes •Dangerous Number •Night Must Fall •Double Wedding •Man-Proof •Love Is a Headache •The First Hundred Years •The Toy Wife •The Crowd Roars •Three Loves Has Nancy •The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn •Tarzan Finds a Son!
