Kiss Me, Stupid **** (1964, Dean Martin, Kim Novak, Ray Walston) – Classic Movie Review 3667

Director Billy Wilder’s sharp and funny 1964 comedy provides a grand star showcase for Dean Martin, who sends his image up gamely and delightfully as a hard-drinking, charming and lecherous Las Vegas crooner called Dino with a lustful, wandering eye for the ladies.

Dino stops to fill his tank on his way to Hollywood in the tiny Nevada town of Climax , where his petrol station attendant is Barney Millsap (Cliff Osmond), who writes pop songs with the local piano teacher-tunesmith called Orville Spooner (Ray Walston). They plot to get Dino to sing one of their songs on an upcoming TV special.

Barney disables the car of Dino, who takes a hotel room for the night and feigns concern for Orville in order to seduce a woman, Polly the Pistol (Kim Novak), the village tart pretending to be Walston’s wife, who is actually Zelda (Felicia Farr).

Wilder’s satire on small-town America is typically in the best of bad taste and deliciously funny, finding him on excellent form. Novak, Farr (the real-life wife of Jack Lemmon) and Walston (taking over from a sick Peter Sellers) are all on splendid comic form. Unloved on release, it is now seen as a Wilder semi-classic. Wilder and I A L Diamond’s caustic screenplay is based on Anna Bonacci’s play L’Ora della Fantasia.

Also in the cast are Barbara Pepper, Doro Merande, Henry Gibson, John Fielder, Mel Blanc, Alan Dexter, Alice Pearce, Arlen Stuart, Skip Ward, Howard McNear, Cliff Norton and Tommy Nolan.

The role of Zelda was intended for Marilyn Monroe.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3667

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