Good Neighbor Sam *** (1964, Jack Lemmon, Romy Schneider, Dorothy Provine, Senta Berger, Edward G Robinson) – Classic Movie Review 6231

Co-writer/ producer/ director David Swift’s 1964 comedy gives Jack Lemmon an archetypal role – a fussy married adman who pretends to be the new husband of his divorced neighbour (Romy Schneider) so that she can inherit a fortune.

But both Lemmon and the role of Sam Bissel are largely thrown away with a diffuse script and hesitant handling of the comedy. Nevertheless there is some gold in the patchy but sometimes clever script by Swift, James Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum, based on a novel by Jack Finney.

However, allowing extra running time of 130 minutes just means it is around half an hour too long and also just means that ideas and jokes are repeated, and that the good cast is left trying to fill in gaps.

Of course there are compensations in the quality performances of Lemmon, Schneider in her Hollywood debut, Dorothy Provine as Lemmon’s loving wife Min, Senta Berger and Edward G Robinson as one of Lemmon’s moralistic clients.

But it is not surprising this is one of Lemmon’s least known, least screened films.

Also in the cast are Mike Connors, Neil Hamilton, Joyce Jameson, Robert Q Lewis, Edward Andrews, Charles Lane, Linda Watkins, Tristram Coffin and Louis Nye.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 6231

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