That Funny Feeling (Universal Pictures) (1965)

‘That Funny Feeling, “ Fast, Delightful Comedy Starring Dee, Darin and O Connor (Review) The Cinderella story takes many forms, but the basic one —and doubtless for good reason—finds our lovely heroine poor as a church mouse, sweet as Little Eva, and lovely as a fairy princess. Who wouldn’t love a girl like that especially when she is the beautiful blonde from Bayonne (N. J.) whom all the world knows as Sandra Dee? And she is the heroine of “That Funny Feeling,’ Universal’s fast and delightful romantic comedy WHICH ODENCGl eae at the See oe xi Theatre. In it, Sandra is an aspiring actress making ends meet by working as a cleaning maid who tidies bachelor men’s apartments in Manhattan —when her unknowing employers are out in the marts of Madison Avenue, bent on making money. (If they knew about Sandra, they’d stay home and get acquainted. But then there would be no story. Not THIS one.) Sandra’s earnings from this menial but honest labor enable her to share a primitively furnished walkup flat with Nita Talbot, and they have Larry Storch for a neighbor and helper. One of Sandra’s bachelor employers (but he doesn’t know that yet) is Bobby Darin. And his pal and boss at a paperback book publishing house is Donald O’Connor. So these are the stars of this modern comedy of mixed-up identities —Sandra Dee, Bobby Darin and Donald O’Connor. Sandra moves into Bobby’s apartment, thinking he is in California; Bobby moves into Donald’s penthouse; and Donald moves into a hotel. Sandra carries her cleaning gear in a hatbox, and thereby masquerades as a model. Bobby pretends to be an interior decorator and thereby raises an eyebrow. Leo G. Carroll socks Bobby, and Larry Storch socks Donald— both on behalf of Sandra’s virtue, which isn’t in the least impaired. Robert Strauss mistakenly concludes she is brazen, and Ben Lessy is just as sure she isn’t, and Ben’s right. From the start of this funfilled movie directed by Richard Thorpe, produced by Harry Keller, screenplayed by David R. Schwartz, and beautifully filmed in Technicolor by Clifford Stine, it is Boy Meets Girl with a vengeance. First Sandra trips Bobby at the newsstand on the corner; then the next day, Bobby trips Sandra. It becomes obvious they are Meant for Each Other. So they make dates, and this is how Sandra “borrows” the apartment whose key she has as the maid, so that she can have a presentable place to meet Bobby, who is fresh out of an apartment. This makes for great fun for the viewer, and laughs pile on laughs as Sandra goes ahead with her masquerade, and the understandably mystified Bobby lets her do it—until Sandra discovers his identity, when the complications really pile up—as do the laughs which come so loud and fast by the time the smash finish is reached, it’s hard to hear the dialogue. But it doesn’t matter. The hilarity concludes when Sandra and Bobby repair to the bar where their acquaintanceship began — and Leo Carroll floors Bobby with a haymaker to the jaw. There is a memorable closing line. “When you got her around,” the bartender observes, mean‘ng Sandra, “you don’t need television.” Of course, you know they will live scrappily ever after. de, Sandra Dee takes a bath—a luxurious bubble-filled one, in Universal’s zany romantic comedy in Technicolor, “That Funny Feeling.’ She co-stars with Bobby Darin and Donald O’Connor. aq Keller. Copyright 1965 — Universal Pictures Co., In Confusion reigns when Nita Talbot and Sandra Dee try to cook a duck in the hilarious Universal romantic comedy in Technicolor, “That Funny Feeling.’ Co-starring with Miss Dee are Bobby Darin and Donald O’Connor. Richard Thorpe directed for producer Harry (Still No. 1956-27) ( (Still No. 1956-54) Sandra Dee tries to comfort Bobby Darin who has just been knocked to the floor of a bar by Leo G. Carroll in a case of mistaken identity in Universal’s zany romantic comedy in Technicolor, ‘““That Funny Feeling.” Donald O’Connor also co-stars. (Still No. 1956-20) Sandra Dee Has Problems With Movie Animals: That Funny Feeling” Is Typical (Current) Sandra Dee has just about had it with the birds and beasts —and the end is not yet, if anyone should ask. In her new romantic comedy in Technicolor, Universal’s “That Funny Feeling,” also starring Bobby Darin and Donald O' Cannor. nowoat the... : 2... (meaning Sandra) and one to go. She has met her match in a happily amiable, 95-pound mutt dog named Spike, who leaped on her back and knocked her down at their first meeting—just as he was supposed to do. It was on a heavily carpeted floor and Sandra suffered no greater injury than loss of dignity. But she shudders at what might have happened if Spike had performed past the call of duty. “How do I know, for example,” Sandra asked, “‘that he knows the difference between ‘siccum’ and ‘stop’ ?” Sandra has good reason for her dour conjectures. In “I’d Rather Be Rich,’ a 600-pound trained bear was supposed to amble out the doorway of a mountain cabin, and to startle Sandra and Andy Williams. It did more than that; it nuzzled Sandra. She was so frightened she dug her nails into Andy’s neck. In an early “Tammy” film, a supposedly friendly goat butted her. In “If A Man Answers,” Sandra cut into the top crust of a huge pie, and six-and-twenty blackbirds (really parakeets) flew out. Several of them—perhaps having read the Hitchcock script for ‘‘The Birds” — flew right into Sandra’s face and inflicted minor nicks on her countenance. Sandra has survived these encounters, but she doesn’t know how long she can push her luck. People she can cope with, but animals are unpredictable. Particularly, it would seem, around Sandra Dee. Sandra Dee Confuses Perfume With Soap (Current) Sandra Dee asked director Richard Thorpe what would be used in the water for her bubble bath scene in Universal’s romantic comedy in Technicolor, ‘That Funny Feeling,” now at the............ Theatre, co-starring Bobby Darin and Donald O’Connor with Miss Dee. “Joy,” Thorpe replied. “Mmm-m-mm!” said Sandra. “TI like it—use it all the time.” Thorpe looked puzzled momentarily. “I believe you’re thinking of the $60-an-ounce perfume — aren’t you?” “Yes, aren't you?” “Well, hardly.” He pointed to a white plastic quart bottle on the edge of the bathtub. ‘“That’s what I mean.” It bears the same name as the costly imported perfume. It is a liquid detergent which bubbles freely. It retails for 68 cents a quart. Page 2 PORTS RE Ces Theatre, it’s one down Playing the role of an aspiring actress on the New York stage, Sandra Dee cleans bachelor’s apartments while they are at work in Universal’s hilarious romantic comedy in Technicolor, “That Funny Feeling.” (Still No. 1956-76) Milestone For Sandra; Takes Ist Movie Bath (Advance) For her 17th picture in her 22nd year, Sandra Dee has set a performance milestone. She took a bath. The wonder of it is that never before Universal's Technicolor romantic comedy ‘“‘That Funny FeelHIT C OMIT De eee ee es ee to the ie Ae a Ree ene ae Bt eae Theatre, had Sandra been called upon to take a bath. Whether she needed it or not. The need, in this case, is spelled out by the script. The luxurious bubble bath is a story point for the heroine, a sort of present day Cinderella who lives in a coldwater flat with no bathing convenience other than a _ broken down shower. Director Richard Thorpe supervised Sandra’s long-overdue movie bath, and special effects man Walter Hammond was at the controls, as usual. Hammond has “given” baths to such other ladies as Jean Harlow, Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, Janet Leigh, Maria Montez and Mamie Van Doren. There was one thing new about this bath—the temperature. Sandra settled for 80°f. and lots of bubbles. Most girls, says Hammond, demand 90° or higher. Her co-stars in “That Funny Feeling’ are her real-life husband, Bobby Darin and Donald O’Connor. Noted Designer Says Average Woman Can Emulate Film Stars (Advance) For an idea how to dress fashionably on very little money, any young girl would do well to see Sandra Dee in her new movie, Universal's romantic comedy in Technicolor, “That Funny FeelANS! COMMUN Piece coe to the sie ee eee er ee Theatre. In it, Miss Dee plays an impecunious (ie., not having money) char girl who tidies the apartments of bachelors (male) in mid-town Manhattan. Her co-stars are Bobby Darin and Donald O’Connor. It is a good conjecture that Sandra is paid at the going rate, maybe $1.25 an hour, plus bus fare —which is a good deal less than her compensation as a movie star whose boxoffice rating is consistently up in the top ten. But then that is one of the paradoxes of show business; Sandra employs a maid at her own home to keep the place clean and tidy, and then goes to work on her movie set with vacuum cleaner, broom and dust mop to clean Bobby Darin’s apartment—Mr. Darin being Sandra’s real-life husband. And at her ostensible wage of $1.25 an hour, before taxes, Sandra is to be seen in the film in a delightful wardrobe of originals by the noted designer, Jean Louis. There are 17 changes in all, of which at least 14 involve the Jean Louis collection. The other three consist of a man’s (presumably Bobby’s) pajamas, a large bath towel with which Sandra drapes herself after her bath, and a pair of jeans in the new stretch denim. So how does char girl Sandra afford this fine wordrobe? It is very simple, says designer Louis. “As with all smart girls in Manhattan who must get by on very little money,” says Louis, “Sandra would haunt the sales. “At sales, she would find copies of copies of such originals as these, at such low prices as $29.95. She would scrimp and save to buy these copies of copies, many of which look just as chic as the costly originals.” Dresses & Girls Hard To Find In Hollywood (Current) Beautiful girls, and beautiful party dresses to clothe them in, are both in short supply in Hollywood, if the experience of Richard Thorpe, who directed Universal’s Sandra Dee-Bobby Darin-Donald O’Connor starrer “That Funny MEG]INE eMO Ware UNC eco e terse Theatre, is any criterion. Thorpe needed 45 all-beautiful girls for the party sequence. After screening several hundred candidates through casting sources, he personally interviewed 113 young hopefuls before coming up with the requisite 45. And it wasn’t easy. But that was only half the problem. Wardrobe couldn’t begin to clothe the girls in the right manner. Careful shopping turned up a total of 15 dresses that would do. The other 30 had to be designed and fabricated completely from scratch. It ended up as Hollywood’s biggest single order of original party gowns in several years, involving hundreds of “man” hours by seamstresses and fitters, and the mass fitting of 45 young ladies whose appearance in the film does not exceed ten minutes. In ‘Funny Feeling”. O'Connor Gets Socked (Current) Donald O’Connor, who did six films with Francis, the talking mule, before he left Universal all of ten years ago, was welcomed back to the premises for a starring role with Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin in a Technicolor romantic comedy, “That Funny Feeling,” Nowe tytn ery. = ate seen Theatre. Donald’s ‘‘welcome”’ consisted of being at once knocked unconscious (supposedly) by Larry Storch, in a misguided effort to defend the honor of Sandra Dee. “So how did it feel to be socked on the chin on my behalf?” Sandra asked him. “Much better,’ said Donald, “than being kicked by a mule.”