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28 out of 33 people found the following review useful: "You See A Pair of Laughing Eyes........", 4 May 2005 Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York
When the eyes are Debbie Reynolds and the viewer is Frank Sinatra, you can expect a lot of fun and The Tender Trap delivers that fun.Frank Sinatra stars in the movie version of a play which had a modest run on Broadway concerning an actor's agent who's got the life we only dream about. Since this was the kind of life Sinatra really had, it sure isn't an acting stretch for him. Still Sinatra plays this thing very well. Of course everyone has beauties like Celeste Holm, Lola Albright, Jarma Lewis, and Carolyn Jones around. They all got a piece of old Blue Eyes.In steps new client Debbie Reynolds, the 1950s all time good girl and she's not tolerating Frank's wolfish ways. She's got marriage on the mind.It's an interesting commentary on the times that back in the 1950s, the ultimate goal for a woman was the house with the white picket fence, husband, and three kids. Even for one as obviously talented as Debbie Reynolds.Sinatra's also got a male guest in the house, childhood friend David Wayne who blew in from Indiana and has announced his intention of getting in on Sinatra's action. He's left his wife, home, and three kids and is having an early midlife crisis. I think you can figure the rest of the plot from here.One thing the play on Broadway didn't have was that wonderful title tune that James Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn wrote. Sinatra opens the film with that song before the title credits and Reynolds later sings it in the film. I remember what a mega-hit it was for Frank back in the day. So perfectly suited for him and his style. All I can say is Ring-a-ding ding ding.Frank and Debbie do well together, too bad they never made another film together. The following year she made one with her husband Eddie Fisher and the demand for the team was underwhelming.Everyone, but especially Sinatra aficionados should love this one.
16 out of 19 people found the following review useful: Cute Flick, 4 December 2004 Author: beth_h_2006 (beth_h_2006@hotmail.com) from Monroe, Michigan
This is a very cute movie with a cute plot. Frank Sinatra gives a memorable performance. Do not begin watching this movie expecting a serious or dramatic film.... it is a romantic comedy. Debbie Reynolds is adorable and charming. The Title track sung is unique and one of the highlights of the film. As a teenager who enjoys old movies it is great and enjoyable for me to see what good movies were before so much trash was put into them. This movie is funny without using sexual innuendo or swearing. This is a movie the whole family can sit and watch and enjoy. I recommend this movie to anyone looking for something lighthearted and entertaining! Enjoy!
11 out of 13 people found the following review useful: Bright, breezy but ultimately unsatisfying, 5 December 2000 Author: Bob-45 from Savannah, GA
A great title tune, attractive cast, mostly sharp dialogue, can't miss, right? Wrong; this is one of the most disappointing misfires of the 1950s, due largely to the lack of chemistry between Frank Sinatra and Debbie Reynolds. The problem is largely due to the Reynold's character, which is so poorly written. Even the perky Reynolds can do nothing with this part. Fortunately she is off camera for most of the film. Unfortunately, that means there is no payoff for the film. If you must watch it, you will enjoy David Wayne and Celeste Holm. Otherwise, don't expect much.
9 out of 10 people found the following review useful: Delightful, breezy '50's comedy, 22 February 2005 Author: Stephen Alfieri (stevealfie@verizon.net) from Blauvelt, NY
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
"The Tender Trap" is a snapshot of the '50's, where we've seen lots of cocktails, smoking, and light sexual repartee. It was based on the play "The Tender Trap", that had a short run during the 1954-55 Broadway season (It starred Kim Hunter, Ronnie Graham, Robert Preston and Joey Faye, repeating his role as Sol Schwartz). It was one of hundreds of light, fluff designed to appeal to the matinée and business man crowds, who just wanted some light-weight comedy.In the film Frank Sinatra is ultra-smooth playing a character probably not too far removed from himself. Lots of beautiful dames, booze, and a good friend (played winningly by David Wayne) to keep him grounded. He seems to have the world on a string, moving throughout the day from one beauty to another.Debbie Reynolds plays a singer/dancer who is reluctant to take a job in a Broadway show, because she plans to marry four months after the show has opened. Even though she has not met the man of her dreams yet.Guess who it turns out to be. That's right, totally predictable. And the script is archaic in it's views about women and marriage, but who cares. It's all a lot of fun (especially Celeste Holm in a marvelous role).Well worth the time for a viewing.8 out of 10
11 out of 14 people found the following review useful: Deconstructing Frank, 8 November 2000 Author: Mac-148 from Beijing
The start of this film isn't promising. Another dated 1950s sex comedy with a lot of babes. And then it takes off at a tangent and gets serious, deconstructing the bachelor heel played by Frank. Debbie Reynolds is magnificent as the love interest who is frankly very strange. The scene where she falls for Frank as he plays the title song on the piano, and the scene in her apartment where she declares her love, are unique. Stick with this movie.
8 out of 9 people found the following review useful: good movie, 9 January 2002 Author: missyraiderette from texas
Though it does make women look as if each has an alterior motive which is to trap a guy into marriage, it is a fun loving film that has alot of potential and with Frank in it, it makes it a classic. Though the supporting cast is wonderful we musn't forget Debbie Reynolds. Her part as a young naive girl is unforgettable and was a large step in the right direction..
9 out of 12 people found the following review useful: The Limits of the Joys of the Swinging Single's Life, 25 September 2006 Author: theowinthrop from United States
When Frank Sinatra's real film career (the one that starts with MEET DANNY Wilson and FROM HERE TO ETERNITY and SUDDENLY) got started, his comedies generally improved. Instead of playing the eternally naive heartthrob that the bobby-soxers supposedly enjoyed (but is actually quite annoying in films like ANCHORS AWEIGH), he found that his sophistication could carry a better style of comedy. Ahead of him was HIGH SOCIETY, OCEAN'S ELEVEN, COME BLOW YOUR HORN, ROBIN AND THE SEVEN HOODS, where he was usually in control of the situations rather than pulled about by mechanical plot twists based on his stupidity. And THE TENDER TRAP is an early example of this switch.Sinatra's Charlie Reader is a successful talent agent, and his success is mirrored in his apartment facing the 59th Street Bridge in Manhattan, and his colorful lifestyle of a different date with a different woman (Celeste Holms, Lola Albright, Caroline Jones, and Jarma Lewis) every night. His trade comment of "A ring-a-ding-ding" is not voiced here, but it could easily be said. Like his character of the older brother in COME BLOW YOUR HORN, he is inviting an old childhood pal (like his younger brother in the later film) named Joe McCall (David Wayne). But the younger brother in the later film is intoxicated by the glamor of Sinatra's lifestyle. Eventually the younger brother actually makes Sinatra ashamed of his own lifestyle as the younger brother takes it to extremes. Here, Wayne is in the middle of a mid-life crisis, and he's actually hoping to enjoy Sinatra's lifestyle, but as the film progresses gradually realizes that Sinatra's habits mistreat many women. Sinatra may be a great swinger, but he is something of a sexual pig.But Frank's lifestyle is beginning to show cracks. In COME BLOW YOUR HOME it was a matter of his aging (Lee J. Cobb fuming that he's a bum because he's unmarried and approaching 40). Here it is his meeting a young actress named Julie Gillis (Debbie Reynolds) that he starts dating. Sinatra looks at Julie (at least at first) as just another lady on his weekly list. But he slowly finds he does not want her to consider his other girlfriends, and he also wants her to be available to him. But his interest is tempered when he discovers she is only interested in him dating her and only her...with the intention of only marrying her.Sinatra goes crazy here - not babbling but losing his cool thoroughly. He tries to forget her quickly, by picking up one of the other regular girls, only to find that Jones has met a fellow who is going to marry her, and Albright has another regular date. Holms (as Sylvia Crewes) shows up. Oddly enough she is willing to accept the one sided dating system that Sinatra has chosen, because she is aware that she is now 33 and the chances of getting a fellow to marry her are quite rare. She lists the types to Wayne, and none are very appetizing. Sinatra proposes marriage to a shocked Holms, who (somewhat shakily) agrees. Sinatra decides to throw a huge party, even inviting his other occasional date Lewis to it. But in the middle of getting the party under way he runs downstairs and smack into Reynolds. She decides she loves him despite his selfishness, but he announces that he loves her as well...and proposes to her. She heads home, promising to see her fiancé in the morning, and he proceeds to wonder what to do now that he's affianced to two women.It turns out to be a disaster, but it is deserved. I won't go into the rest of the plot, but things do work out. It is nice to see Tom Hellmore, soon to be the notorious Elstin Draper in VERTIGO, in a far nicer role her. Also the conclusion of the film, with the now standard Jimmy Van Husen theme song being sung by Sinatra, Reynolds, Holms, and Wayne (with a sorrowful chorus of Albright, Lewis, and Jones) bears comparison to the singing by Cameron Diaz and her three bridesmaids at the start of MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING for being so fresh and unexpected. It was a top notch comedy, and another step upward for Sinatra in the rebuilding and expansion of his film career.
7 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Cute battle-of-the-sexes comedy, 13 April 2001 Author: aromatic-2 (aromatic@ivillage.com) from New York, NY
This is the first of Frank's bachelor-on-the-make comedies of the 50's & 60's. He is excellent; Debbie Reynolds character seems off-balance and miscast. Audrey Hepburn would have been much better. The movie seems to be too self-consciously hip for its own good. Still, the supporting cast is wonderful, and there are far worse ways of killing an hour and a half. 6/10.
8 out of 11 people found the following review useful: A wonderful comedy of the mid-'50's, 11 May 2002 Author: luvdec from New York, NY
I love this film because it is so reflective of the mid-50's sensibility and the glamour of New York at that time. All of the actors have wonderful chemistry, and Celeste Holm is a stand out as Sinatra's "fiancee" Debbie Reynolds is adorable as a 22 year old ingenue who wants a career in the theatre, but only for a brief time. She has a plan to get married, have three children and live in Scarsdale, which everyone knows has the best school system in the country. Sinatra and David Wayne are old friends and the married Wayne comes to New York to take a vacation from his wife. He becomes interested in Holm and falls in love with her. Sinatra falls in love with Debbie Reynolds and their scenes are just lovely. Complications ensue, but in the end, it all shakes out. This is one of the best adaptations of a 1950's stage comedy and it is most enjoyable and certainly worthwhile.
9 out of 13 people found the following review useful: Pleasantly bland, 1 March 2002 Author: YakovDavid from Chicago, Illinois
With the wonderful cast that this movie boasts, I really hoped this could have been a better movie. Blame the screenplay. It's the tale of a an urbane, irresponsible and very single male (the perfectly cast Frank Sinatra) being roped into domesticity by a simple and sincere young girl (Debbie Reynolds, who is pretty stiff and unspontaneous here). The message of the movie is that people cannot avoid their biological destiny...that they are happily doomed to meet and mate. Fair enough. That's been the premise of many a great screwball comedy and many great movie romances. The problem here is that everything is so predictable! There are no pleasant surprises in the characters here. All of the performers seem willing and able, but the script and direction are uninspired. The character played by Debbie is meant to be as cute as a button but is only annoying, and Frank never appears genuinely smitten. Even Franks's rendition of the title tune seems careful and sedate. Our couple here seemed destined for a very dull life in the suburbs. (Of course, this may have been an image of love and marriage that American popular entertainment was trying to sell really hard in the fifties. Safe and yawn inducing.)
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