Bells Are Ringing (1960)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Vincente Minnelli

Writers:

Betty Comden (play)
Betty Comden (screenplay)

Release Date:

23 June 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Plot:

Ella Peterson is a Brooklyn telephone answering service operator who tries to improve the lives of her...

Plot Keywords:

Playwright | Coffeehouse | Restaurant | House Breaking | Secret

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Judy Holliday	...	Ella Peterson
Dean Martin	...	Jeffrey Moss
Fred Clark	...	Larry Hastings
Eddie Foy Jr.	...	J. Otto Prantz
Jean Stapleton	...	Sue
Ruth Storey	...	Gwynne
Dort Clark	...	Inspector Barnes
Frank Gorshin	...	Blake Barton
Ralph Roberts	...	Francis
Valerie Allen	...	Olga
Bernard West	...	Dr. Joe Kitchell, DDS (as Bernie West)
Steve Peck	...	Gangster (as Steven Peck)
Gerry Mulligan	...	Ella's blind date

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U

Filming Locations:

East Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Judy Holliday's last film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Jeffrey cleans a spot on the mirror, his left hand is leaning on the wall next the mirror. In the following shot his left arm is by his side.

Quotes:

Ella: I'm in love with a man - Plaza Oh- Double four- Double Three. What a perfect relationship - I can't see him, he can't see me!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: The Long Lead Story (#1.5)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Mu Cha Cha

A fun final bow for a great talent.

While not a wonderful adaptation of the play, Bells Are Ringing is still great fun. The always-wonderful Judy Holliday shows just how much of a great talent we lost with her early death. She steamrolls through this part but is also greatly touching. And (surprise! surprise!) Dean Martin is just perfect as the under-motivated writer. That was a part that was heavily overshadowed in the stage version, but Martin holds his own against Holliday's cannonball performance. The Styne-Comden-Green score is also terrific. Two songs were written especially for the screen version - both for Martin's role. Oddly, a main weakness of the film is Minnelli's direction. It's as if he didn't quite know what to do with Holliday, and it makes for a bumpy ride.