The Right Approach (1961)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

David Butler

Writers:

Fay Kanin (writer)
Garson Kanin (play)

Release Date:

6 July 1962 (Finland)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The lowdown on bachelor boys - and their search for girls!

Plot:

The story of five fun-loving young bachelors who live together in a converted nightclub in the Hollywood Hills...

Plot Keywords:

Bachelor | Nightclub | Beautiful Woman | Based On Play

Cast

Frankie Vaughan	...	Leo Mack
Martha Hyer	...	Anne Perry
Juliet Prowse	...	Ursula Poe
Gary Crosby	...	Rip Hulett
David McLean	...	Bill Sikulovic
Jesse White	...	Brian Freer
Jane Withers	...	Liz Fargo, Photographer
Rachel Stephens	...	Helen
Steve Harris	...	Mitch Mack
Paul von Schreiber	...	Granny
Robert Casper	...	Horace Wetheridge Tobey III

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:S

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

"Of all those in that 'Glass Menagerie', he's the glassiest!"

Peculiar, occasionally charming, often irritating comedic drama has five fun-loving bachelors--who live together in a converted nightclub in the Hollywood Hills--having money and girl troubles; newcomer Leo Mack (played by British recording singer Frankie Vaughan) stirs up more trouble when he arrives, but his smug self-confidence and dirty ambition may put him ahead of his roommates. The initial focus of the plot seems to be on drive-in waitress Juliet Prowse, whose low tones, stony stare and unplaceable accent makes her seem like a pod person. However, Prowse is put aside once Vaughan appears, and indeed she's lost in the shuffle until near the end (when her character's latest predicament isn't even solved!). Based on Garson Kanin's play, this sitcom-serious plot is full of joshing and wisecracks, but the main theme of a slimy worm infiltrating a group of nice guys and using everyone like a step-ladder is more interesting than the filmmakers give it credit for. Vaughan is appropriately loathsome, but this was surely not the right vehicle for a singer-turned-acting hopeful; he's all too convincing steals jobs and girls from the other knudnicks, and his gregarious falseness is grotesque. The other fellas (including Bing Crosby's son Gary) are a loyal, fun bunch, but the Hollywood scenario isn't utilized to its fullest advantage, and Martha Hyer is deadly as a writer for a show-biz rag (she's the type of proper, boring girl with the stiff hairdo who stands by her principles). A curious project, and with an interesting central set, but the hurried ending makes little sense. ** from ****