OVP: Bachelor in Paradise (1961)

Film: Bachelor in Paradise (1961)
Stars: Bob Hope, Lana Turner, Janis Paige, Jim Hutton, Paula Prentiss
Director: Jack Arnold
Oscar History: 1 nomination (Best Original Song-"Bachelor in Paradise")
Snap Judgment Ranking: 1/5 stars

Trying to find common ground between the Oscar Viewing Project and the Best Original Song category is a difficult thing for me on occasion.  In the case of things like musicals, it's fairly easy to rationalize needing to see the film-the song is made or broken based on what I'm seeing in addition to what I'm hearing, and I have long felt that a film should get some points (for or against) when it comes to how they incorporate a song, not just for how great it is.  "Moon River," for example, one of this film's competitors at the 1961 Oscars, is not just a song that is sung over the credits; it's also a song that Audrey Hepburn beautifully and enchantingly sings on her New York balcony, drawing in the viewer. This film's title song (also written by Henry Mancini) just plays over the opening credits and basically just sits there even then, so the rest of the film has little attachment to the music.

This wouldn't be a problem under normal circumstances-I watch movies because I love movies, not just because Oscar found them attractive-but Bachelor in Paradise is tired, sexist, and far too long for a film that can't quite decide if it's a comedy or a melodrama, but fails at both.  The film talks about a Lothario named A.J. Niles (Hope), a playboy who bed-hops around the world and writes about it in sensational books, but then runs afoul of the IRS and is forced to live in suburbia and write a book about America.  The premise seems ripe for good laughs (it does star Hope, after all), but it descends into wildly antiquated ideas about femininity and what it takes to have a successful marriage.  Hope teaches classes to the ladies of the neighborhood how to light the fire back in their marriages; the lesson essentially boils down to that old Jerry Hall quote about being a maid, chef, and whore.  Just when you think it hasn't gotten any worse, he makes a crack about Susan Hayward vs. Gina Lollobrigida and you've sunk deeper.

As the film is supposed to be a comedy, you know that there's an epiphany coming for Hope's character, and like any good film from this Classical Hollywood format, he falls in love with a local woman (a real estate agent named Rosemary, played by Turner) who has sworn off men.  Turner is in a weird conundrum with this performance-she's clearly far, far too beautiful to successfully play a cinematic spinster, but she's also a woman of a certain age and the script is calling for her to be more standoffish in the role.  Think Shirley Jones in The Music Man, except instead of singing goodnight to her someone, she just avoids alcohol and seems frustrated at every turn.  Turner is not an actress that I've taken a strong shine to, but even I know that she can be better than this: completely pent-up, wild character swings without any sort of reason.  The script is doing her no services here (let the woman land a punchline once and a while!).

It's also worth noting that while Turner is about the right age for her character, Hope is not.  Hope consistently played the leading man in comedies, but he wasn't Laurence Harvey-the guy got the girl by being the funny one, not the hot one.  A lady loves to laugh, and Hope could do that.  Except that in this film the nearly 60-year-old Hope has women throwing themselves at him with utter abandon the second he enters the screen.  It makes absolutely no sense when you look at it objectively, and it seems that a more alluring actor would have been a better choice for the role (perhaps someone in Turner's age group?).

About the only thing that I truly enjoyed about the film was the supporting performance of Paula Prentiss.  Prentiss, unknown to most audiences today, was a consistent presence in films of the 1960's.  Tall with a spectacular speaking voice, she lit up every scene she was in during Bachelor, rising well above her sexy next-door-neighbor routine to give us a more well-rounded individual.  The rest of the movie was in desperate need of some of those real life touches, but she's not in enough of the picture to save the movie.

What are your thoughts about Bachelor in Paradise?  Was I overly critical or right on the nose?  Do you have a favorite Paula Prentiss movie?  And where does "Bachelor in Paradise" rank in the Henry Mancini discography?  Share in the comments!