O Men, O Women

For once Hollywood has produced a comedy that is urbane, intelligent, and even funny, unlike the usual innocuous howler aimed at "everyone from six to sixty." O Men, O Women is a charming spoof of psychoanalysis and the rather unpredictable behavior of people in and out of love.

Aided by a witty script adapted from the Broadway play, the small cast carries off the film with a light touch and rapid pace, yet with a certain feel for real situations and natural reactions. David Niven is marvelously and hilariously restrained as the psychoanalyst who is not quite so tolerant of human inconsistencies when he discovers that his own fiancee has had a very interesting past. Barbara Rush plays his slightly tarnished True Love with typical feminine capriciousness. Ginger Rogers is very funny indeed as the wife who regularly pours out her troubles to her psychoanalyst, and she is more than matched by Dan Dailey's portrayal of her actor-husband. Tony Randall clowns through the film with just the right amount of buffoonery as a slightly screwy patient whom the doctor discovers has had an affair with his fiancee. Mr. Randall has a wonderful sense of comic gesture and expression.

O Men, O Women's charm stems from the very natural and unforced character of its wit, managing to discuss sex both honestly and with good taste--not to say very amusingly, a problem that has given Hollywood more than a little trouble. O Men, O Women is one of the most spritely comedies to hit the screen for a long time.

Its co-feature is The Quiet Gun.