Promises! Promises!
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Promises! Promises! |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1963 |
| length | 75 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Tommy Noonan |
| script | Tommy Noonan William Welch |
| production | Tommy Noonan |
| music | Hal Borne |
| camera | Joseph F. Biroc |
| cut | Edward Dutko |
| occupation | |
| |
Promises! Promises! is an American comedy film from 1963. The main roles are played by Jayne Mansfield and Tommy Noonan , who also directed and produced. Jayne Mansfield was the first known American actress to be seen naked in front of the camera in three scenes.
action
Sandy and Jeff Brooks have been trying to have a child for a long time. To finally find the necessary rest and relaxation, the two take a cruise. They get to know the married couple Claire and Jeff Banner, spend a wet and happy evening together and at the end the four end up in bed with the respective spouse of the other couple. The next morning, none of those involved can and will no longer remember what exactly happened. Some time later, both women discover that they are now pregnant and are now trying to find out what actually happened that night.
background
Jayne Mansfield was deliberately built up by her 20th Century Fox studio in 1956 as a replacement for the previous star Marilyn Monroe . Thanks to her successes in Siren in Blonde and The Girl Can't Help It , both directed by Frank Tashlin , Mansfield seemed on the way to becoming a star. The financial and artistic failure of Where All Streets End , the film adaptation of the novel of the same name by John Steinbeck , which starred Mansfield in a dramatic role alongside Joan Collins , and a general apathy of the audience towards Mansfield ended her rise just as quickly. By 1963 her career was more or less over and the actress finally attempted a comeback by agreeing to be in Promises! Promises! stepping naked in front of the camera for some scenes.
Ever since the New York State Supreme Court ruled in 1956 whether the portrayal of nudity in film constitutes profanity per se, nudity has been in force as long as it is depicted without frivolity, indecency or sexual suggestion not to be assessed as obscene or offensive in terms of the censorship regulations. The judgment was more or less confirmed in June 1957 by the decision of the United States Supreme Court "Roth vs. United States", as the actual circumstances of the presentation in the respective individual case would decide whether something should be considered obscene. In the period that followed, the so-called nudies developed their own genre. The aim of the producers was to showcase a lot of naked, preferably female, skin, mostly by playing the plot of the film among nudists or by filmed the actresses bathing, showering or swimming extensively. The main hallmark was that none of these scenes was ever associated with sexual acts or any suggestion. Russ Meyer began his career as a director with numerous nudies.
It would be 1962 before an established female star agreed to act naked in front of the camera. Marilyn Monroe did some nude scenes in Something's Got to Give , which she showed bathing in a swimming pool. However, the film was never finished and so Jayne Mansfield acted a year later as the first star naked.
The Playboy published in its issue of June 1963 pre-nude photos of the actress. The media hype surrounding the release helped the film, which was shot for only 400,000 US dollars, to appropriate publicity.
Mansfield then received no more serious film offers.
criticism
On the occasion of his obituary for Mansfield, Roger Ebert summarized the dubious value of the film for the career of the actress in the Chicago Sun-Times in 1967 :
"In" Promises! Promises! " after all, she did what no Hollywood star has ever done but in utter desperation: she made a nude movie. In 1963 it was the only way for them to get any offers at all. "
Web links
- Promises! Promises! in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ detailed description of the judgment and its supporting reasons here: Roth v. United States
- ↑ Finally in "Promises! Promises!" she does what no Hollywood star ever does except in desperation. She does a nudie. In 1963, that kind of box office appeal was all she had left.