Why did I say yes?

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Movie
German title Why did I say yes?
Original title Designing woman
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1957
length 118 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Vincente Minnelli
script George Wells
production Dore Schary
music André Previn
camera John Alton
cut Adrienne Fazan
occupation
synchronization

Why did I say yes? (Original title: Designing Woman ) is an American screwball comedy directed by Vincente Minnelli from 1957 with Gregory Peck and Lauren Bacall in the lead roles.

action

On a boozy evening, sports reporter Mike Hagen meets fashion designer Marilla Brown. After Marilla helped the drunk Mike write a report for his newspaper shortly before the editorial deadline, he invited her on a vacation to California as thanks for their efforts . They fall in love, get married, and eventually return to New York . When Mike moves from his small apartment in Marilla's posh residence on the East Side , Marilla finds in his clothes a photo of a woman in a seductive pose. In order to avoid a first marriage dispute, however, Marilla does not address the topic.

Meanwhile, Mike receives death threats from seedy boxing promoter Martin J. Daylor, whose protégé Mike writes negative sports reports. Mike then meets with his ex-girlfriend Lori Shannon in a restaurant. When he tells her about his marriage to Marilla, Lori angrily pours a plate of ravioli on his lap and storms off. Exactly at this moment, Marilla also appears, who promptly becomes suspicious. Marilla's illustrious friends then organize a surprise party for the couple in their apartment. Mike feels extremely uncomfortable among the actors, artists and fashion designers, especially as they completely ignore him. When Marilla visits a boxing match that Mike is supposed to write a report about, she is appalled by the brutality of the sport. Both are becoming increasingly aware that they live in completely different worlds.

When Mike invites his poker friends over and Marilla lets a dress rehearsal for a musical take place in an adjoining room of her apartment, they have serious doubts as to whether they are a good match. Mike's friend Maxie Stultz, an ex-boxer who has been hit too many times on the head, scares Marilla with his behavior, while choreographer Randy Owen dances wildly around the apartment and also uses the poker table as a dance floor. A few days later, Mike goes to one of Marilla's fashion shows. Lori, the star of the musical for which Marilla is supposed to design the costumes, is also present. After all, Mike and Lori pretend they don't know each other. However, when Marilla discovers that Lori is the woman in Mike's photo, she is certain that the two are having an affair.

Back in the apartment, Johnny O. and other followers of boxing promoter Daylor want to force Mike not to write any more sports reports. When Marilla walks in, Mike appeases the situation and pretends to be his friends. However, Marilla is much more interested in his relationship with Lori. However, Mike denies all allegations. In order to avoid Daylor's men and to be able to calmly write a new report, which his boss had urged him to do, he tells Marilla that he has to go on a business trip. Instead, he settles in a New York hotel. In addition, Maxie Stultz should take care of him and beat up anyone who looks at Mike crookedly. Meanwhile, Marilla is convinced that her husband is secretly meeting Lori. When she wants to confront Lori personally with her suspicions, Mike sets off to come up with an excuse for the photo with Lori. Shortly after he has arrived at Lori's, Marilla also appears. Lori hides Mike in her bedroom without further ado. However, when Lori's poodle comes out of the bedroom with Mike's shoe and Mike's hiding place is exposed, Marilla runs away furiously.

Mike eventually learns that Marilla is about to be kidnapped by Daylor's men during the musical premiere in Boston . He immediately calls his wife to warn her. With Marilla ignoring his concerns, Mike and Maxie take the next flight to Boston. After Lori explained to Marilla about her relationship with Mike and said that Mike only lied so as not to hurt Marilla, Marilla is determined to reconcile with her husband. When she wants to make her way to him, she is picked up by Daylor's people. Meanwhile, Mike and Maxie arrive at the scene. Mike immediately signals to Maxie to knock down anyone who gets in his way. Choreographer Randy also interferes in the ensuing fight and manages to kill Daylor's men with his dancing skills. Daylor ends up behind bars for his criminal activities. Mike and Marilla are reconciled and now show understanding for each other's work.

background

The Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles , where the film was set

Originally, Grace Kelly and James Stewart provided for the main roles. When Kelly turned down the offer because of her marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco , Stewart also canceled. Gregory Peck , who was eventually proposed for the male lead by director Vincente Minnelli , had a say in the contract regarding the choice of his film partner. Cyd Charisse was also under discussion for the role of Marilla after Kelly, but Peck chose Lauren Bacall .

The idea for the film came from designer Helen Rose , who also designed the costumes for the film. Screenwriter George Wells based his work on the screwball comedies of the 1930s, but above all on the Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy comedy The Woman You Talk About (1942). The film was shot with a generous budget of two million dollars at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles . Filming was not easy for Bacall because her husband Humphrey Bogart was in the final stages of his cancer. He died on January 14, 1957, before the film was released.

The world premiere of Why did I say yes? took place on May 16, 1957 in New York . The box office in the United States was $ 2.25 million. In Germany, the film comedy was released on December 31, 1958. On June 26, 1972, it was first shown on German television by ZDF . In 2007 it was released on DVD.

Reviews

For the lexicon of international films , Why did I say yes? a "[l] light-handed and safely staged marriage and social comedy". Director Vincente Minnelli created the film “in the US comedy style, partly intelligent and enjoyable, partly based on situation comedy”. Cinema spoke of "[i] ronic [m] marriage crises by a master hand". According to Prisma , “musical master Vincente Minnelli” has staged “an excellently played, extremely entertaining social comedy” with the film.

Awards

At the Oscar ceremony in 1958 the script was by George Wells as Best Original Screenplay with the Oscar awarded. Wells also received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination . The film was nominated for Best Comedy at the Laurel Awards . Lauren Bacall was also among the nominees for Best Actress in a Comedy and ultimately made third place.

German version

The German dubbed version was created in 1958 in MGM's dubbing studio in Berlin .

role actor Voice actor
Mike Hagen Gregory Peck Wolfgang Lukschy
Marilla Brown Hagen Lauren Bacall Tilly Lauenstein
Lori Shannon Dolores Gray Agi Prandhoff
Ned Hammerstein Sam Levene Gerhard Frickhöffer
Zachary Wilde Tom Helmore Kurt Waitzmann
Maxie Stultz Mickey Shaughnessy Fritz Tillmann
Charlie Arneg Jesse White Horst Niendorf
Johnnie O. Chuck Connors Benno Hoffmann
Martin J. Daylor Edward Platt Peter Mosbacher
Luke Coslow Alvy Moore Harry Wüstenhagen
Gwen Carol Veazie Lilli Schoenborn
Randy Owens Jack Cole Alfred Balthoff
Larry Musso Richard Deacon Otto Czarski

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Gerard Molyneaux: Gregory Peck: A Bio-Bibliography . Greenwood, 1995, ISBN 0-313-28668-X , pp. 132-133.
  2. ↑ cf. Notes on tcm.com
  3. ↑ Why did I say yes? In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed October 27, 2019 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  4. ↑ cf. cinema.de
  5. ↑ cf. prisma.de
  6. ↑ cf. synchrondatenbank.de