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{{short description|1968 film by Jerry Paris}}
{{About|the 1968 film||How Sweet It Is (disambiguation)}}
{{About|the 1968 film||How Sweet It Is (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox film
{{Infobox film
|name = How Sweet It Is!
| name = How Sweet It Is!
⚫
| image = How Sweet It Is! FilmPoster.jpeg
|director = [[Jerry Paris]]
| director = [[Jerry Paris]]
⚫
| image = How Sweet It Is! FilmPoster.jpeg
⚫
| writer = [[Jerry Belson]]<br/>[[Garry Marshall]]
| image_size = 225px
⚫
| based_on = {{Based on|''The Girl in the Turquoise Bikini''|[[Muriel Resnik]]}}
⚫
|producer = [[Jerry Belson]]<br/>[[Garry Marshall]]
|writer = Jerry Belson<br/>Garry Marshall
| producer = Jerry Belson<br/>Garry Marshall
⚫
| starring = [[James Garner]]<br/>[[Debbie Reynolds]]<br/>[[Maurice Ronet]]<br/>[[Penny Marshall]]
⚫
|based on = {{Based on|''The Girl in the Turquoise Bikini''|[[Muriel Resnik]]}}
⚫
| cinematography = [[Lucien Ballard]]
⚫
|starring = [[James Garner]]<br/>[[Debbie Reynolds]]<br/>[[Maurice Ronet]]<br/>[[Penny Marshall]]
|music = [[Patrick Williams (composer)|Pat Williams]]
| editing = [[Bud Molin]]
| music = [[Patrick Williams (composer)|Pat Williams]]
⚫
| studio = Cherokee Productions
⚫
|cinematography= [[Lucien Ballard]]
|editing = [[Bud Molin]]
| distributor = [[National General Pictures]]
⚫
| released = {{Film date|1968|08| |ref1=<ref name=ny-times>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/08/22/archives/screen-how-sweet-it-is-begins-run-debbie-reynolds-stars-with-james.html|last=Thompson|first=Howard |title=Screen: 'How Sweet It Is!' Begins Run; Debbie Reynolds Stars With James Garner|date=August 22, 1968|access-date=November 29, 2010|url-access=subscription |work=[[The New York Times]]|page=47}}</ref>}}
⚫
|studio = Cherokee Productions
| runtime = 99 minutes
|distributor = [[National General Pictures]]
⚫
| country = United States
⚫
|released = August 1968<ref name=ny-times>{{cite news|url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30C1EFA3E5F127A93C0AB1783D85F4C8685F9|last=Thompson|first=Howard |title=Screen: 'How Sweet It Is!' Begins Run; Debbie Reynolds Stars With James Garner|date=August 22, 1968|accessdate=November 29, 2010|subscription=yes |work=[[The New York Times]]|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|page=47}}</ref>
|runtime = 99 minutes
| language = English
| gross = $2.7 million <small>(rentals)</small><ref>"Big Rental Films of 1968", ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', 8 January 1969, pg 15.</ref>
⚫
|country = United States
|language = English
| gross = $2,700,000 (US/ Canada)<ref>"Big Rental Films of 1968", ''Variety'', 8 January 1969 p 15. Please note this figure is a rental accruing to distributors.</ref>
}}
}}
'''''How Sweet It Is!''''' is a 1968 comedy movie starring [[James Garner]] and [[Debbie Reynolds]], with a supporting cast including [[Terry-Thomas]] and [[Paul Lynde]].
'''''How Sweet It Is!''''' is a 1968 [[comedy film]] starring [[James Garner]] and [[Debbie Reynolds]], with a supporting cast including [[Terry-Thomas]] and [[Paul Lynde]].


Garner plays a photographer who brings his wife, Jenny, and teenage son, David, along on a Paris shoot, with both husband and wife struggling to stay faithful under extreme temptation. The film was written by producers [[Garry Marshall]] and [[Jerry Belson]] (adapting [[Muriel Resnik]]'s novel ''The Girl in the Turqoise Bikini'') and directed by [[Jerry Paris]]. [[Jimmy Webb]] wrote the title song, and [[Patrick Williams (composer)|Patrick Williams]] scored the sound track.
Garner plays a photographer who accompanies his wife and teenage son on an assignment in [[Paris, France|Paris]], with both husband and wife struggling to stay faithful under extreme temptation. The film was written by producers [[Garry Marshall]] and [[Jerry Belson]] (adapting [[Muriel Resnik]]'s novel ''The Girl in the Turqoise Bikini'') and directed by [[Jerry Paris]]. [[Jimmy Webb]] wrote the title song, and [[Patrick Williams (composer)|Patrick Williams]] scored the sound track.


==Plot==
=Synopsis=


Teenager David Henderson wants to tag along with his girlfriend Gloria and a group of American students touring France. His mother Jenny hates the idea until she manages to get her professional photographer husband Grif to document the group's travels for his company.
Garner, a professional photographer from suburban New York, is hired to accompany a group of American students touring France, and decides to take his wife and teenage son along. His wife books passage for them on an ocean liner, and a stay at a Riviera hotel, from a dishonest, shyster travel agent. On the ship, they are shocked to be assigned bunk beds in separate, crowded rooms with many teenagers, and endure an emergency drill; there is little privacy. On arrival in Paris, Jenny leaves her husband with the school tour group, and travels alone to the bogus address shown as their Riviera hotel, hundreds of miles away. She is puzzled to find it is instead a private mansion owned by a wealthy lawyer, Phillipe, who is equally puzzled at her arrival. She is unable to call the phony travel agent. Nevertheless, Phillipe, who is attracted to her, offers her an extended stay there at a reasonable price with just him and his manservant/ butler. However, he turns out to be a notorious womanizer who tries to seduce Jenny at a wild pool party. Meanwhile, Garner becomes friendly with an attractive chaperone with the American student group in Paris. When he indirectly learns of Jenny's situation, he panics and impulsively drives there alone on a stolen school bus and picks her up. However, they are stopped by Italian patrolmen and Jenny is placed in a jail cell with prostitutes, who are then all bailed out by a pimp and taken to a very fine hotel. Jenny is shocked to see her son partying at the same hotel. The family are eventually reunited and return home.

Jenny books passage for them all on an ocean liner, and a stay at a Riviera hotel, from Gilbert, a dishonest, shyster travel agent. On the ship, they are dismayed to be assigned bunk beds in separate, crowded rooms with many teenagers, and endure an emergency drill; there is little privacy.

On arrival in Paris, Jenny leaves her husband with the school tour group, traveling alone to the bogus address shown as their Riviera hotel, hundreds of miles away. When she arrives at the luxurious mansion, she acts like she owns the place. She is puzzled to find it is instead a private home owned by a wealthy lawyer, Phillipe Maspere, who is equally puzzled at her arrival.

Jenny is unable to contact the phony travel agent. Nevertheless, Phillipe, who is attracted to her, offers her an extended stay there at a reasonable price with just him and his manservant/ butler.

Phillipe turns out to be a notorious womanizer who tries to seduce Jenny at a wild poolside party, unsuccessfully.

Grif, meanwhile, becomes friendly with an attractive chaperone with the American student group in Paris. When he indirectly learns of his wife Jenny's situation (by seeing a picture in a newspaper), he panics and impulsively drives cross-country alone at night, on a stolen school bus to get her.

When Grif arrives, seeing Jenny in the pool with the Frenchman, he punches him. Storming off in the bus she follows on the back of the butler's tricycle. She catches up with Grif but, as they head back to the tour group's hotel, they are stopped by Italian patrolmen, since the bus was reported stolen.

Jenny is placed in a jail cell with prostitutes, who are then all bailed out by their pimp and taken to a very fine hotel. Jenny is shocked to see her son at the brothel. The family is eventually reunited and they return home.


==Cast==
==Cast==
*[[James Garner]] as Grif
* [[James Garner]] as Grif
*[[Debbie Reynolds]] as Jenny
* [[Debbie Reynolds]] as Jenny
*[[Maurice Ronet]] as Phillipe
* [[Maurice Ronet]] as Phillipe
*[[Alexandra Hay]] as Gloria
* [[Alexandra Hay]] as Gloria
*[[Terry-Thomas]] as Gilbert
* [[Terry-Thomas]] as Gilbert Tilly
*[[Paul Lynde]] as the Purser
* [[Paul Lynde]] as the Purser
*[[Donald Losby]] as Davey
* [[Donald Losby]] as Davey
*[[Hilary Thompson]] as "Bootsie"
* [[Hilary Thompson]] as Linda a.k.a. "Bootsie"
*[[Marcel Dalio]] as Louis
* [[Marcel Dalio]] as Louis
*[[Gino Conforti]] as Agatzi
* [[Gino Conforti]] as Agatzi
*[[Vito Scotti]] as the chef
* [[Vito Scotti]] as The Chef
*[[Don Diamond]] as the bartender
* [[Don Diamond]] as The Bartender
*[[Penny Marshall]] as school girl
* [[Penny Marshall]] as School Girl
*[[Erin Moran]] as little girl at phone booth
* [[Erin Moran]] as Little Girl at Phone Booth
*[[Walter Brooke]] as Haskell
* [[Walter Brooke]] as Haskell
*[[Elena Verdugo]] as Vera
* [[Elena Verdugo]] as Vera
*[[Ann Morgan Guilbert]] as Bibi
* [[Ann Morgan Guilbert]] as Bibi


==Production and release==
==Production and release==
''How Sweet It Is!'' was the first production for [[National General Pictures]]. The title is taken from a television catchphrase popularized in the 1950s by comedian [[Jackie Gleason]].<ref name=funny>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=qEJcH4zNGVgC&pg=PA91&dq=%22National+General+Pictures%22&hl=en|last1=Marshall|first1=Garry|last2=Marshall|first2=Lori|title=Wake Me When It's Funny: How to Break Into Show Business and Stay There|chapter=Writing for Film and Theater and Not Making a Fortune|pages=91–92|isbn=1-55704-288-8|year=1997|accessdate=November 29, 2010|publisher=Newmarket Press}}</ref>
''How Sweet It Is!'' was the first production for [[National General Pictures]]. The title is taken from a television catchphrase popularized in the 1950s by comedian [[Jackie Gleason]].<ref name=funny>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qEJcH4zNGVgC&q=%22National+General+Pictures%22&pg=PA91|last1=Marshall|first1=Garry|last2=Marshall|first2=Lori|title=Wake Me When It's Funny: How to Break Into Show Business and Stay There|chapter=Writing for Film and Theater and Not Making a Fortune|pages=91–92|isbn=1-55704-288-8|year=1997|access-date=November 29, 2010|publisher=Newmarket Press}}</ref>


Garner wrote in his memoirs that he "loved Debbie Reynolds. Loved Paul Lynde. Loved Terry Thomas. Hated the movie."<ref>{{cite book|title=The Garner Files: A Memoir|first1=James|last1=Garner|first2=Jon|last2=Winokur|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=2011|page=257}}</ref>
⚫
Upon its release in August 1968,<ref name=ny-times/> the film received a mixed response with critics and audiences.<ref name=funny/> According to Howard Thompson of ''[[The New York Times]]'', "This tired, aimlessly frisky comedy ... is about as sweet as a dill pickle."<ref name=ny-times/>

⚫
Upon its release in August 1968,<ref name=ny-times/> the film received a mixed response with critics and audiences.<ref name=funny/> According to Howard Thompson of ''[[The New York Times]]'', "This tired, aimlessly frisky comedy ... is about as sweet as a dill pickle."<ref name=ny-times/>


==See also==
==See also==
Line 59: Line 75:


==External links==
==External links==
* {{IMDb title|id=0063098}}
* {{IMDb title|0063098}}
* {{tcmdb title|78621|How Sweet It Is!}}
* {{TCMDb title|78621!}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|how_sweet_it_is}}
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8844857220560459276&q=%22James+Garner%22+%22Charlie+Rose%22&total=4&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0 James Garner Interview on the ''Charlie Rose Show'']
* [http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=%22archive+of+american+television+interview+with+james+garner%22 James Garner interview] at [[Archive of American Television]]


{{Jerry Paris}}
{{Jerry Paris}}
{{Garry Marshall}}


[[Category:1968 films]]
[[Category:1968 films]]
[[Category:1960s comedy films]]
[[Category:1960s sex comedy films]]
⚫
[[Category:American films]]
[[Category:American sex comedy films]]
[[Category:American sex comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:1960s English-language films]]
[[Category:Film scores by Patrick Williams]]
[[Category:Films scored by Patrick Williams (composer)]]
[[Category:Films based on American novels]]
[[Category:Films based on American novels]]
[[Category:Films set in Paris]]
[[Category:Films set in Paris]]
[[Category:National General Pictures films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Jerry Belson]]
[[Category:Films directed by Jerry Paris]]

[[Category:1968 comedy films]]
{{1960s-comedy-film-stub}}
⚫
[[Category:1960s American films]]
[[Category:English-language sex comedy films]]

Latest revision as of 04:40, 27 September 2024

This article is about the 1968 film. For other uses, see How Sweet It Is (disambiguation).
How Sweet It Is!
Directed byJerry Paris
Written byJerry Belson
Garry Marshall
Based onThe Girl in the Turquoise Bikini
by Muriel Resnik
Produced byJerry Belson
Garry Marshall
StarringJames Garner
Debbie Reynolds
Maurice Ronet
Penny Marshall
CinematographyLucien Ballard
Edited byBud Molin
Music byPat Williams
Production
company
Cherokee Productions
Distributed byNational General Pictures
Release date
  • August 1968 (1968-08)[1]
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2.7 million (rentals)[2]

How Sweet It Is! is a 1968 comedy film starring James Garner and Debbie Reynolds, with a supporting cast including Terry-Thomas and Paul Lynde.

Garner plays a photographer who accompanies his wife and teenage son on an assignment in Paris, with both husband and wife struggling to stay faithful under extreme temptation. The film was written by producers Garry Marshall and Jerry Belson (adapting Muriel Resnik's novel The Girl in the Turqoise Bikini) and directed by Jerry Paris. Jimmy Webb wrote the title song, and Patrick Williams scored the sound track.

Plot

[edit]

Teenager David Henderson wants to tag along with his girlfriend Gloria and a group of American students touring France. His mother Jenny hates the idea until she manages to get her professional photographer husband Grif to document the group's travels for his company.

Jenny books passage for them all on an ocean liner, and a stay at a Riviera hotel, from Gilbert, a dishonest, shyster travel agent. On the ship, they are dismayed to be assigned bunk beds in separate, crowded rooms with many teenagers, and endure an emergency drill; there is little privacy.

On arrival in Paris, Jenny leaves her husband with the school tour group, traveling alone to the bogus address shown as their Riviera hotel, hundreds of miles away. When she arrives at the luxurious mansion, she acts like she owns the place. She is puzzled to find it is instead a private home owned by a wealthy lawyer, Phillipe Maspere, who is equally puzzled at her arrival.

Jenny is unable to contact the phony travel agent. Nevertheless, Phillipe, who is attracted to her, offers her an extended stay there at a reasonable price with just him and his manservant/ butler.

Phillipe turns out to be a notorious womanizer who tries to seduce Jenny at a wild poolside party, unsuccessfully.

Grif, meanwhile, becomes friendly with an attractive chaperone with the American student group in Paris. When he indirectly learns of his wife Jenny's situation (by seeing a picture in a newspaper), he panics and impulsively drives cross-country alone at night, on a stolen school bus to get her.

When Grif arrives, seeing Jenny in the pool with the Frenchman, he punches him. Storming off in the bus she follows on the back of the butler's tricycle. She catches up with Grif but, as they head back to the tour group's hotel, they are stopped by Italian patrolmen, since the bus was reported stolen.

Jenny is placed in a jail cell with prostitutes, who are then all bailed out by their pimp and taken to a very fine hotel. Jenny is shocked to see her son at the brothel. The family is eventually reunited and they return home.

Cast

[edit]

Production and release

[edit]

How Sweet It Is! was the first production for National General Pictures. The title is taken from a television catchphrase popularized in the 1950s by comedian Jackie Gleason.[3]

Garner wrote in his memoirs that he "loved Debbie Reynolds. Loved Paul Lynde. Loved Terry Thomas. Hated the movie."[4]

Upon its release in August 1968,[1] the film received a mixed response with critics and audiences.[3] According to Howard Thompson of The New York Times, "This tired, aimlessly frisky comedy ... is about as sweet as a dill pickle."[1]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Thompson, Howard (August 22, 1968). "Screen: 'How Sweet It Is!' Begins Run; Debbie Reynolds Stars With James Garner". The New York Times. p. 47. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  2. ^ "Big Rental Films of 1968", Variety, 8 January 1969, pg 15.
  3. ^ a b Marshall, Garry; Marshall, Lori (1997). "Writing for Film and Theater and Not Making a Fortune". Wake Me When It's Funny: How to Break Into Show Business and Stay There. Newmarket Press. pp. 91–92. ISBN 1-55704-288-8. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  4. ^ Garner, James; Winokur, Jon (2011). The Garner Files: A Memoir. Simon & Schuster. p. 257.
[edit]
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