Naive baby adults need not arrive unless they have a suicide wish. This is the New York City of the late 50's, gritty and mean, where nice people become malcontents just to survive. Rude hotel clerks, punk kids, lecherous bosses and telephone men, cruel landlords and hard luck broads, just a few examples of whom newbie Tony Curtis meets on day one. He's completely miscast in this part as who'd believe the Harlem born actor with the thick New Yawk accent as an innocent sap?
His arrival at landlady Kay Medford's apartment building results in tough talking Debbie Reynolds being evicted but an agreement helps them share the apartment. One big mistake is not having a scene where Curtis tries to convince Medford to agree to it as she can't stand Reynolds. Curtis is a struggling saxophone player (and not in drag this time) while Reynolds is a dancer and model struggling to make ends meet.
On the contrast of all the mean New Yorkers is friendly bar owner Jack Oakie, heart of gold and free advice for every beer he sells. Norman Fell is the man taking out Reynolds' phone who is convinced to accept a date with her in keeping the phone connected, and Don Rickles is Reynolds' lecherous boss, a completely serious role, threatening to rape her. The actor playing the hotel clerk insulting Curtis right after his arrival is just the beginning of his cruel encounters.
As for Medford, she's not even the tough dame with the heart of gold. Her heart lost any trace of niceness years before this, and she's fascinating to watch, especially compared to her role as Streisand's mother in "Funny Girl". Rickles really lays on the villainy for a shocking role. A great montage has Curtis on a Greyhound passing through Chicago, Cleveland, and Philadelphia before he settles in New York. The dark cynicism of the film is truly scary and Reynolds has one of her best dramatic parts. Too bad Curtis, as good as he is, seems so wrong here. For their only pairing, they're good together.
His arrival at landlady Kay Medford's apartment building results in tough talking Debbie Reynolds being evicted but an agreement helps them share the apartment. One big mistake is not having a scene where Curtis tries to convince Medford to agree to it as she can't stand Reynolds. Curtis is a struggling saxophone player (and not in drag this time) while Reynolds is a dancer and model struggling to make ends meet.
On the contrast of all the mean New Yorkers is friendly bar owner Jack Oakie, heart of gold and free advice for every beer he sells. Norman Fell is the man taking out Reynolds' phone who is convinced to accept a date with her in keeping the phone connected, and Don Rickles is Reynolds' lecherous boss, a completely serious role, threatening to rape her. The actor playing the hotel clerk insulting Curtis right after his arrival is just the beginning of his cruel encounters.
As for Medford, she's not even the tough dame with the heart of gold. Her heart lost any trace of niceness years before this, and she's fascinating to watch, especially compared to her role as Streisand's mother in "Funny Girl". Rickles really lays on the villainy for a shocking role. A great montage has Curtis on a Greyhound passing through Chicago, Cleveland, and Philadelphia before he settles in New York. The dark cynicism of the film is truly scary and Reynolds has one of her best dramatic parts. Too bad Curtis, as good as he is, seems so wrong here. For their only pairing, they're good together.