7/29/08: A Guide for the Married Man (1967)It’s a new season of
Mad Men—woo-hoo. We’re about to start watching the first season, but we still don’t trust the show. We're glad that so many conservative types enjoy the manly setting of advertising in the early ’60s. We’re just not ready to make a commitment to what’ll likely end as an indictment of all that the series has celebrated.
On the other hand,
A Guide for the Married Man nails the same era late in the game—and truly manages to have it both ways. This amazing sex comedy was certainly dated by the time it came out in 1967. It wasn’t a particularly big hit, but now exists as classic Technicolor craziness. The big sell is director Gene Kelly’s typically manic pace, as he made his own version of a Frank Tashlin film. Which is to say, a live-action cartoon.
Walter Matthau stars as investment manager Paul Manning, who’s got hopping-popping eyeballs for his luscious neighbor lady. In fact, he’s leering at every bouncing babe in Los Angeles while ignoring the incredible Inger Stevens as his needy wife. Paul’s desperate for some philandering, and next-door neighbor Ed Stander is happy to provide important tips on successful cheating.
From there, the film’s a parade of cameos by big-name stars illustrating the pitfalls of extramarital affairs.
A Guide for the Married Man offers more than the likes of Jack Benny and Lucille Ball, though. You also get memorable appearances from lesser lights such as Jackie Joseph, Angelique Pettyjohn, and Linda Harrison. There’s also Jayne Mansfield in her final proper role, and it’s nice that she got to go out on a major production instead of
Las Vegas Hillbillys.
Debate amongst yourselves whether Paul’s planned infidelity represents evil modern morality or old-fashioned chauvinism. There’s nothing ambiguous about Robert Morse’s amazing turn as thoroughly modern Ed. He comes loaded with all kinds of breezy rationalizations. As he explains to Paul, “Protecting your loved ones is never easy”—referring to the sacrifices Ed makes to keep his wife from knowing about his girlfriends.
See, it’s all for the good of his marriage. “I haven’t resented [my wife] for six years,” Ed proudly declares. It’s hardly a spoiler to reveal that Paul eventually discovers a new appreciation for his wife. The real fun is enjoying Morse—who we hear is also in
Mad Men—as the carefully-coiffed swinger. Give him a Southern accent, and he’d bear a striking resemblance to a certain political figure who was recently in desperate need of helpful hints. Specifically, that there’s no late-night rendezvous late enough to catch the
National Enquirer sleeping.
If you’re a Democrat, though, the
Los Angeles Times—and all the other major newspapers—will gladly sleep through your merry missteps. Maybe that’s the real moral to
A Guide for the Married Man. Paul finds his happiness at home, but guys like Ed are the wave of the future. They’ll have plenty of decades to embrace more voguish morality and end up as a protected species. Paul will spend the rest of his life being told that his happiness is a façade.
Make it your own: Maybe a little more
Mad Men fever will get a deluxe-edition DVD of
A Guide for the Married Man. Morse is still around for a commentary. The
existing DVD is okay, but there are no real extras—so
here’s The Turtles performing the title theme.
