It Started with a Kiss (1959)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

George Marshall

Writers:

Valentine Davies (story)
Charles Lederer (writer)

Release Date:

4 September 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

Air Force Sgt. Joe Fitzpatrick meets and marries a beautiful model, Maggie Putnam, on the eve of being shipped off to Spain...

Plot Keywords:

Spain | Suspicion | Stranger | Male Female Relationship | Sergeant

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Glenn Ford	...	Sgt. Joe Fitzpatrick
Debbie Reynolds	...	Maggie Putnam
Eva Gabor	...	Marquesa Marion de la Rey
Gustavo Rojo	...	Antonio Soriano
Fred Clark	...	Maj. Gen. Tim O'Connell
Edgar Buchanan	...	Congressman Richard Tappe
Harry Morgan	...	Charles Meriden (as Henry 'Harry' Morgan)
Robert Warwick	...	Congressman Muir
Frances Bavier	...	Mrs. Tappe
Netta Packer	...	Mrs. Muir
Robert Cunningham	...	The Major
Alice Backes	...	Sally Meriden
Carmen Phillips	...	Belvah

Also Known As:

Eine tolle Nummer (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Comenzó con un beso (Argentina) [es]
Cominciò con un bacio (Italy) [it]
Det började med en kyss (Sweden) [sv]
Det begyndte med et kys (Denmark) [da]
Empezó con un beso (Spain) [es]
Se alkoi suudelmasta (Finland) [fi]
To fili mias nyhtas (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | USA:Unrated | Sweden:15 | Argentina:13

Company:

Arcola Pictures

Trivia:

Gene Blakely's first film.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Batmobile Revealed (2001) (V)

Soundtrack:

It Started with a Kiss

Starts with a bang...quickly fizzles

Half-price showgirl in New York, pining for a millionaire husband, marries lovestruck, underpaid Air Force Sergeant on the eve of his leaving for peacetime duty in Madrid; she follows, bringing misunderstandings, comic embarrassments, and a "car from the future" with her. Sex-based shenanigans for stars Glenn Ford and Debbie Reynolds is pleasant enough, particularly for the first forty or so minutes; after that, it deflates. Debbie, thinking she and Ford married for the wrong reason (sex), decides they should be platonic for a month--leaving Glenn to sleep on the sofa (when he's not taking cold showers). Movies based on misconceptions between characters have to be awfully smart to keep our interest (and keep us laughing), but this script by Charles Lederer, based on a Valentine Davies story, seems about ten years out of touch with the times. Ford thinks Debbie means she's pregnant when she writes that she has a big surprise, even though they've only been married for a month. When he meets her at the airport, she tells him the surprise could arrive the next day...and he STILL thinks she's talking about a baby! It's all in good fun, but these actors are much too smart to palmed off as dummies. ** from ****