Designing Woman (1957)

You won't be disappointed!

Purely Joyful Movie!

People are voting emotionally.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

While Designing Woman isn't as famous as other romantic classics, like Pillow Talk or Woman of the Year, there's a lot to love about this hidden gem from 1957. On a sad note, Humphrey Bogart was dying during the filming of this movie. Lauren Bacall said in her autobiography that Gregory Peck was a wonderful friend to them, and that his kindness and strength helped her survive the terrible tragedy. So, in case you sense any sort of tension in Lauren's performance, I hope you'll cut her some slack.Lauren plays a fashion designer, and Greg plays a sports writer. They fall in love and get married, but after their impulsive decision, they soon find they have very little in common. My favorite scene is when they are ordering at a restaurant. Lauren has previously revealed that she eats a lot when she's happy and in love, so when she orders a humungous meal, she looks at him sheepishly as they both realize she's fallen in love with him. It reminds me of the fantastic line from Sex, Lies and Videotape that Andie MacDowell says: "The last time I was happy, I got so fat!" All in all, it's pretty funny, with jokes about hangovers, sex, and infidelity that snuck past the strict Hollywood censors. If you like either of the leads, or if you like cute, smart flicks from the 1950s, give this one a try. It's as if Lauren's character from How to Marry a Millionaire met Greg's character from Roman Holiday and fell in love!

If only I could wrap myself in movies like Designing Woman. They exist in this ultrafizzy, Edward Hopper akin, CinemaScope universe in which the rich thrive and champagne flows freely. To look and act elegantly is a first priority. New York is a cocktail of newspaper headquarters, fashion shows, Broadway musicals, blondes, bottles, high-end restaurants where you may or may not see an Oscar winner. It's all artificial and it's about as deep as a 1960s era Palm Springs postcard; but despite my appreciation for films that take a trip down realism lane, Designing Woman, along with its colorful, vintage, romantic comedy counterparts, hold a special place in my heart. I don't just watch these films: I want to live in them, explore the possibilities of non-problems, witty lines, and romantic misunderstandings. It's the best kind of entertainment: fluffy, agreeable, smart, visually stunning, and fast, with two mega stars leading and clearly having a lot of fun with their material.Gregory Peck portrays Mike Hagen, a sports reporter who meets and instantly falls in love with Marilla Brown (Lauren Bacall), a fashion designer, during a sunny vacation. They have nothing common — he's a man's man, she a glamourpuss — but they forge a natural bond that eventually leads to a hasty (but loving) union. The first few months consist only of simple bliss, with few incidents of disagreement or annoyance. Conversations run easy, affection even easier.But all comes to a head one weekday evening. Mike invites his poker mates for a few rounds; Marilla summons her theater friends to chat about an upcoming play. The apartment is crowded, loud, and clashing. Things don't end up turning out well. The night is disastrous, all chaos and no fun, leaving the newlyweds disconcerted by the fact that their social circles hardly match. Things get even worse when Marilla discovers a risqué photo of a Broadway star (Dolores Gray) in Mike's old apartment. That same starlet, coincidentally, is playing the lead in a musical that Marilla is designing costumes for. Mandatory misunderstandings follow; but love conquers all.For such a tired plot, Designing Woman is sure energetic: comedy is one thing, but portraying it well, along with a starry romance, is another. George Wells' screenplay keeps things going at a fashionable, quick- witted pace, throwing in clever voiceovers, fourth-wall breakings, and winningly comedic scenarios that work more often than not. Paired with Minnelli's attractive directional skills, loaded with style, the film is fun but not so fun that brains are left in the sun to fry. This is a movie of exquisite taste, requiring no effort to draw us in.Better are the performances, with a suitably straight-manned Peck and a comedically superb Bacall. They look great together, but special notice should be put toward Bacall's stupendous work. As an actress typecast into the roles of low-voiced, seductive females for much of her career, Designing Woman sees her in an entirely different light. Here, she sizzles, giving a terrific performance that seems miles away from her legendary parts in To Have and Have Not or The Big Sleep. (Keep in mind that her husband, Humphrey Bogart, was at the end of his life during filming. Bacall is so good here that she makes us forget about that tragedy for just a moment.)I can't say that Designing Woman presents anything we haven't seen before, but it's hard to really care about familiarity here. Nostalgia for the past can sometimes be sickening, but a film like this makes one yearn for the 1950s, even if they were nothing like this.

Sports reporter Mike Hagen (Gregory Peck) and fashion designer Marilla Brown (Lauren Bacall) as well as others recall their whirlwind romance and marriage. It begins with Mike attending a golf invitational function in Beverly Hills. He's hungover the next morning and can't remember that he's met her the night before. They have a fun time together and quickly get married. They fly back together to NYC and their lives back home start to drive them apart.It's a functional rom-com with two Hollywood stars. They have reasonable chemistry together. The constant narration with the main premise of these people recounting their story got a bit annoying. I wanted the characters to just have the relationship and not be constantly commenting on it. The movie has its cute moments but no big laughs. Both leads do a fun job.

An attractively sophisticated comedy of manners, Designing Woman brilliantly showcases its stars. It's great to find Lauren Bacall not only so lovingly photographed and costumed, but so agreeably and appealingly cast. Even Peck acquits himself with honors. The support players, led by enchanting Dolores Gray, are also perfect. It's a particular pleasure to see Jack Cole come across with such verve and panache in his tailor-made role.Despite his award, it's hard to believe the screenplay is the solo work of George Wells. His best scripts were either written in collaboration or based on material from another source. I wouldn't mind betting that Dore Schary had a hand in shaping the script. It abounds in cute ideas that seem far too clever and inventive for Mr Wells, such as the old but still amusing Ernst Lubitsch/Groucho Marx/Maurice Chevalier trick of directly addressing the audience from time to time. Once or twice, Wells even uses another vintage tried-and-true device by repeating a scene, but this time viewed through different eyes. Polished direction contributes to the film's success. Vincente Minnelli (Father of the Bride) was always right at home with mildly satirical material, although he seems unsure how best to utilize the width of the CinemaScope screen. There's often unused acres of space on either side of the main participants.Miss Gray has a song which struck me as no great shakes, but I found the music score otherwise very pleasant. The costumes, of course, rate as simply terrific.Mind you, even allowing for Mr Peck's inflated salary, it's hard to fathom where close on $2 million went to. True, the movie has its fair share of glossy production values, but $2 million worth?