In the Cool of the Day (1963)

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

It "wasn't very good."Jane Fonda, Peter Finch, Angela Lansbury, Arthur Hill, and Constance Cummings star in "In the Cool of the Day" (1963.I have no idea what the title means. It's one of those titles like "Fever in the Blood." Actually, "Fever in the Blood" would have been better.Murray Logan (Finch) plays a publisher who falls in love with his friend Sam's (Arthur Hill) young wife Christine (Jane Fonda). She is a fragile woman both physically and emotionally, suffering from a lung disorder.Part of her problem is her mother (Constance Cummings); she is afraid of her and hates to be around her. Christine's husband worships the ground she walks on, but at this point, they are separated and she is living with her father (Alexander Bonner), and they meet at his house.Murray's wife, Sibyl (Angela Lansbury) is a recluse, due to a horrid automobile accident she and Murray were in which killed their little boy. Murray feels responsible so he puts up with her, though she's a nasty woman.Sam makes certain promises to Christine about the way she can live her life -- he's very suffocating -- and she desperately wants to see Greece. She invites Murray and Sibyl to accompany her and Sam. Surprisingly, Sibyl accepts.The Grecian scenery is stunning.The movie overall moves like molasses, and it was difficult to invest in any of the characters. As far as Fonda's hair - it was distracting. It's also the way women wore their hair in the '60s. I didn't mind her clothes, which some have mentioned. She was still quite beautiful.The performances were okay - for me, only Lansbury and Cummings provided any spark. Fonda's performance was a little mannered for me. I can never get over the fact that Arthur Hill was the original George in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf because he's the same in every single thing I've seen him in. Peter Finch didn't register a ton of emotion.The ending was very clichéd.I just found it a waste of good talent and beautiful locations.

If fashion and Mediterranean scenery tend to dazzle you about a movie then you'll likely be all up in the clouds dancing over this one. For the rest of us who desire somewhat more from our hours invested in a movie, In-the-Cool-of-the-Day falls far short of the mark I'm afraid.It's your basic "Two people married to other people fall in love on a romantic European trip, having been put together alone due to circumstances and also the situation in each of their marriages." In Fonda's character's case she's simply not in love with her doting and rather 'doormattish' husband. In Finch's character's case his wife (Landsbury) is a miserable joy-killing shrew of a woman who is playing ever the martyr and guilt-tripping him over a past tragedy in their lives. While Fonda's husband can't make the trip, Finch and Landsbury end up fighting and she walking out, leaving he and Fonda to continue on alone.The back story on Fonda's character is that she has been sickly since early childhood, having had multiple surgeries on her lungs and nearly dying. In any normal family of the time that would mean the only sensible course of action, that being no one smokes near her. But in THIS film the production (writers, director, producer, etc) all thought it was no big deal to just have all involved puffing away like steam engines including Jane's character herself.While the view on smoking was a little different back in '63 than it is today it is still fairly unthinkable that a physician would raise major concern over a trip by car through the mountains due to a little rain yet have no quarrel whatsoever about a girl with serious respiratory ailments smoking like a chimney.As for the ending all I'll say is I found it abrupt, unsurprising, and disappointing, Fonda herself is absolutely gorgeous. The vistas and views of the countryside are spectacular. The acting is decent. The story and plot is where this film falls flat.4/10

Peter Finch and Jane Fonda play a pair of unhappy marrieds who run off to Greece for a fling in In The Cool Of The Day. With this film Jane takes on a role back in the day would have been played by her father's first wife Margaret Sullavan who was always playing tragic heroines in the glory days of Hollywood.Fonda plays a sickly woman much like Sullavan in Three Comrades. But that doesn't mean she doesn't want to live and experience life. Her husband Arthur Hill is overprotective as she sees it, treating her like a hothouse plant. As for Finch he's married to a bitter and reclusive Angela Lansbury.As Finch is a Hellenophile it's off to Greece for them where we experience In The Cool Of The Day's biggest asset, colorful location cinematography of some of Greece's best attractions. The second thing In The Cool Of The Day has going for it is the title song written by Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis who got an Oscar three years earlier for Never On Sunday. Nat King Cole's recording of it over the title credits is still warm and glowing.But who gave Fonda that hairdo for this film ought to have been canned. Al Bundy used to call Marcy Darcy, sergeant Carterhead for her do on Married With Children and this one kind of reminds me a bit of it. If you like the players or are a Hellenophile than you should In The Cool Of The Day.

If you like Jane Fonda, you will enjoy her acting in this picture and also how very young looking she looked in all her fancy looking clothes. There is also fantastic photography through out Greece and the ancient ruins, also a nice Greek dance with Peter Finch and Jane Fonda. Murray Logan, (Peter Finch) is a successful author married to Sybil Logan, (Angela Lansbury) and they are a very unhappy couple because of a tragic event in their early marriage. Sam Bonner, (Arthur Hill) is a very good friend of Murray and one day he meets his wife, Christine Bonner, (Jane Fonda). As soon as this couple look at each other, you can see in their eyes an outstanding attraction and this is what makes this film a triangle of love and romance and plenty of fights.