Thursday, August 7, 2014

The Pleasure of Fred Astaire's Company

The importance of casting cannot be overestimated. To substantiate this remark, I offer as evidence the 1961 comedy The Pleasure of His Company.

Fred Astaire stars as Biddeford “Pogo” Ford, a globetrotting playboy who has returned to San Francisco to attend his daughter Jessica’s wedding. The catch is that Pogo has only seen Jessica (Debbie Reynolds) three times in the last 15 years and not since she became a young woman. That hasn't dissuaded Jessica from asking her father to give her away at the wedding. Indeed, she is thrilled to see her father—although nobody else is.

As for Pogo, he has a hidden agenda and that’s to whisk away his daughter prior to the nuptials. He charms Jessica while skillfully humiliating her cattle rancher fiancé (Tab Hunter). In fact, he can scarcely hide his satisfaction when he causes a heated argument between the young couple.

Fred dances a little...with Lilli Palmer.
When not interfering in his daughter’s life, Pogo works hard to woo back his ex-wife Kate (Lilli Palmer) and irritate her husband Jim (Gary Merrill). He moves into Jim’s study and rearranges the furniture. He tries to fill Kate’s head with wonderful—but made-up—memories of their married life. He steals a portrait of Jessica. He changes the champagne order for the wedding. In short, Pogo is a self-centered nuisance who wants whatever he doesn't have. He is not a nice person, which is why the casting of Fred Astaire works so wonderfully.

He effortlessly displays Pogo’s irresistible charm. There’s a smile on his lips and a twinkle in his eyes even as Pogo tries to destroy his daughter’s future happiness. He portrays the rascally playboy as a kid who knows he’s being bad, but can’t seem to help it. And because it’s Fred Astaire, the audience tends to cut Pogo some slack, too.

Debbie Reynolds (and Fred's hands).
Of course, the script often works in Pogo’s favor. Jessica’s fiancé may be a nice guy, but he is incredibly boring and the couple hardly seems compatible. Likewise, Jim comes across as an affable but dull spouse, though—after experiencing “a common case of Pogo Poole”—Kate seems content with her life with Jim. She is also the one who knows Pogo best, telling her daughter that her father “needs to have someone to give him substance.”

Lovely Lilli Palmer.
Indeed, one of the film’s greatest assets is Lilli Palmer’s performance as Kate. Looking radiant at age 47, she makes it easy to see why Pogo questions why he divorced her. The elegant German actress was married to Rex Harrison from 1943 to 1957. After starring in Hollywood productions such as Body and Soul and Cloak and Dagger, she moved back to Europe where she worked steadily until her death at age 71 in 1986.

The Pleasure of His Company was adapted from Samuel Taylor’s 1958 Broadway play that starred Cyril Ritchard as Pogo, Dolores Hart (Where the Boys Are) as Jessica, and a young George Peppard as Jessica’s fiancé. The only actor to appear in both play and film was Charles Ruggles as Kate’s father. He won a Tony for his stage performance, although he sadly gets little screen time in the film version.

Cinematographer Robert Burks (a Hitchcock favorite) lovingly captures the sights and sounds of San Francisco. Unfortunately, the dialogue-driven plot takes place mostly indoors. The result is that The Pleasure of His Company becomes a talky affair and, despite delightful performances from the cast (particularly Astaire and Palmer), it wears out its welcome. Just like Pogo Poole.

13 comments:

  1. I don't believe I've ever gotten around to this one. Sounds like a lazy Sunday afternoon sort of a deal.

    Fred Astaire mastered the role of a charming rotter. The first movie my daughter saw him in (when she was quite young) was "Holiday Inn" and it took her years to forgive him for trying to steal Bing's girl.

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    1. "Charming rotter"--what an apt description! And yes, Fred's performance here also reminded me of HOLIDAY INN (except Pogo might be even worse).

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  2. Rick, I loved this movie as a kid. It was on the 4:30 movie on ABC if memory serves me correctly. I wish TCM would show it. It is a good movie to see to the importance not only of casting but true star power. Without Fred and Lili, this is a sub-par movie.

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  3. What I love about this movie: the San Francisco setting, Fred Astaire (of course) and gorgeous Lilli Palmer, the first actress I think of when the phrase "ageless beauty" comes to mind.

    I remember seeing her in the mini-series "Peter the Great," which turned out to be her final onscreen performance. She was still stunning at 71.

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  4. This film is definitely a showcase for Fred Astaire and Lilli Palmer. Astaire plays a cad very well while Miss Palmer lights up the screen in every scene she does. It is delightful to see Fred have a dance scene because he is always light on his very capable feet. The third standout is the wonderful Charles Ruggles but, as you point out, he is sadly underutilized.

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    1. Toto, I love the scene at the party where all the ladies wants to dance with Pogo!

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  5. Love this movie but you are so right that Pogo is a charming but reprehensible rake. Fred makes him as sympathetic as possible but even with his full on star power Pogo is a selfish waster.

    Lilli casts a continental spell and I think outshines Fred. It's too bad that Charlie Ruggles's part was paired down from the play because he's gold whenever he shows up in the film.

    The shots of San Francisco are beautiful as is the house Lilli and Gary live in. The film has that old studio sheen that can't be replicated now no matter how many computers they use.

    One note: Tab Hunter played Debbie's fiancee not Ty Hardin.

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    1. Thanks for the correction, Joel (which I fixed). I'm not sure why I put the wrong TH! I agree that Lilli is exceptional. I've seen her in several movies and always liked her. But until watching this movie again, I had apparently forgotten wonderful she was in it.

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    2. Check out "Counterfeit Traitor" if you haven't seen it, you would like it as a Lilli Palmer fan. Not underrated by those who have seen it, but seems to get very little play on tv.

      Agree that Astaire pulls off his part as well as possible, but I found his character's self centeredness off putting overall.

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    3. Checking the credits list of Counterfeit Traitor, I see George Seaton directed both that one and The Pleasure of His Company.

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    4. Thanks, Patrick. I'll be on the lookout for THE COUNTERFEIT TRAITOR.

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  6. Any other Fred Astaire movie I could comment on, except this one. The only Astaire movie I've never seen. Despite your criticisms, I'd still love to see it one day. Agree with Patrick about COUNTERFEIT TRAITOR. Terrific movie.

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  7. Fred's character's name is Biddeford "Pogo" Poole, not Biddeford "Pogo" Poole.

    To bad I can't find this movie on DVD because I'd love to own a copy!

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