If a Man Answers: Treating Your Husband Like a Dog

Sandra Dee as Chantel.

Romantic comedies were box office gold in the early 1960s with hits like Lover Come Back and Come September (both 1961). Therefore, it was inevitable that a Hollywood studio would make one aimed at the young adult crowd. That's what Universal had in mind when it cast Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin as the leads in If a Man Answers (1962).

Dee and Darin met on the set of Come September, fell in love, and were married in 1960. By 1962, Sandra Dee was the ninth biggest draw at the U.S. box office and Bobby Darin had a #3 hit record on the Billboard Top 40 chart with "Things."

In If a Man Answers, Sandra Dee stars as a young socialite named Chantel, who has rejected numerous suitors. Her attitude toward men changes when she meets Eugene (Darin), a smooth-talking fashion photographer. He asks her to pose for him for a calendar shoot and--after some minor obstacles--the two get married.

Bobby Darin as Chantel.

However, Eugene doesn't want to photograph his wife in risqué outfits, so he hires Chantel's "friend" Tina (Stefanie Powers) as a model. That creates its own problems for the newlyweds. Chantel turns to her mother for advice and receives an unexpected response. Her mother "trained" Chantel's father using lessons from a dog obedience book. At first, Chantel is incredulous, but when she tries one of the dog training techniques on Eugene, it works like a charm.

Micheline Presle.

It's a silly premise, but works surprisingly well thanks to the agreeable cast. While Dee and Darin hold their own as the stars, it's the older supporting cast that shines. As Chantel's mother, French actress Micheline Presle adds elegance, intelligence, and a touch of sparkle. It's easy to see why her daughter confides everything to her and why her husband is devoted to her. Cesar Romero is her equivalent as Eugene's playboy father, who makes an appearance late in the film. Romero was born to portray charming lovers who are more playful than dangerous. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor.

The other "star" of If a Man Answers is costume designer Jean Louis. The Hollywood veteran makes Sandra Dee, Micheline Presle, and Stefanie Powers look fabulous in tailored dresses in vibrant colors such as red, orange, and blue. Jean Louis is especially successful at enhancing Dee's sexiness after the actress was all but stereotyped as a tomboy in movies such as Gidget (1959) and Tammy Tell Me True (1961).

If a Man Answers continued Sandra Dee's string of hit movies. Bobby Darin's next film was a dramatic change-of-pace with him playing an Air Force gunner suffering for post-traumatic stress disorder in Captain Newman, M.D. (1963). Darin's performance earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 1965, husband and wife teamed up again for another romantic comedy, That Funny Feeling.

By the late 1960s, however, Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin had divorced and each began to experience a decline in popularity. Darin died in 1973 following open heart surgery; he was 37. Sandra Dee appeared sporadically on television, but essentially retired from acting in 1978. She died in 2005 at age 62 from complications of kidney disease. Their son, Dodd Mitchell Darin, wrote a biography of his parents in 1994 titled Dream Lovers: The Magnificent Shattered Lives of Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee.

Love, Hogs, and Mincemeat at the State Fair!

Ann-Margret and Pat Boone.

This bright 1962 remake of the Rodgers-Hammerstein musical State Fair (1945) was clearly intended to attract the young adult audience. Top-billed Pat Boone had scored a #1 hit song with "Moody River" the previous year. Co-star Bobby Darin was still churning out hit singles with regularity. For good measure, the cast included two up-and-coming actresses: Ann-Margret and Pamela Tiffin.

Boone and Tiffin played siblings who are attending the Texas State Fair with their parents. Wayne Frake (Pat Boone) hopes to win an auto race. His mother has entered her mincemeat into a contest. Dad has big plans for his prized hog Blue Boy. As for their daughter Margy (Pamela Tiffin), she is looking for something--she's just not sure what.

Pamela Tiffin as Margy.

To their surprise, both of the Frake kids find love at the fair. In between fine-tuning his car's carburetor, Wayne falls hard for Emily (Ann-Margret), a vivacious entertainer that's unlike any of the girls back in Wayne's home town. In another case of opposites attract, Margy becomes enamored with a smooth-talking TV host (Bobby Darin). 

Will the kids' romances turn out to be the "real thing"? Will Mom's mincemeat triumph over the big companies? Will Blue Boy regain his confidence and become top hog? State Fair answers all these questions!

The plot hews pretty closely with the 1945 version, the only musical that Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein wrote directly for the screen. In the earlier film, Wayne isn't an amateur race car driver, Margy's boyfriend is a newspaper reporter, and the setting is the Iowa State Fair. Richard Rodgers also wrote the music and lyrics for five news songs for the 1962 film. (Incidentally, I can't imagine the song "Never Say No to a Man" being included in any future productions.)

Ann-Margret as Emily.

As expected, Pat Boone is the featured vocalist. Surprisingly, Bobby Darin has only one solo number, the mediocre "This Isn't Heaven" (one of the new tunes). The musical highlight belongs to Ann-Margret, who turns "Isn't It Kinda Fun" into a dynamic song-and-dance number. The soundtrack's most famous song, the Oscar-winning "It Might As Well Be Spring," is lip-synced by Pamela Tiffin; most references list Anita Gordon as the singer.

While generally pleasant and diverting, State Fair is still a lesser effort compared to other Rodgers-Hammerstein musicals. Frankly, the songs aren't as good and director José Ferrer doesn't know how to shoot a musical. For example, he uses a wide shot during much of "It Might As Well Be Spring," a sweetly melancholy song that calls for close-ups of the performer's face.

Incidentally, Wally Cox is on-screen for less than ten minutes, but proves to be a supreme scene-stealer as a contest judge who can't enough of Ma Frakes' brandy-soaked mincemeat.