Jump to content

A Private's Affair

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Private's Affair
Directed byRaoul Walsh
Screenplay byWinston Miller
Story byRay Livingston Murphy
Produced byDavid Weisbart
StarringSal Mineo
Christine Carère
Barry Coe
Barbara Eden
Gary Crosby
CinematographyCharles G. Clarke
Edited byDorothy Spencer
Music byCyril J. Mockridge
Production
company
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • October 9, 1959 (1959-10-09)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.2 million[1]
Box office$1.5 million (est. US/ Canada rentals)[2]

A Private's Affair is a 1959 American musical comedy film directed by Raoul Walsh. It stars Sal Mineo and Christine Carère. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1960.

Plot

[edit]

Two men from New York—Luigi, a hip wanna-be beatnik, and Jerry, who's from Long Island—end up in Army basic training in New Jersey, as does Mike, who's a rancher from Oregon.

At a dance, Luigi falls for Marie, a neighbor of Jerry, who in turn develops a romantic interest in Luigi's friend Louise. A WAC named Katie ends up accompanying Mike to the dance. The three G.I.s can sing and end up invited to perform on a New York television program, but Jerry becomes ill and is hospitalized.

Assistant Secretary to the Army Elizabeth Chapman, meanwhile, wants to keep a 6-year-old Dutch girl from being sent back to Holland after the girl's mother dies. Elizabeth decides to marry the girl's gravely injured father so she can assume custody of the child. By mistake, an unconscious Jerry is wheeled in and ends up wed to Elizabeth, who had no idea what the girl's dad looked like.

Chaos ensues, as Jerry is repeatedly arrested or brought to see psychiatrists when he claims to have been accidentally married to one of the top officers in the U.S. Army.

Cast

[edit]

Production

[edit]

The film was originally known as The Love Maniac and was announced in October 1956 as a vehicle for Elvis Presley and Jayne Mansfield.[3] It was retitled A Private Affair in 1959.[4]

The movie was one of a number made by 20th Century Fox at the time aimed at the youth market using contract talent. Others included Holiday for Lovers and Blue Denim.[5]

The film was meant to star Sheree North but she dropped out when she fell pregnant and was replaced by Barbara Eden, then best known for the TV series How to Marry a Millionaire. Filming began 1 April 1959.[6]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p252
  2. ^ "1959: Probable Domestic Take", Variety, 6 January 1960; p. 34
  3. ^ [1] [dead link]
  4. ^ [2] [dead link]
  5. ^ [3] [dead link]
  6. ^ [4] [dead link]
[edit]