The Swinger

The Swinger
November 14, 1966
Paramount
Comedy
VHS
C+

Ann-Margret wants to be taken seriously as a writer, but her writing is too wholesome for Girl Lure editor Tony Franciosa, so she plagiarizes a bunch of pulp novels and submits the new piece as her autobiography.  So then, with his aunt egging them both on, he tries to reform her while she tries to keep up her wild image.  He finds out the truth so he makes her "relive" her experiences for a series of photos and then pretends he's going to rape her in a motel.  He gets arrested for abduction and she and her parents (Gidget's mom Mary LaRoche [as well as AM's mom in Bye Bye Birdie] and Milton Frome, the police captain in Girl Happy) see his arrest on live TV, so she hops on her motorcycle to go down to the police station.  Meanwhile, Tony steals a police car.  They crash into each other and die, except the film reverses like it did for Soupy Sales when he was going to crash into a bridge in Birds Do It.  Cue the happy ending hug.  Oh, and there's a lecherous British publisher who regularly harasses his secretary but turns out to never "score."

Even in the pre-feminist '60s, this wouldn't have exactly been a lighthearted night at the movies, and watching it now, I'm not sure the campiness can make up for the wretched sexual politics.  But it is campy, especially the scenes set at AM's home, which seems to be some sort of proto-hippie commune, shared with, among others, a vice cop, a protestor, and this guy whose name I can't find on IMDB but he's also in The Cool Ones and is a dancer with a few lines in both movies.  Her housemates help her throw an "orgy," which involves her being used as a human paintbrush, more messy than sexy.  There are also random Batman sound effects, e.g. "Pooooooooow!"  And opening narration that makes LA sound like a cesspool.  So I guess, watch it if you must.  You won't be bored anyway.

Nydia Westman, who plays Aunt Cora, was Mamie the maid in Little Women, back when she was about 30.  Peter Gowland was in Citizen Kane.  Steven Geray, the man with the fish, appeared in All About Eve and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, while Craig Hill, was in All About Eve.  Horace McMahon, who is Sgt. Hooker of the vice squad (ho ho), was on the other side of the law, as Mugsy, in Abbott and Costello Go to Mars.  Larry J. Blake, Honest Hal the Used Car Dealer here, was a finance man in Sunset Blvd.  Dick Whittinghill, who was a TV interviewer in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, plays a TV crewman here.  Phil Arnold, who plays a derelict here, was the hotel guest watching TV in I'll Take Sweden.  Romo Vincent, here playing Jack Happy, was the tuba player in Sgt. Deadhead.  Norman Leavitt, who appears as Herbie the Ice Cream Vendor, was recently Titus Zeale, gas station proprietor, in Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!  And Myrna Ross is cast against type, playing Sally, Franciosa's sensible secretary, after being Boots in the AIP Beach Party movies.

Diki Lerner, who was a tango dancer in Singin' in the Rain, plays "Svengali" here, and would be Zoltan in Easy Come, Easy Go.  Phyllis Davis, Veronica Ericson, and Heidi Winston would all be in Live a Little, Love a Little.  Marjorie Bennett was Miss Lark in Mary Poppins, is Philbert's wife here, and would be Miss Pickering in The Love God?  Robert Coote, who plays the lecherous publisher, would have a more sympathetic role, as Stanley Krum, in The Cool Ones.