The Facts of Life (1960)

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

For the most part, Bob Hopes best movie roles were in his crisp comedies of the 1940s, including (but not limited to) the Road pictures. Then he did a series of slightly more serious comedy films in the 1950s and this one from 1960s, before he made quite a few rather inane comedies where -- at his age -- he thought he could still be a romantic screen star, albeit a comedy one. For my money, this is Bob Hope's last really good film, followed by a baker's dozen dumb movies.And, this film is quite good. It's not a laugh out loud comedy. More a romantic serio-comic outing, and it may surprise many, but both Hope and Lucille Ball show their serious acting chops here (she was nominated for a Golden Globe). There's great chemistry between Hope and Ball. And the supporting cast -- Ruth Hussey, Don DeFore, Philip Ober, and (believe it or not a restrained) Louis Nye do nicely, too, although this film belong solely to Hope and Ball.As to the plot, it's somewhat realistic. A man and woman, both married and in the same social group, are drawn together and have a rather low-key fling. While there is humor in many of the situations, this is probably a bit more on the dramatic side overall.I was a little disappointed at first that this 1960 film was in black and white, but the print I watched on TCM was in excellent condition and it seemed like quality cinematography.If you're expecting this to be a laugh-out-loud film, you'll be disappointed. But the films value is in solid acting by the two stars and an overall realistic script. Recommended.

A sort of Southern California version of Brief Encounter, reinvented to suit Bob Hope and Lucille Ball, who play married (but not to each other) Pasadena country club types who find themselves on an Acapulco vacation without their spouses - and fall in love. Lucille Ball plays Kitty very well and without undue sentiment. This is a type of character you may not have seen her play before. It's her performance that draws you into the story and makes you care. Bob Hope, as Larry, isn't really in Ball's league, as far as dramatic acting goes. He was never an emotional actor. But Norman Panama and Melvin Frank (who wrote for him so many other times), do something brilliant. They make his character a frustrated amateur comic. A wannabe Bob Hope, if you will. So that he can, in a sense, play himself. And it works.Overall, there are some missed opportunities for a really sharp comedy such as Billy Wilder might have made. But Panama and Frank are experts at writing funny yet entirely natural dialogue, and creating realistic characters and situations. The black and white film also features Philip Ober (Vivian Vance's husband, at the time), and in the smallish but important roles of the spouses, Ruth Hussey and Don DeFore.

I was surprised by this film and the quality of work by its two stars. We always think of Lucy as goofy or screwy and Hope either swinging a golf club or playing wingman for Bing Crosby. Billed as a romantic comedy, Hope and Ball aim for the funny bone. But there are some serious adult issues raised. This tasty confection, made in 1960, I think is a lot of fun (though it could have been better paced and the contrivances are a bit much) and it has two terrific old pros at work in roles that you just wouldn't expect them to be in. Lucy looked pretty good when she got all dolled up. And Hope is ageless as ever. I thought they had some chemistry between them. Also includes Ruth Hussey, Louie Nye and Dom DeFore (Ozzie and Harriet's neighbor).

One of their later screen teamings, THE FACTS OF LIFE was a 1960 comedy, rather adult for its time, where Bob and Lucy play two friends, married to others, who usually participate in a group vacation together and through some freak circumstances , end up on the vacation alone this year and grow so close they actually drift into an affair and consider leaving their spouses. I have to admit that this movie was surprising to me when I first saw it a few months ago, so I'm sure it raised a few eyebrows in the 1960's...infidelity was most likely a bold subject for a movie comedy and I doubt if it was something Bob or Lucy had done prior to this. but for this day and age, this was a very adult movie comedy that probably didn't do the business it deserved in 1960 because of its "contorversial" storyline. Though it would hardly be considered controversial today, this film was probably quite the departure for its stars and as a curio of cinema history, it is definitely worth a look.