Boeing Boeing
Encyclopedia
Boeing Boeing (707) (alternately titled Boeing Boeing) is a 1965 American bedroom farce
comedy film, based on the 1960 French play
Boeing-Boeing, and starring Jerry Lewis
and Tony Curtis
. It was released on December 22, 1965. It is also Jerry's last film for Paramount Pictures
, for which he had made films exclusively since 1949's My Friend Irma
.
) is an American journalist stationed in Paris, France. A playboy, he has devised an ingenious system for juggling three different girlfriends: by dating stewardesses who are assigned to international routes on non-intersecting flight schedules, only one woman is in the country at any given time. He has their comings and goings timetabled with such precision that he can drop off his British United Airways
girlfriend (Suzanna Leigh
) for her outgoing flight and pick up his inbound Lufthansa
girlfriend (Christiane Schmidtmer
) on the very same trip to the airport—while his Air France
girlfriend (Dany Saval
) is in a holding pattern elsewhere.
With help from his long-suffering housekeeper Bertha (Thelma Ritter
) -- who swaps the appropriate photos and food in and out of the apartment to match the incoming girlfriend—none of the ladies is aware of each other's presence in the apartment. They regard Lawrence's flat as their "home" during their Paris layovers.
Bernard is so happy with his life in Paris that he intends to turn down an imminent promotion that would require him to move to New York City.
Bernard's life is turned upside down when his girlfriends' airlines begin putting new, state-of-the-art aircraft into service. These faster airplanes change all of the existing route schedules and allow the stewardesses to spend more time in Paris. Most alarming for Bernard, his three girlfriends will now all be in Paris at the same time.
Robert Reed (Jerry Lewis
), a fellow journalist and an old acquaintance, complicates Bernard's life even further when he arrives in town and is unable to find a hotel room. He insists on staying in Bernard's apartment for a few days. When he sees Bernard's living situation, he schemes to take over Bernard's apartment, his girls, his housekeeper, and Bernard's Paris job and manipulate him into taking the new job in New York.
.
Bernard Lawrence
Jerry Lewis ...
Robert Reed
Dany Saval ...
Jacqueline Grieux / Air France
Christiane Schmidtmer ...
Lise Bruner / Lufthansa
Suzanna Leigh ...
Vicky Hawkins / British United
Thelma Ritter ...
Bertha
Lomax Study ...
Pierre
for the first Quentin Tarantino Film Fest
in Austin, Texas, 1996.
Bedroom farce
A bedroom farce or sex farce is a type of light comedy, centered on the sexual pairings and recombinations of characters as they move through improbable plots and slamming doors...
comedy film, based on the 1960 French play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
Boeing-Boeing, and starring Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
and Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
. It was released on December 22, 1965. It is also Jerry's last film for Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, for which he had made films exclusively since 1949's My Friend Irma
My Friend Irma (film)
My Friend Irma is a comedy film directed by George Marshall and is most notable as the film debut of comedy team Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis...
.
Plot
Bernard Lawrence (Tony CurtisTony Curtis
Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
) is an American journalist stationed in Paris, France. A playboy, he has devised an ingenious system for juggling three different girlfriends: by dating stewardesses who are assigned to international routes on non-intersecting flight schedules, only one woman is in the country at any given time. He has their comings and goings timetabled with such precision that he can drop off his British United Airways
British United Airways
British United Airways was a private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airline formed as a result of the merger of Airwork Services and Hunting-Clan Air Transport in July 1960, making it the largest wholly private airline based in the United Kingdom at the time...
girlfriend (Suzanna Leigh
Suzanna Leigh
Suzanna Leigh is a former English actress.Born to a manufacturer of car engines Suzanna Leigh grew up in the Belgrave district of Leicester, England and later went to convent schools outside London...
) for her outgoing flight and pick up his inbound Lufthansa
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG is the flag carrier of Germany and the largest airline in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried. The name of the company is derived from Luft , and Hansa .The airline is the world's fourth-largest airline in terms of overall passengers carried, operating...
girlfriend (Christiane Schmidtmer
Christiane Schmidtmer
Christiane Schmidtmer was a German actress, fashion model and nude model of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early life:Christiane Schmidtmer was born in Mannheim, Germany to Gertrud and Jakob Schmidtmer on Christmas Eve 1939...
) on the very same trip to the airport—while his Air France
Air France
Air France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...
girlfriend (Dany Saval
Dany Saval
Dany Saval is a former French actress.Lithe and lovely French leading lady of the late 1950s and 1960s in both fluffy comedy and intrigue...
) is in a holding pattern elsewhere.
With help from his long-suffering housekeeper Bertha (Thelma Ritter
Thelma Ritter
Thelma Ritter was an American supporting and character actress from the 1940s until her death in 1969.-Early life:...
) -- who swaps the appropriate photos and food in and out of the apartment to match the incoming girlfriend—none of the ladies is aware of each other's presence in the apartment. They regard Lawrence's flat as their "home" during their Paris layovers.
Bernard is so happy with his life in Paris that he intends to turn down an imminent promotion that would require him to move to New York City.
Bernard's life is turned upside down when his girlfriends' airlines begin putting new, state-of-the-art aircraft into service. These faster airplanes change all of the existing route schedules and allow the stewardesses to spend more time in Paris. Most alarming for Bernard, his three girlfriends will now all be in Paris at the same time.
Robert Reed (Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
), a fellow journalist and an old acquaintance, complicates Bernard's life even further when he arrives in town and is unable to find a hotel room. He insists on staying in Bernard's apartment for a few days. When he sees Bernard's living situation, he schemes to take over Bernard's apartment, his girls, his housekeeper, and Bernard's Paris job and manipulate him into taking the new job in New York.
Production
Boeing Boeing was filmed from April 8 to June 30, 1965. As both Curtis and Lewis wanted top billing, their names appeared on a jet engine's rotating nacelleNacelle
The nacelle is a cover housing that holds engines, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. In some cases—for instance in the typical "Farman" type "pusher" aircraft, or the World War II-era P-38 Lightning—an aircraft's cockpit may also be housed in a nacelle, which essentially fills the...
.
Cast
Tony Curtis ...Bernard Lawrence
Jerry Lewis ...
Robert Reed
Dany Saval ...
Jacqueline Grieux / Air France
Christiane Schmidtmer ...
Lise Bruner / Lufthansa
Suzanna Leigh ...
Vicky Hawkins / British United
Thelma Ritter ...
Bertha
Lomax Study ...
Pierre
Legacy
The film was selected by Quentin TarantinoQuentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
for the first Quentin Tarantino Film Fest
Quentin Tarantino Film Festival
The Quentin Tarantino Film Festival, or QT-Fest, is a semi-annual film and multimedia event held by the Austin Film Society in Austin, Texas and attended by film director Quentin Tarantino. Most recently, the Alamo Drafthouse theater in downtown Austin, Texas has been the selected venue...
in Austin, Texas, 1996.
See also
- Come Fly with MeCome Fly with Me (film)Come Fly with Me is a 1963 comedy film about three beautiful international airline stewardesses looking for romance and excitement. The film has dramatic or soap opera elements to it, and was a vehicle for glamorizing the jet age and the prestige, adventure and romance that came with being a...
, 1963 film - Coffee, Tea or Me?Coffee, Tea or Me?Coffee, Tea or Me? is a book of alleged memoirs by Trudy Baker and Rachel Jones written "with" Donald Bain and first published in 1967. The book depicts the anecdotal lives of two lusty young fictional stewardesses...
, 1967 novel - The StewardessesThe StewardessesThe Stewardesses is a 1969 softcore, later R-rated, theatrical 3-D film produced, directed and written by Allan Silliphant and starring Christina Hart, Monica Gayle, Paula Erickson, and Donna Stanley....
, 1969 film