Phffft!
Encyclopedia
Phffft! is a 1954 black and white romantic
comedy
starring Judy Holliday
, Jack Lemmon
, Jack Carson
and featuring Kim Novak
, in a small but notable role. It was written by George Axelrod
and directed by Mark Robson
, and was the second film featuring Holliday and Lemmon that year, after It Should Happen to You
.
-type character who finds the dashing Robert quite cute, but he feels uncomfortable with Janis and any other girls that he dates. Nina also tries to date other men but fails as she is still in love with Robert. Although they try to ignore each other any time that they accidentally meet, it is obvious that the past is not dead. Then one night, they find themselves in a nightclub, dancing the mambo together.
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
starring Judy Holliday
Judy Holliday
Judy Holliday was an American actress.Holliday began her career as part of a night-club act, before working in Broadway plays and musicals...
, Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
, Jack Carson
Jack Carson
John Elmer "Jack" Carson was a Canadian-born U.S.-based film actor.Jack Carson was one of the most popular character actors during the 'golden age of Hollywood', with a film career spanning the 1930s, '40s and '50s...
and featuring Kim Novak
Kim Novak
Kim Novak is an American film and television actress. She began her career with her roles in Pushover and Phffft! but achieved greater prominence in the 1955 film Picnic...
, in a small but notable role. It was written by George Axelrod
George Axelrod
George Axelrod was an American screenwriter, producer, playwright and film director, best known for his play, The Seven Year Itch , which was adapted into a movie of the same name starring Marilyn Monroe...
and directed by Mark Robson
Mark Robson
Mark Robson was a Canadian-born film editor, film director and producer in Hollywood.-Career:Born in Montreal, Quebec, he moved to the United States at a young age. He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles then found work in the prop department at 20th Century Fox studios...
, and was the second film featuring Holliday and Lemmon that year, after It Should Happen to You
It Should Happen to You
It Should Happen to You is a romantic comedy film starring Judy Holliday, notable as the first screen appearance of Jack Lemmon, who was then an aspiring young actor. The film was directed by George Cukor and filmed on location in New York City...
.
Plot
Nina and Robert Tracey (Judy Holliday and Jack Lemmon) are a couple who have been married for eight years who decide to get a divorce after suffering marriage troubles. Robert takes up with his womanising Navy buddy Charlie Nelson (Jack Carson) while Nina looks to her interfering mother for guidance. Robert decides to spend the night with Janis (Kim Novak), a Marilyn MonroeMarilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
-type character who finds the dashing Robert quite cute, but he feels uncomfortable with Janis and any other girls that he dates. Nina also tries to date other men but fails as she is still in love with Robert. Although they try to ignore each other any time that they accidentally meet, it is obvious that the past is not dead. Then one night, they find themselves in a nightclub, dancing the mambo together.
Cast
- Judy HollidayJudy HollidayJudy Holliday was an American actress.Holliday began her career as part of a night-club act, before working in Broadway plays and musicals...
as Nina Tracey (née Chapman) - Jack LemmonJack LemmonJohn Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
as Robert Tracey - Jack CarsonJack CarsonJohn Elmer "Jack" Carson was a Canadian-born U.S.-based film actor.Jack Carson was one of the most popular character actors during the 'golden age of Hollywood', with a film career spanning the 1930s, '40s and '50s...
as Charlie Nelson - Kim NovakKim NovakKim Novak is an American film and television actress. She began her career with her roles in Pushover and Phffft! but achieved greater prominence in the 1955 film Picnic...
as Janis - Luella Gear as Mrs. Edith Chapman
- Donald RandolphDonald RandolphDonald Randolph was a film, television, and radio actor. The actor, who appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Topaz , acted in dozens of radio dramas, television programs, and over thirty films....
as Dr. Van Kessel - Donald Curtis as Actor Rick Vidal a.k.a Dr. John Van Kessel
- Arny FreemanArny FreemanArny Freeman was an American character actor. He appeared in commercials, television series episodes, Broadway plays, and motion pictures. He is interviewed in Studs Terkel’s Working. Born in Chicago, IL, he died in Los Angeles, CA...
as Language teacher - Eddie Searles as Tommy
- Merry AndersMerry AndersMerry Anders is an American actress who has appeared in a number of television programs and films since the 1950s. In 1954, she succeeded Ann Todd as Stuart Erwin's daughter in the final season of his TV series, The Stu Erwin Show.In the 1955-1956 season, she joined Janis Paige in the 26-week CBS...
as Marsha - Mylee Andreason as Robert's blonde dance teacher
- Sally MansfieldSally MansfieldMarie Mahder , best known by her stage name Sally Mansfield, was an American television character actress; she also had a few small roles in feature films including one with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis....
as Miss Comstock - Joyce JamesonJoyce JamesonJoyce Jameson was an American actress best remembered for her blonde bimbo roles during the Marilyn Monroe period...
as Secretary - Bess FlowersBess FlowersBess Flowers was an American actress. By some counts considered the most prolific actress in the history of Hollywood, she was known as "The Queen of the Hollywood Extras," appearing in over 700 movies in her 41 year career....
as Nightclub Dance Extra - Jimmie DoddJimmie DoddJames Wesley Dodd was best known as the MC of the popular 1950s Disney TV show The Mickey Mouse Club, as well as the writer of its well-known theme song, "The Mickey Mouse Club March"...
as Cab Driver - Shirlee Allard as Secretary
- Wendy Howard as Artist's Model
- Charlotte Lawrence as Radio actress as Cynthia
Production
- During the filming of this film, Jack Lemmon left the set as his then-wife, actress/model Cynthia Stone gave birth to his first son, Chris LemmonChris Lemmon-History:Lemmon was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Cynthia Stone and actor Jack Lemmon. With a natural talent for music, he was encouraged by his father to study piano. Lemmon considered playing piano professionally after having graduated from the California Institute of the...
. - This was the second film that Jack Lemmon did with Judy Holliday. In that same year, Lemmon's debut film It Should Happen to YouIt Should Happen to YouIt Should Happen to You is a romantic comedy film starring Judy Holliday, notable as the first screen appearance of Jack Lemmon, who was then an aspiring young actor. The film was directed by George Cukor and filmed on location in New York City...
co-starred Holliday. This was also Lemmon's third film of his career. - The title "Phffft" comes from Walter WinchellWalter WinchellWalter Winchell was an American newspaper and radio gossip commentator.-Professional career:Born Walter Weinschel in New York City, he left school in the sixth grade and started performing in a vaudeville troupe known as Gus Edwards' "Newsboys Sextet."His career in journalism was begun by posting...
's column which was widely read during the 1950s. When a celebrity couple's marriage broke up, Winchell would describe the break-up as "phffft". - Columbia Pictures approached George Axelrod to produce a film version of his very popular play, The Seven Year ItchThe Seven Year ItchThe Seven Year Itch is a 1955 American film based on a three-act play with the same name by George Axelrod. The film was co-written and directed by Billy Wilder, and starred Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, reprising his Broadway role...
but the film rights were tied up as long as it was running on Broadway. He instead offered them "Phffft!" - an earlier play of his dealing with a similar subject.
Awards and honors
- Judy Holliday was nominated for "Best Foreign Actress" at the BAFTA Awards in 1955.
- The film was also nominated for "Best Written American Comedy" at the Writer's Guild of America.