Phffft

1954 "It's a ph-f-f-frolic about man and mate from moonlight to mayhem!"
6.6| 1h28m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 10 November 1954 Released
Producted By: Columbia Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Robert and Nina Tracey resolve to live separate lives when their eight-year marriage dissolves into disagreements and divorce. But their separate attempts to get back out on the dating scene have a funny way of bringing them together.

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Reviews

Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews
Mehdi Hoffman There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.
Aryana Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
SimonJack This is a very good comedy about marriage, divorce and remarriage. Judy Holliday is Nina Tracey (nee Chapman), and Jack Lemmon is her husband Robert. Robert's best friend is Charlie Nelson, played by Jack Carson. They had been officers together in the Navy during WW II. Now they are both attorneys. Kim Novak is Janis, a girl in Charlie's black book whom he lines up with Robert after Robert and Nina get a divorce. The couple had been married eight years but boredom set in and they decided to divorce. This happens early in the film, so that the rest is a nice blend of comedy and romance as Robert and Nina try to adjust and get back in the dating game. Of course, that doesn't work for either one, and romance returns between them. The rest of the small cast are fine in their roles.This isn't a challenging film or top flight comedy with much witty dialog and situations. But, it's a pleasant story with some fun scenes that most should enjoy. The cast for "Phffft" is a first rate list of comedy actors in the 1950s. Jack Lemmon and Judy Holliday played in some of the best sophisticated comedies of the time, although Holliday's career was a short one. Jack Carson for many years was one of Hollywood's best supporting actors, especially for comedies. He co-starred here along with Kim Novak, in just her third film. Novak was very good and won a Golden Globe as most promising female newcomer. Holliday had won an Oscar for the comedy-drama "Born Yesterday" of 1950. She had two more smash comedies after that, including another hit with Lemmon in early 1954 – "It Should Happen to You." Holliday made only 14 movies in her career, but won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for film, and a Tony Award on Broadway. The Tony came in 1956 for the Broadway smash hit, "Bells Are Ringing." Holliday's last film was the movie version of "Bells Are Ringing" in 1960. It's a great comedy-musical with Dean Martin, Jean Stapleton and Eddie Foy Jr. Holliday died at age 43 in 1965 after a five year battle with breast cancer.Jack Lemmon was one of the great actors of the silver screen for nearly five decades. But, he got his start in TV in 1949 and was in several TV series through 1954. Those included dramas and comedies. "Phffft" was just his second movie and followed the smash hit earlier that year with Holliday, "It Should Happen to You." Of course, he would go on to win two Oscars and have six more nominations. He also won four Golden Globes for acting, with another 17 nominations. Lemmon won three BAFTA awards, with four more nominations; and he won two prime time Emmy awards with four more nominations. Lemmon was equally adept at drama and comedy. Some of the funniest and most endearing comedies he made were later in life and his career with long-time friend Walter Matthau.
vincentlynch-moonoi Phffft! pretty much describes my feelings about this film. And that surprises me. Jack Lemmon has always been one of my favorite actors...a man who can be comfortable with comedy or drama. And Judy Holliday was bright in a number of films, including one of my favorite musicals -- "Bells Are Ringing". So when I saw this listed on TCM I was pleased since somehow I had never seen this.For me, this script just doesn't quite make it. Lots of potential. Perhaps it was partly because this film seems incredibly dated. Lemmon and Holliday are pleasant enough in the roles, but they sure don't seem very inspired, nor -- in this film -- do they seem to click.Although only 44 years of age when this was filmed, Jack Carson seems way too old in this film. The grossly slicked down hair doesn't help any. And again, his character seems so outdated. If you're a Kim Novak fan, don't get too excited -- her role is not very big, but she and Lemmon seem to have a little screen magic.The one truly bright segment in this film is the dancing fiasco. Both Lemmon and Holliday sparkled here! It's not that this is a bad film. It's pretty good...but just pretty good. Worth a watch...once.
Neil Doyle If PHFFFT had been made in the '30s or '40s, it would have been done with Cary Grant and Jean Arthur as the couple (or Cary and Irene Dunne). But by 1954, JUDY HOLLIDAY and JACK LEMMON were paired once again (they starred previously in IT SHOULD HAPPEN TO YOU), and proved to be a great comic team with perfect timing and good chemistry.As it is, the story is a throwback to the '30s and the kind of screwball comedies Grant usually did. George Axelrod's script is about a couple who decide that their married life has become a bore and impulsively seek a divorce. They then settle down to the business of finding another mate and discover that the single life is not exactly a bed of roses.Lemmon is matched with KIM NOVAK (a blind date arranged by JACK Carson), and Novak gets a chance to glow as an airhead with a Marilyn Monroe air of winsome charm but ditsy manners. She tries hard, but the character seems forced and her attempt to play the simple minded glamor girl comes across as strained and awkward.But the show belongs to the shenanigans of Holliday and Lemon as they go through the paces of an amusing script with some laugh getting results. However, the material is thin and the ending is a rather predictable one with Judy successfully resisting the advances of JACK Carson and realizing who her own true love really is.Fans of Holliday and Lemmon should enjoy it, but Kim Novak still had a lot to learn.
aromatic-2 The four stars make a marvelous quadrangle, and the physical comedy is great. My one disappointment is Richard Quine's direction. Lemmon must've liked him because they did at least 3 movies together, but he always seems to be trying to unexplicably extract pathos out of screwball situations, and this technique quickly wears thin. That aside, still a lot of fun.