THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH, 1955
Classic Movie Review

When a strict by-the-book man sends his wife and son to Maine to escape a hot and steamy New York City, he is tempted on every level when he meets his neighbor – a hot and steamy toothpaste model.

Review:

This classic comedy is a character study of a middle-aged man, Richard Sherman, who is one of hundreds of men who stay home and earn a living, while their families enjoy a cooler summer away from the city.

It opens with Native Americans on Manhattan Island who send their families away for the summer, while they stay and set traps, hunt, and fish. A beautiful woman passes by and the group of summer bachelors pursue the fair maiden. Then, 500 years later, the businessmen drop their families off at the train station and turn and pursue a beautiful woman who walks past. Evidently, things don’t change much in the male psyche.

That’s the story. Poor Richard has been faithful in every respect his entire life. His life has become rather dull. He hears his wife’s voice in his ear – no drinking while she’s gone, no smoking. He must subdue any desire for vice, not only for his wife, but for the doctors who have taken away his guilty pleasures.

Last Thoughts:

This story was initially presented as a theater piece, starring Tom Ewell. In this version, he became intimate with his neighbor (Vanessa Brown). However, the Hayes office demanded many changes before it could be filmed. In this film version, Richard was able to maintain his virtue. This is the film that shows Monroe standing over the subway grate in the famous white halter dress, with the skirt sailing up as the subway passes beneath. This, too, was originally too racy for Hollywood. The first footage has the dress going up above her waist. It had to be shot again in a studio, this time, her skirt was held down for the sake of decency. Also, the footage taken in New York was rendered unusable because the crowd became over-excited as Monroe performed the scene. The film is a great comedic study of the desires of man (or woman) fighting with moral virtue and the ensuing guilt and fear that could result from acting on our desires. So much so, that even psychologists use this film as a study.

SUBMIT your SCREENPLAY Voted #1 screenplay contest in the world!	NEW MOVIE REVIEWS Read Today's POSTED REVIEWS	SEE 1000s of PICTURES Best of photos, images and pics	MOVIES YEAR BY YEAR Pages from 1900 to present

YouTube MySpace Facebook Twitter

Return from The Seven Year Itch to home page