A GUIDE FOR THE MARRIED MAN

May 25, 1967

• Gene Kelly (Director)

• Frank McCarthy (Producer for 20th Century Fox)
• Frank Tarloff (Writer, Based on His Book)

Synopsis ~ Paul Manning discovers that his  friend and neighbor Ed Stander has been cheating on his wife. Curious, he asks Ed about it, and is given the history and tactics of men who have successfully committed adultery. With each new story, Paul cannot help noticing the attractive blonde, Irma Johnson, who lives nearby. 

PRINCIPAL CAST

• Walter Matthau (Paul Manning)
• Inger Stevens (Ruth Manning)
• Robert Morse (Ed Stander)

• Claire Kelly (Harriet Stander)

• Sue Ane Langdon (Mrs. Irma Johnson)
• Linda Harrison (Miss Stardust)
• Elaine Devry (Jocelyn Montgomery
• Jason Wingreen (Mr. Johnson)

CAMEOS  (follow the hyperlinks of underlined text to find out more about the actors’ shared credits with Lucille Ball)

Lucille Ball (Technical Adviser, Mrs. Joe X) is in her 81st film.  

Art Carney (Technical Adviser, Mr. Joe X)

Joey Bishop (Technical Adviser, Charlie)

Sid Caesar (Technical Adviser, Man at Romanoff’s)

Jayne Mansfield (Technical Adviser, Girl with Harold)

Phil Silvers (Technical Adviser, Realtor)

Terry-Thomas (Technical Adviser, Harold ‘Tiger’)

Polly Bergen (Clara Brown)

Hal March (Technical Adviser, Man Who Loses Coat)

Louis Nye (Technical Adviser, Irving the House Buyer)

Carl Reiner (Technical Adviser, Rance G)

Wally Cox (Technical Adviser, Man Married 14 Years)

Ben Blue (Technical Adviser, Shoeless)

Jack Benny (Ollie ‘Sweet Lips’)

Jeffrey Hunter (Technical Adviser, Mountain Climber)
Marty Ingels (Technical Adviser, Meat Eater)
Sam Jaffe (Technical Advisor, Shrink)

OTHERS

• Aline Towne (Mrs. Mousey Man)

• Ann Morgan Guilbert (Charlie’s Wife)

• George Neise (Man in Bed)
• Julie Tate (Woman in Bed)
• Virginia Wood (Bubbles)
• Dale Van Sickel (Stunt Driver)
• Robert Patten, Pat Becker, Dee Carroll, Jackie Joseph, Fred Hollyday, Ray Montgomery
  (Party Guests)
• Gene Kelly (Narrator / TV Voice)
• Eddie Quillan (Cologne Salesman)
• Patricia Sides (Patricia Sides)
• Jackie Russell (Miss Harris)
• Warrene Ott (Woman with Gun)
• Heather Young (Girl with Megaphone)
• Jimmy Cross (Mr. Brown)
• Heather Carroll (Mrs. Miller)
• Nancy de Carl (Woman with Baby)
• Mickey Deems (Waiter)
• Karen Arthur (Lady Dinner Partner)
• Majel Barrett (Mrs. Fred V.)
• Eve Brent (Joe X’s Blowzy Blonde)
• Evelyn King (Female Plaintiff)
• Damian London (Lone Male Diner)
• Pat McCaffrie (Motel Clerk)
• Tommy Farrell (Rance G’s Hanger-on)
• Chanin Hale (Miss Crenshaw)
• Tim Herbert (Shoe Clerk)
• Sharyn Hillyer (Girl in Bed)
• Michael Romanoff (Romanoff’s Maitre’d)

A GUIDE TO TRIVIA!

Each celebrity who did a cameo was paid $10,000 for two days work (including The Turtles, who sang the title song). If anyone was required to work for more than two days, they were to receive an extra $10,000. No one went overtime.

The theme song was sung by The Turtles. 

Lucille Ball and Art Carney, who cameoed as technical advisers Mr. and Mrs. Joe X, later appeared as a long-married couple in the TV movie “Happy Anniversary and Goodbye” (1974) and again teamed up in the TV movie “What Now, Catherine Curtis?“ (1976).

The marketing campaign used the original poster art with critics’ quotes!  

This ad features artwork by Mad Magazine’s Mort Drucker. 

The film inspired a made-for-TV movie called “A Guide for the Married Woman” (1978) starring Cybil Shepard, which utilized the same premise of a philandering best friend teaching a newbie the ropes of marital infidelity. 20th Century-Fox had produced the theatrical film, and saw the ratings potential of a distaff remake. Like the original film, the TV version mined much of its humor from a parade of familiar faces in cameo appearances. It was directed by Hy Averback, who had played Charlie Appleby and Charlie Pomerantz on “I Love Lucy.”  “Lucy” alumni who appeared in the TV movie included Eve Arden, Peter Marshall, and Bernie Kopell. 

The day this film opened (May 25, 1967) Sheilah Graham reported that Lucille Ball paid $8,000 for the late Hedda Hopper’s Rolls Royce.  

It was also reported on May 25, 1967, that “Lucy” director Jack Donohue attended a reception for 1967 Primetime Emmy nominees, which included Lucille Ball.  Apparently, there was a rumor that CBS wanted to replace Lucy with Doris Day – and Lucy knew it!   

The film was in production from October to December 1966, when Lucille Ball was also in production for season 5 of “The Lucy Show.” Coincidentally, the last episode aired during the production period also featured Phil Silvers, who plays the Realtor in this film. 

This was the final screen appearance of Jayne Mansfield, who was killed in a car accident a month later at age 34.