the mating game

the year: 1959

the genre: comedy



the cast: Paul Douglas (Pop larkin); Una Merkel (Ma Larkin); Debbie Reynolds (Mariette Larkin); Tony Randall (Lorenzo "Clarlie" Charlton); Fred Clark (Oliver Kelsey)



the plot: Irritated neighbor Wendell Burnshaw brings the Larkin family to the attention of the Internal Revenue Service. Lorenzo Charlton is assigned to the case and Ma and Pop Larkin warmly welcome him to their family farm in Maryland, at first unaware of why he is there. Lorenzo is aghast to learn that the Larkins have never filed a tax return. With their cooperation, he sets out to figure out what, if anything, they owe in the way of back taxes - a difficult task, as Pop usually just trades for what they need and keeps no records. Lorenzo and the eldest Larkin daughter Mariette become attracted to each other, but he doesn't let that get in the way of his work...at least not at first.




listen for: "Don't you boys have a project to work on?"





also listen for: "Lorenzo, what's holding you up down there?" "What's holding me up? The truth of the matter is I'm defying the law of gravity."




don't miss: Lorenzo's version of I've Got You Under My Skin.


also listen for: "You know, whenever I get in a nasty mood, I just come out here and I lie down and listen, and look. And in no time at all, whatever has been bothering me seems no bigger than one leaf on a whole tree. Now you tell me how much that's worth and I'll pay the taxes on it myself."






did you know: the film was loosely based on a British novel, The Darling Buds of May by H.E. Bates.

solid gold cadillac

the year: 1956

the genre: comedy

the cast: Judy Holliday (Laura Partridge); Paul Douglas (Edward L. McKeever); Fred Clark (Clifford Snell); John Williams (Jon T. Blessington); Hiram Sherman (Harry Harkness); Arthur O’Connell (Mark Jenkins)


the plot: Laura Partridge is a very enthusiastic stockholder of 10 shares of the International Projects corporation based in New York. She attends her first stockholder meeting ready to question the board of directors on everything from their salaries to their operations. Edward McKeever, the current CEO has resigned in order to take an advisory position at the Pentagon. Following the meeting, he bumps into Laura and offers to drive her home. On the way there, Laura shares her enthusiasm for being a stockholder, and as a result, Edward takes a liking to her. With Edward in Washington, the remaining (and crooked) board members establish their hold on International Projects. They see an opportunity now that McKeever has influence with the US Senate in awarding federal contracts but get frustrated because he is honest and won't do their bidding. In the meantime, Laura continues to be a nuisance to the board. They decide to give her a high paying, but harmless (or so they think) position with the company to keep her quiet. When they send her to Washington to use her influence on McKeever, Laura decides to take matters into her own hands and get him back in charge of the company.


don’t miss: McKeever’s foray into Shakespeare.


check out: George Burns as the narrator.


listen for: “Miss Partridge, you see, I am a businessman. All my life I've concentrated on business. Now, this has necessarily forced me to devote more of my time to some things and less to others. You understand. “ “Sure. You're scared of girls.”

watch a movie clip here.