A Guide for the Married Man (1967) User Reviews

Male fantasies

[jotix100 · 8/10 · 27 September 2005]

Gene Kelly, who directed this film, was a man that understood clearly timing and movement, as his distinguished career demonstrates. Being behind the camera gives him the opportunity to have his players to put into practice some of his ideas and the result is a film that is a lot of fun and doesn't appear too dated.

What Mr. Kelly accomplished with this film was bringing together two charismatic performers at the top of their form. Walter Matthau had been seen in lots of supporting roles before, but as Paul Manning, the bored husband looking for ways of having fun on the side, he is wonderful. The same could be said about Robert Morse, who had been on the New York stage and in other movies. Mr. Morse makes a fantastic contribution with his take of Ed Stander, the man who knew about how to go after the women he wanted without regard of the consequences.

Ed Stander puts a bug in Paul Manning's brain about how to have fun away from home. The only thing is, Paul is a man with a normal marriage with an adoring wife, who would not even contemplate in reciprocating what he is trying to do if he follows Ed's advice.

The other amazing thing in the film is the different vignettes that are seen throughout the movie. Some of the best and most accomplished actors working in Hollywood have a small part in cameo appearances that illustrate points that Ed would like Paul to put into practice. This way we get to see actors of the caliber of Lucille Ball, Art Carney, Jack Benny, Joey Bishop, Louis Nye, Jayne Mansfield, Phil Silvers, and others playing the dream-like sequences.

"A Guide for the Married Man" is a film worthy of our time since it takes us back to a more innocent period. Thanks to Mr. Kelly's inspired direction, the film will always be a favorite of mature fans.

Good frothy fun...a perfect 60s time capsule sex comedy.

[gbrumburgh · 7/10 · 5 February 2001]

Walter Matthau has great fun in his role of a husband experiencing the "seven-year itch" who tries to learn the ropes of philandering by a co-worker buddy and expert adulterer (Robert Morse). Aided and abetted by a host of guest stars in flashback who offer the "do's" and "don't's" of extramarital affairs, our novice soon learns that cheating is a serious and very technical business. One misstep or a brief lapse of judgment...and it can be curtains for Casanova.

Matthau manages to keep the potentially smarmy material light and engaging while Morse is wickedly humorous as the no-nonsense "big brother." Of the numerous cautionary "lessons" offered by the guest stars, Joey Bishop, Ann Morgan Guilbert, Terry-Thomas and Jayne Mansfield manage to grab the biggest yuks in their brief scenes.

The irony of it all is that the late Inger Stevens, who plays Matthau's wife, is a spectacularly beautiful dish who, in my mind, has it all over the bump-and-grind shennanigans of Sue Ane Langdon and/or tawdry allure of Elaine Devry. Why Matthau's character would even consider cheating on the best looking femme in the picture is beyond me.

Nevertheless, relax and enjoy these comedy pros at work, guided by the assured hand of dancer-turned-director Gene Kelly.

excellent sex farce

[rupie · 7/10 · 18 September 2000]

This entertaining bit of froth stands up well, as Robert Morse, the neighborhood Lothario, attempts to instruct Walter Matthau in the How-To's of philandery (why he should be interested in philandery when he is married to the incredibly built Inger Stevens is an unexplained mystery). Of course the many delicious cameos by such as Phil Silvers, Sid Caesar, Jack Benny, Joey Bishop, et. al. keep the film bouncing merrily along. Well worth a see.

Underrated classic

[wolfinge · 2 November 1998]

A movie from a time when "mature" didn't mean graphic. The plot is right out of the buttoned-down 60's -- Walter Matthau consults with expert adulterer Robert Morse before cheating on his wife (a very sexy Inger Stevens). Robert Morse's lessons are illustrated by hilarious vignettes featuring a Who's Who of comedy stars. The Joey Bishop turn on how to handle being caught in the act -- Deny, Deny, Deny is a classic.

Guide for the Married Man, A (DIDIER BECU)

[Didier-Becu · 7/10 · 10 September 2003]

How to cheat your wife without the danger that she ever notices it? That's the big issue for the friends that are surrounding Walter Matthau who thought that loving his wife is the sole thing on earth that counts even if there are other parts of the body that says it differently. Well it's called a sexcomedy but mind you this is as friendly as cinema from the sixties can get but it works brilliant and not in the least because of Walter's great performance.

To understand this film

[A_Different_Drummer · 7/10 · 18 November 2022]

To understand this film, to review this film, you need context. You need to know that the cast of stars, including cameos, was extraordinary even for the day, virtually the entire cast of a Broadway Play. You need to know that most of those cameos were by professionals who had honed their craft in the 1940s and 1950s, and most definitely did not represent the so-called Sexual Revolution of the 60s. These factors constrained the script, forcing it into a template more like a vaudeville show than a movie. Think "SNL's great grandfather." There. With all those factors on the table, it is not a bad movie, funny in parts. With all those actors, it is also a true historical archive. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

Worth a look, especially for the sophomoric titillation that it is.

[redryan64 · 7/10 · 25 July 2015]

OUR OWN SISTER, Joanne Ryan (1942-1990) once described IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD as being; "Everyone in Hollywood sand bring your car!" So too this sort of All-Star ensemble comedy could be capsulized in similar fashion. More is better, bigger and much more expen$I've; that's the idea here.

EHEN VIEWED THROUGH the benefit of hindsight, which is always 20-20, the basic premise of this picture seems to be pretty tame by today's standard. But once we transport ourselves to the mid to late 1960's, we can see just why this would have an appeal to audiences then.

IN SHORT, WHAT we have is a series of mini episodes about the age old sport and activity of philandering; everyone of which act as a sort of "How To" instructional video. They are done up as short, unrelated and star-studded cameo appearances by a myriad of Hollywood's best. As each of the fine points of hanky-panky are demonstrated as master womanizer, Robert Morse gives pointers to neophyte and wannabe cheater, Walter Matthau.

TO OUR WAY of thinking, the roles could well have been reversed; but then again, playing parts that go against type are oft the meat of the thespian. Following this idea to its most challenging fruition could lead to some most interesting bits of casting.

HOW'S ABOUT TRYING a Biblical Epic with Rip Taylor portraying John the Baptist?

Worth a watch

[VetteRanger · 7/10 · 28 December 2022]

While the movie isn't perfect, with a few of the vignette sequences that kind of drag a bit, there is plenty of comedy and several laugh out loud moments. Plus there are a few scenes on the racy side for a mid-60s mainstream film. :-)

Walter Matthau is as good as he always was at dry comedic roles, and makes the film. Robert Morse is perfect as the devil on his shoulder, helping him figure out how to "step out" without making critical mistakes.

The heart of the film, though are the vignettes by a who's who of Hollywood comedy talent. While others have been mentioned, I think my favorite was Joey Bishop's where he ways nothing but Who, Why, When, Where, and What in vavious combinations. :-)

Looking for some 60s nostalgia ... give it a try.

Hilarious laughfest from beginning to end

[aromatic · 10/10 · 24 August 1998]

The scene with joey Bishop and Ann morgan-Gilbert ("Deny, Deny, Deny") has to be one of the 3 funniest scenes EVER filmed in Hollywood! Fantastic! And timely too, it is certainly advice that Bill Clinton should have taken to heart !!!

How Not to Succeed at Cheating While Being Very Trying

[DeanNYC · 6/10 · 28 July 2012]

To be completely fair, we can't really judge this film by our 21st Century standards. This is a story of how a Married Man can cheat on his wife and get away with it. So, right there, the very premise of this movie is out of date.

Gene Kelly, who was dancing less and less on screen by the mid 1960s, had the opportunity to step behind the camera a handful of times and helm some films. This is arguably his worst effort.

And yet, the picture isn't without its charms. Walter Matthau is endlessly watchable even when he has very little to work with, and he's doing the most he can to make this worthwhile. It's a difficult circumstance because we're meant to believe that his character is married to Inger Stevens, and yet wants to stray just to get some strange. I guess if you'll buy that, you'll swallow the premise whole.

Also you have Robert Morse, straight from his effort in the Broadway smash turned Hollywood musical, "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," who continues to instruct in the ways of attaining his goal. This time, it's extra marital hanky-panky he's after and he knows, like a book, exactly how to avoid the pitfalls and pratfalls of a bad situation, so he can enjoy some of the other women in his life without letting wifey know about it.

The best part of the project are the "instructionals" offered to illustrate every situation Morse tells Matthau about, featuring cameos by the likes of Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Sid Caesar, Terry-Thomas, Jayne Mansfield, Phil Silvers, Louis Nye, and the one most people who view the film favor, Joey Bishop. Really, if this movie were just a series of these vignettes, it probably would have been that much better!

But we're stuck with these two unhappy hubbys who are determined to gain a conquest, much like the mountain climber "...Because it's there!" That part of the story is tedious, repetitive and, much like their attempts to score their mistresses, ultimately unsatisfying.

A Guide for the Married Man is most effective as a time capsule, a Hollywood spin on the mindset of the people in the suburbs in the mid 1960s, and what they did to break the boredom of that surreality, or at least what they imagined might break it. I don't know how many men actually were wannabe lotharios, and if you believe this film it's basically all of them! But it is supposed to be a comedy (albeit with only a few mild chuckles, unfortunately), so keep a grain of salt handy, along with the fast forward button on your remote.

Remember When Sex Was Fun?

[Bilko-3 · 5/10 · 26 May 2000]

This is a wonderful late-sixties sex comedy. Walter Matthau and Robert Morse are perfectly cast, Inger Stevens is heart-breakingly beautiful and the Technical Advisors are well chosen. Other users keep citing the Joey Bishop scene, but my favorite is the Phil Silvers/Louis Nye scene, which is absolutely top notch and shows what direction "The Phil Silvers Show" might have taken in the sixties if Bilko was allowed to have sex. Unlike the Phil Silvers/Don Knotts scene in "Mad, etc. World," this was a perfectly cast scene that *didn't* fall flat.

And my two nominees for Hot Babes of the sixties are here: Sue Ane Langdon and Jackie Joseph, before they played hookers in "The Cheyenne Social Club."

The best laid plans ...

[majikstl · 10/10 · 21 October 2007]

A GUIDE FOR THE MARRIED MAN is a period piece, a relic of a time gone by. It is set in a brief American era of the 1960s when sophistication was marked by the three-martini lunch, where male wit and style were drawn from the pages of Playboy; and where the war between men and women was a naughty little game played as part of The Good Life in suburbia, not a cultural one fought in the board rooms and the court rooms.

Every bit as artificial in its glib amorality as a Norman Rockwell painting is in its ambiance of homey traditionalism, A GUIDE FOR THE MARRIED MAN is about adultery, not as a thou-shall-not commandment, but as a sporting event. And though it views adultery as a dangerous game, not without its risks; A GUIDE also views it as a male challenge that must be met, because, in the words of one character, "she's there!"

Structurally, the film is an old-fashioned throwback to the days when a studio would concoct a movie designed to showcase its stars in bite-size appearances; either in musical faux-biographies like ZIEGFELD FOLLIES and NIGHT AND DAY or in episodic comedies like IF I HAD A MILLION and WE'RE NOT MARRIED. Considering the film is smoothly directed with assured style by studio-bred legend Gene Kelly, such a variety show format is not that surprising. In this case, instead of putting on a show, the framing story involves Walter Matthau as a mostly happily married man with a seven year itch. He is married to a perfect wife in the very attractive form of the perfectly vivacious Inger Stevens. Yet he wants cake that he can both have and eat, because, to paraphrase, "you'd get tired of steak, if you didn't have fish once in awhile."

To teach the old dog his new tricks, enter Robert Morse as the impish, married swinger-next-door to provide sagely advise on how to best weave webs of deceit. In teaching Matthau the dos and don'ts of cheating, Morse offers up numerous "I once knew this guy who ..."-style urban legends, all illustrated via comic vignettes by a cast of wonderful "technical advisors," including Wally Cox, Art Carney, Lucille Ball, Sid Caesar, Phil Silvers, Ben Blue, Polly Bergen and Louis Nye, among others. While all the skits are very funny, a few are tiny comic masterpieces: Jack Benny in "How to break it off;" Joey Bishop in "Deny, deny, deny;" Carl Reiner in "You can never be TOO careful!" and Terry-Thomas and Jayne Mansfield illustrating why adultery should never be a home-based hobby. The film skillfully walks the line between merely being a "Love, American Style" series of comic skits and telling a gently amusing story about a man cautiously testing the limitations of his middle class marriage and his middle American values.

Yes, its approach to infidelity is dishonest and sexist and politically incorrect, but it all seems like good, clean fun compared to contemporary "sex comedies" that are defined by how far a film can push the bounds of being gross-out tasteless and raunchy. That is the quirky thing about A GUIDE FOR THE MARRIED MAN, it is strangely wholesome. There is a benign quality to its obsession with sex: no nudity, no profanity, really no sex -- even most of the bedrooms that are shown have twin beds. As lascivious as his quest for a dangerous liaison seems, there is something boyishly romantic about Matthau's lust. Mildly daring for its time, the film's approach to sex more reflects the innocent naughtiness of the Marilyn Monroe '50s than the strident feminist/politically correctness of the '70s. And like most such comedies, from THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH to BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE to SAME TIME, NEXT YEAR to "10", A GUIDE FOR THE MARRIED MAN is all flirtation and not copulation; it ultimately recognizes the fantasy of swinging, only to use it to reaffirm the sanctity of home, marriage and family.

Silly American comedy with Babes!

[shepardjessica · 6/10 · 10 August 2004]

Walter Matthau pretty much carries this on his back for two hours while getting "how to score" advice from his buddy, Robert Morse. It's fairly cheezy stuff, but the women are beautiful, especially Inger Stevens as Walter's hot wife. No one looks better in a bikini that Inger (so soon before her fateful end).

This kind of movie could never be made nowadays (it's no PC at all). Jackie Russell is gorgeous, and Jayne Mansfield has a hilarious with the great Terry Thomas, looking for a bra. Joey Bishop is actually funny for once and Phil Silvers and Jack Benny do their usual schmaltzy act. I still give this a 6!

Boring, Witless Comedy

[kenjha · 3/10 · 15 May 2009]

Even though he is happily married to gorgeous Stevens, Matthau, coached by Morse, plans to cheat on her because, as one character explains, if you have steak every night, sometimes you want to have chicken. The premise has possibilities but the episodic script is almost completely devoid of laughs. A who's who cast of comedy stars illustrates the fine art of cheating through brief skits, but the only bits that are even mildly amusing are the ones featuring Caesar and Bishop. Kelly doesn't help matters with his amateurish direction, marked by so many zoom shots that it is nausea-inducing. The only thing this lame movie has going for it is an abundance of attractive women.

Blows AMERICAN PIE right out of the pastry shop

[Monkasi · 1 September 2000]

If you think four teenage guys trying to "score" before prom night is funny, wait'll you see the hilarious lengths married men go to philander successfully! A GUIDE FOR THE MARRIED MAN was the original raunchy sex comedy (without ever resorting to the vomit-inducing scatological humor of recent years), and even after 33 years it holds up fairly well. Walter Matthau plays a neurotic businessman who struggles to remain faithful to his wife while being tempted by his friend's seemingly foolproof program of sexual infidelity. Lots of one-liners and cartoonish humor, and Matthau gives us a character whom we can laugh at and identify with at the same time. One of the best sex comedies of all time, if only because the scene where Matthau is driven out onto the fire escape by a roomful of perky secretaries is ten times funnier than Jason Biggs jamming his nether regions into a baked good.

Almost Salacious!!

[sidmsdw · 9/10 · 16 January 2002]

This is a very entertaining artifact of its era, the swinging sixties.Concerning the attempts of Walter Matthau to cheat on his sexy wife Inger Stevens with the even more sexy and luscious Sue Ann Langdon (what did this guy want, everything?)cheered on by his rake of a pal, Robert Morse(!!). A case of stunt casting which in this case works. The sexual revolution hits poor suburbanite Matthau right in the face and he wants in on it. Who can blame him? This would-be bawdy comedy was directed by nice guy Gene Kelly, so if it's not rapacious enough for some, it's still the best piece of bawd this side of Billy Wilder.

Hoo-boy!

[jckruize · 5/10 · 26 September 2007]

Let me start off by giving credit where it's due: Gene Kelly and company put a lot of lovely female pulchritude in this one. Not a skinny babe in the bunch. That's a big plus for us dirty old men.

However, the script itself is not only misogynistic -- every female character is treated as an object, not a person -- but mostly unfunny. Part of the problem is miscasting. The two male roles should've been reversed: Matthau as the cynical smoothie, and Morse as the naif. Neither actor here is showcased to his best advantage.

The cameos are pretty lame too, with comedy greats like Lucille Ball and Jack Benny largely wasted. The best one has Carl Reiner, who's funny as always in a mainly physical comedy role, but the ending of the sketch is weak.

The dumbest aspect of the whole enterprise is the central notion of Matthau wanting to cheat on his incredibly gorgeous, hot-to-trot wife, played by knockout Inger Stevens. After an eyeful of her I spent the whole rest of the movie muttering to myself about what an idiot he was.

As a time capsule of the 'Swinging Sixties' this might provide some nostalgic amusement. But there are much better sex comedies from the period. Check out Jack Lemmon in HOW TO MURDER YOUR WIFE.

A 60s film not trapped in 60s mores

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 25 December 2018]

Some background - Walter Matthau's character is a successful man who loves his wife (Inger Stevens) - she is attractive, she and Matthau still do things together and get along. She is prime rib, but no man wants to eat prime rib for 50 years.

So a "A Guide for the Married Man" is exactly what the title indicates. On one level, it is a hilarious comedy in which a philanderer (Robert Morse) senses his friend's (Walter Matthau) restlessness, and then proceeds to school him on how to commit adultery safely. Each principle is illustrated by a skit performed by other comedians of the time.

On another level, it actually provides sage advice for anyone thinking about getting a little on the side. That sage advice is, in the words of Micky Rourke in 1981's "Body Heat" about a completely different subject - "This is not (stuff) for you to be messin' with. Are you ready to hear something? I want you to see if this sounds familiar: any time you try a decent crime, you got fifty ways you're gonna (mess) up. If you think of twenty-five of them, then you're a genius... and you ain't no genius."

So this film is not as trapped in 60's sexual mores as other films of the decade, because married men will always want to rent a house at the beach now and then although that does not mean they want to sell their house in the suburbs and disrupt their way of life. Probably making wives nervous for over fifty years, this is a 60s film still worth seeing.

Booooooring

[willdogs · 2/10 · 5 January 2008]

I was 12 years old when this film was made. I remember the sex comedies from the 60s and this is no comedy. I recently watched this movie with a friend who wanted to see it because Leonard Maltin gave it 3 1/2 stars. Well, good old Leonard must have been seeing stars when watching this one. I would have given it a BOMB rating. It was intended to be a comedy. The only thing missing was a laugh track. And it sure needed one. If you enjoyed TV shows like "Love American Style" or "Three's Company," then you might enjoy giving up 90 minutes of your life to watch this very poor film. First of all, the premise was not even believable. As one reviewer mentioned, Walter Matthau plays a character who has not even lost interest in his wife played by knockout beauty Inger Stevens. He's just toying with cheating on her because he thinks he is supposed to because it's the liberated and sophisticated 1960s. Oh, brother. I am embarrassed for director Gene Kelly. Think about it. There a reason why this film is rarely mentioned. It's a waste of time.

A definite period piece, but a fun one

[smatysia · 8/10 · 10 March 2008]

There are a lot of slams in the comments about how this film is not politically correct, or downright misogynistic. True enough, I suppose, but it isn't fair to apply today's standards to a film that is over forty years old. I was a child at that time, but a man's home really was his castle then, and yes that was definitely to the detriment of the women. But that is the way it was. So get over it. The film is a lot of fun if you don't wear the ideological blinders when you watch it. Walter Matthau is always fun to watch, and Inger Stevens was, of course, serious eye candy. There are a lot of other pretty girls in the film, and Robert Morse's character was a hoot, seeing him rationalize his lust into caring so much for his wife that he must protect HER from knowledge of his adultery. The cameo vignettes were mostly amusing as well. It is light comedy, so don't expect to roll on the floor, but I say, check it out.

ranks right up there with mad mad world!

[hank-30 · 8 December 1998]

if this movie were re-released it would have top billing and full houses across the nation. truly, one of the great comedies and pot-pourri of cast every gathered. not a dull moment and poignant at the same time

Okay time killer.

[pmtelefon · 5/10 · 28 April 2019]

"A Guide for the Married Man" is one of those movies that you think is pretty good until you look and see how long you've been watching it for. I thought I was a little rough on this movie the last the time I watched it until I looked at the clock. I thought it was on for an hour when it was only on for about half of that. Then it just dragged on and on. It's not an unfunny movie. It's filled with a lot of almost laughs. It also has a lot of cleavage and rumps to look at. It has a whole but of silly cameos by people I know I should know better. "A Guide for the Married Man" is an okay, if somewhat dated, way to kill a rainy afternoon. Honorable mention: a dreamy Inger Stevens.

EXCELLENT FUNNY! Wish it were on DVD and in widescreen/letterbox!

[latinogringo941 · 10/10 · 14 March 2003]

This movie is very funny and only wish it'd be on DVD! And if so, in letterbox / widescreen! Which I know is a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Studios keep putting out the same titles over and over again on DVD; there are MANY other titles / movies that need to be on DVD! I remember seeing this film on ABC on their afternoon movie (4:30 PM), back in the 1970's, and then awhile ago, in letterbox / widescreen on the AMC channel (before they ruined the channel by going with commercials). The character of Robert Morse ("Ed") shows Walter Matthau's character ("Paul") how to cheat on his wife, by telling stories of other men who cheated on their wives (utilizing famous celebrities in cameos in these roles), and explains what they did and how they did it, and what to do and what NOT to do. The title song by the Turtles is great! A bouncy tune! Someone should tell 20th Century Fox to put this out on DVD and if and when they do, put it out in letterbox / widescreen. SEE IT (if you have not)! ENJOY! -Paul latinogringo941

Married men ogling other women...married women complaining about it

[moonspinner55 · 5/10 · 3 April 2009]

Married financial consultant, who hardly seems to notice his curvaceous, efficient wife at home, gets tips on cheating from his smarmy neighbor, a divorce lawyer. Somewhat unfair suburban comedy from writer Frank Tarloff gives us a group of neighborhood wives who congregate only to make chit-chat about what spoiled little boys their husbands are--only single women or divorcées are on the make. Accentuated by sketch gags and pantomime bits featuring an array of '60s celebrities, the film is a plush and cozy commercial (for many idle things, including Hertz Rent-a-Car). Walter Matthau does a few amusing double takes, and the finale--where he finally checks into a motel room with a woman--is funny; unfortunately, director Gene Kelly stages the leering material like old TV routines. The whole picture feels like a rerun. ** from ****

Hilarious sexy romp

[chez-3 · 9/10 · 5 September 1999]

This film is a very funny, very sexy take on life as a married man and all the inclinations to cheating. Walter Matthau plays a happily married (to the sexy Inger Stevens) man who decides he might want to have an affair. Enter best friend Robert Morse who teaches him the do's and dont's of cheating. With each tale Morse spins we see the story acted out with the aid of some of Hollywood's biggest stars. The segments with Lucille Ball and Art Carney and the one with Carl Reiner are standouts.

For a good laugh this is a top choice.