The Tender Trap
1955 US
Dir:Charles Walters
Stars:Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds,
David Wayne, Celeste Holm
From Left:David Wayne, Celeste Holm, Frank Sinatra,
Debbie Reynolds
I love this movie very much. It's just a comedy, but has its own unique charm and quite sophisticated conversations.
Even though the movie presents the playboy character played by Frank Sinatra who has quite a collection of girl
friends in his apartment, which seems to be absolety unlikely to happen especially in the 1950s when I think was
restricted morally than these days, I can easily sense what it was really like to live in a big city like New York
in the 1950s by watching this movie. As big cities like New York, especially after the 1970s, came to be considered
as, say, the origin of vice or something like that (you can witness the fact by just watching several movies made
after 1970), and ceased to be the symbol of future hope, I think nowadays we have somewhat become oblivious to
the cravings for the values the big cities represented in the past days. Therefore, every time I watch this movie,
I'm always filled with, and reminded of, the feeling and hankering for future hope that was considered at that
time best pursued in a big city like New York. Besides this, all the players in this movie except Debbie Reynolds
who I think is somewhat restrained compared to other her movies of this period are quite elegant and jovial. Especially,
David Wayne and Celeste Holm is good. I hadn't even thought of the remotest possibility that David Wayne could
have such a sophisticated charm before I watched "The Tender Trap" for the first time. And also Frank
Sinatra's Oscar nominated song "The Tender Trap" is absolutely fabulous. The bottom line is, you shouldn't
miss this one if you are a fun of situational comedies that have quite sophisticated conversations and also have
the ambiance of the 1950s when they still retained hope for future in living in big cities.
