The Tender Trap

In trying to figure out what to watch, I realized I have to Frank Sinatra box sets, so I took out the DVD of The Tender Trap and watched it.

Sinatra plays theatrical agent Charlie Reader who, after we see him singing the title song before the opening credits, is shown on the couch in the middle of his New York apartment in the middle of a hot date (well, hot for the 50s) with Poppy (Lola Albright). It turns out that she's not his only girl, as popping into the room at various times are Jessica (Jarma Lewis), representative from a southern company; Helen (Carolyn Jones), who walks Charlie's dog; and Charlie's old friend Joe (David Wayne).

Oh wait; Joe's not a woman. It turns out that Joe telegraphed Charlie a few days earlier from Indianapolis that he'd be coming to visit for a few weeks to "take a vacation from his wife", which of course is a euphemism for the couple's marriage may be on the rocks. When David takes phone calls the next day while Charlie is working, it seems as though Charlie has dozens of women after him. There's one more we haven't mentioned; Sylvia (Celeste Holm), the lone lady violinist in the NBC orchestra. Sylvia is probably Charlie's closest girlfriend, except that she may not be so interested in marriage.

And then we meet a young woman who definitely is interested in marriage: Julie (Debbie Reynolds), who auditions for a play and winds up being Charlie's client. She gets the part, but has decided views that she's going to get married on a certain date, live in a certain town up in Westchester, and have three children. Oh, and the marriage date preculdes a standard run of the play contract. She's also flighty, in that she spends so much time at a furniture show the she misses one of the rehearsals. Who would want to marry a woman like that?

You can probably guess what happens next, which is that Charlie falls in love with Julie, and that eventually Julie is going to fall in love with Charlie, although that's going to take a little longer. And since Charlie is constantly stiffing Sylvia to deal with Julie, Joe starts standing in for Charlie and he falls in love with Sylvia, despite that marriage back in Indiana. And there are more complications ahead. Joe has been taking those phone messages from the dozens if not hundreds of women, and you just know Julie is going to find them, which clearly contradicts her conception of relationships.

In the end, though, The Tender Trap is light comedy, so once again you can probably figure out just how the Charlie/Julie relationship is going to be resolved, as well as the Joe/Sylvia relationship. The Tender Trap is moderately pleasant stuff, although not without its flaws, thanks to the way Charlie and Julie are depicted. The probably deserve each other, if only because nobody else deserves either of them.



One of the good things about the movie is the art direction, specifially in Charlie's apartment where much of the movie is set. It's a wonder of Mid-Century Modern, as it probably really was back in 1955. The above is only half of Charlie's palatial living room; I couldn't find a shot that has the whole thing as it's too big for wide screen. (I also wonder how a theatrical agent could afford an apartment like this.) To the left there's a fabulous minimalist gray couch as was the modern style. Julie's family's apartment, on the other hand, is much more old-fashioned:



All in all, The Tender Trap wasn't quite my favorite, but it's worth a watch.