The 1962 farce Boys’ Night Out is on Watch TCM for a couple more days. It seems to have been inspired by 1960’s The Apartment, but without Billy Wilder’s sardonic edge.
The premise is of its time, peak Mad Men era. Four men split the cost of a Manhattan apartment for a beautiful young woman to live there, so they can take turns sleeping with her. Being the early 60’s, nothing actually happens, of course.
When I first saw Boys’ Night Out on TV, I was just old enough to be interested in the implications of the arrangement between the four business buddies and the girl. Living in Norwalk, Connecticut, I liked the references to places I knew, like Stamford. There was also this screen credit that filled the family’s 23″ RCA color console, thanks to the need for panning-and-scanning.
Did women think this movie was all in good fun? Or did they consider the idea behind it offensive, but said it only in the company of their girlfriends? Many women were married to men who had served overseas in WWII, and perhaps that made them more tolerant of the male mindset.
P.S. According to TCM, Kim Novak herself was behind the production.
Well, she IS the one seducing James Garner, and who could blame her? I never met girl who wasn’t in love with him. And back then, rom-coms were all about sexual tension. Women were often treated as slaves at home and at work by men and this type of movie gave them a brief feeling of power.
Cousin Jimmy!