Press Release Warner Archive Press Release: The Opposite Sex (1956) (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

What's funny is the box office failure of "It's a Wonderful Life" had nothing to do with any actor in the movie, but the mood of the country at the end of WWII. At first, the general public just didn't get the movie.

 

[Thomas T]

What's funny is the box office failure of "It's a Wonderful Life" had nothing to do with any actor in the movie, but the mood of the country at the end of WWII. At first, the general public just didn't get the movie.

Quite true (though I dislike the film myself). But that's Hollywood, always looking for someone to blame and often it's the actor that's the scapegoat. Although highly regarded as a cinematic masterpiece today, Vertigo was a box office disappointment for Hitchcock and he blamed Stewart's "aged" appearance as a primary reason. Ironically, the same year Stewart reteamed with Novak for Bell Book And Candle which was a box office hit ..... so much for Hitchcock's theory.

 

[bujaki]

Her face? Don't you mean his face? If you're referring to Allyson, it wasn't her that got Reed dumped, it was Stewart! How sexist! As usual, the woman is blamed and the man gets a pass. When a man strays, it's the other woman who gets the blame for "stealing" him from his happy home as if he had nothing to do with it.

Oh, I'm thoroughly chastised by your point. It's Stewart who should have gotten his face bruised!
BTW, I still think Allyson's best performance is in The Shrike precisely because she wasn't playing that sweet, cloying, lachrymose act. I'd love to see the film again. Directed by one of your favorite persons: Jose Ferrer. What a talented guy! Played Iago opposite Robeson and Hagen on Broadway. Oscar-nominated for his first film role; eventual winner for his Cyrano. He even got to marry Rosemary Clooney (sigh)...

 

[Matt Hough]

I noted that The Opposite Sex was not listed among Warner Archives' September offerings. So I guess it's not coming next month. I'll just have to make do with the DVD a little longer.

 

[Nick*Z]

" Thanks A Lot ,But No Thanks"........is a great song sung by Dolores Gray

Uh...she sings that one in It's Always Fair Weather, not The Opposite Sex. Always liked the title tune, bouncy and fun. Ditto for Rock n' Roll Tumbleweed, that proved Jeff Richards was more than just a pretty face. Big number, 'Now Baby Now' staged to perfection, even if the song is only so-so. But the horrendous (and needless) dub of Allyson by Jo Ann Greer singing 'A Perfect Love'. Ugh! Awful! Will take The Women over this movie any day of the week.

 

[roxy1927]

For some reason I never liked Ferrer but I think he's absolutely brilliant in the hyper Jazza Jazza Doo Doo number in Deep in my Heart. Though I believe most people are appalled like Avedon's wife and Isobel Elsom are in the film. Never saw it until the bluray came out. That was a happy surprise release. It certainly wasn't shown at any of the revival houses that I was aware of though there were endless MGM series. Only had seen the astounding One Alone when it was shown during a Stanley Donen interview at the Walter Reade. I was like how did this not make it into any of the That's Entertainment films? It's one of the best dance numbers I've ever seen on film. Cyd Charisse tops Cyd Charisse.

 

[Nick*Z]

I've always loved June Allyson; Till The Clouds Roll By, Best Foot Forward, Good News, The Glenn Miller Story, Executive Suite. How could anyone not LOVE America's sweetheart?

The Opposite Sex comes from a line of musicalized remakes of 30's/40's comedies. Ninotchka to Silk Stockings, and The Philadelphia Story to High Society. Personally, I would have preferred High Society to The Opposite Sex any day of the week; ditto for all the aforementioned Allyson titles not yet on Blu, plus a host of others, including Nancy Goes to Rio, Holiday in Mexico, A Date With Judy, The Harvey Girls, Show Boat, The Student Prince, The Merry Widow, The Great Ziegfeld, Small Town Girl, Ziegfeld Girl, For Me And My Gal, I Love Melvin, Rosalie, Maytime, Lili, Lovely To Look At, Thousands Cheer, and Words & Music. Whew! quite a list of MGM musicals still MIA on Blu.

The Women didn't need to be musicalized to be sexy/bitchy good fun. While I always bought the knock-down drag-out fight between Rosalind Russell and Paulette Goddard in The Women, the reboot here just seemed idiotic and declasse. Just thoughts.

 

[Thomas T]

Oh, I'm thoroughly chastised by your point. It's Stewart who should have gotten his face bruised!
BTW, I still think Allyson's best performance is in The Shrike precisely because she wasn't playing that sweet, cloying, lachrymose act. I'd love to see the film again. Directed by one of your favorite persons: Jose Ferrer. What a talented guy! Played Iago opposite Robeson and Hagen on Broadway. Oscar-nominated for his first film role; eventual winner for his Cyrano. He even got to marry Rosemary Clooney (sigh)...

If you liked Allyson in The Shrike, you might want to check her out in The Secret Heart (1946) in which she plays Claudette Colbert's neurotic stepdaughter who has an Oedipal complex, drops out of school and is placed under a psychiatrist's care. She even attempts suicide. Definitely not a sweet and cloying character but a neurotic spoiled brat.

 

[Robin9]

Not accurate! Allyson's MGM contract ended in 1953 after Remains To Be Seen. She free lanced after that although she returned to MGM for Executive Suite and The Opposite Sex. As to the reason she was cast ..... easy. She was box office. In 1955, Allyson and Grace Kelly were the only two women in the top 10 box office stars. Allyson had been in a string of hit movies like The Glenn Miller Story, Strategic Air Command and The McConnell Story which made her one of the most in demand actresses in Hollywood at the time. So popular in fact that she was offered the title role in Three Faces Of Eve but her husband Dick Powell talked her out of accepting it saying she was all wrong for the part (she discussed this with Robert Osborne in an interview with him on TCM) as a departure from her squeaky clean image in The Shrike did not please her fans and was a failure at the box office. Alas, a string of subsequent box office failures like You Can't Run Away From It, My Man Godfrey, Interlude and Stranger In My Arms ended her reign as a popular star.

As you're a major enthusiast about June Allyson - which I most certainly am not - I'll take your word about her contract dates and commitments. Nevertheless, I'll stick to my main contention which is that Dory Schary gave the green light to this project because it gave work to several MGM contract players.

 

[Robin9]

How could anyone not LOVE America's sweetheart?

Effortlessly; so very, very easy! All it takes is good judgement! Just a joke, boys, just a joke - but with a grain of truth as well.

 

[Thomas T]

As you're a major enthusiast about June Allyson - which I most certainly am not - I'll take your word about her contract dates and commitments. Nevertheless, I'll stick to my main contention which is that Dory Schary gave the green light to this project because it gave work to several MGM contract players.

June Allyson's MGM contract was over, Joan Collins was borrowed from 20th Century Fox, Ann Sheridan and Joan Blondell were freelancing and Carolyn Jones and Charlotte Greenwood were not under contract to MGM. Under contract to MGM: Ann Miller, Dolores Gray, Leslie Nielsen, Jeff Richards. Agnes Moorehead had been under contract to MGM in the 1940s (beginning in 1944) but I stand to be corrected, by the time of The Opposite Sex her contract was over. So, it looks about 50/50 regarding contract players and non contract players.

As to greenlighting the project because it gave work to several MGM contract players, isn't that the point of the studio contract system? Of course, they'd use as many of their contract players as they feasibly could on any film they greenlighted. They even tried to force Hitchcock to use Cyd Charisse in the female lead in North By Northwest but Hitch was a big enough name director to tell the studio no.

 

[Will Krupp]

I'll grant that Collins is infinitely preferable to Crawford as Crystal. She's younger and sexier. The rest of the cast, except for Mary and Little Mary, is a good match against the original.

We will HAVE to respectfully (but vociferously!) agree to disagree on ALL of those points.

 

[lark144]

Effortlessly; so very, very easy! All it takes is good judgement! Just a joke, boys, just a joke - but with a grain of truth as well.

Way more than a grain of truth, in my estimation.

 

[Matt Hough]

Uh...she sings that one in It's Always Fair Weather, not The Opposite Sex. Always liked the title tune, bouncy and fun. Ditto for Rock n' Roll Tumbleweed, that proved Jeff Richards was more than just a pretty face.

Well, Jeff Richards didn't do his own singing there; Johnny O'Neill was his voice double.

I am glad Dolores got to sing something, even if it was just the title song over the opening credits. No use having a Tony-winning musical star in a movie musical and not using her vocal gifts. I actually love June's "Young Man with a Horn." Didn't she sing that in an earlier film, too? Seems like I looked it up once and she had performed it in the 1940s.

 

[David Weicker]

You people do realize you don’t have to spew your hate about certain people in post after post after post after post. You are allowed to keep it to yourself

 

[redhotandbluetechnicolor]

Well, Jeff Richards didn't do his own singing there; Johnny O'Neill was his voice double.

I am glad Dolores got to sing something, even if it was just the title song over the opening credits. No use having a Tony-winning musical star in a movie musical and not using her vocal gifts. I actually love June's "Young Man with a Horn." Didn't she sing that in an earlier film, too? Seems like I looked it up once and she had performed it in the 1940s.

She sang it in Two Girls and a Sailor with Van Johnson, Gloria DeHaven, and Jimmy Durante-another great classic even if it isn’t one of the greatest MGM musicals

 

[Matt Hough]

She sang it in Two Girls and a Sailor with Van Johnson, Gloria DeHaven, and Jimmy Durante-another great classic even if it isn’t one of the greatest MGM musicals

Thanks. I knew someone would know for sure.

 

[M90GM]

The Opposite Sex has a great cast and offers a pleasing production even with its lackluster songs. The Women, of course, is a stronger film, but this one is certainly watchable and doesn't suffer with its addition of the principal male characters who are only talked about in the original movie.

Nice fun film - I am happy - but another very strange choice for a blu ray upgrade given the success and critical acclaim the film did NOT receive on release...still so many big quality M-G-M "guns" in the Warner Archive that are more relevant and more deserving of upgrade. Similarly with the John Wayne "Leathernecks" upgrade announced ...so many better Wayne films more "deserving" (popular & critical) remain...Three Godfathers ...Wings of Eagles to name just two...and how about an upgrade (if the elements are there) of the greatest of all WB Wayne films - The Searchers.
And have we all been eagerly awaiting "Kentucky Kernals" for a blu ray release? A 1934 old film rated 6 on imdb....I now give up on eagerly awaiting new Blu Ray releases from Warner. The pattern seems to be set in - one "good" (critical / popular appeal) to 4 odd beat releases each month. Come on Warner if you are not going to release them - on sell them to 2nd tier release companies like KL ...the odd releases that Criterion receive are few and only cream at the top releases.

 

[Thomas T]

You people do realize you don’t have to spew your hate about certain people in post after post after post after post. You are allowed to keep it to yourself

But why keep it to themselves when they can gleefully hit us over the head like a hammer over the head several times as if we didn't get their opinion the first time? It's akin to the regular as clockwork whining with each new Warners Archives announcement. They complained about Warners selections last month, they complained this month and they'll complain next month. "Nothing for me this month ..... again", "Why did they release an obscure title like XYZ when a classic like ABC still hasn't been released", etc. etc. etc.

 

[AlanP]

FYI, just checked IMDB and in trivia under "The Opposite Sex" it says Grace Kelly, Esther Williams, and Eleanor Parker were considered for Allyson's role. Would have preferred any of those three never liked Allyson's sweet persona always seemed forced.... Just saying