Good Neighbor Sam

1964
A
2h 10m

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

3.3K

YOUR RATING

Jack Lemmon, Romy Schneider, and Dorothy Provine in Good Neighbor Sam (1964)

To help his divorced neighbor claim a substantial inheritance, a family man poses as her husband. The ruse spills over into his career in advertising, and his recent promotion relies on his wholesome and moral appearance.

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Satire Comedy

To help his divorced neighbor claim a substantial inheritance, the married man next door poses as her husband. The ruse spills over into his advertising job and his recent promotion depends ... Read allTo help his divorced neighbor claim a substantial inheritance, the married man next door poses as her husband. The ruse spills over into his advertising job and his recent promotion depends on maintaining a conservative, moral appearance.To help his divorced neighbor claim a substantial inheritance, the married man next door poses as her husband. The ruse spills over into his advertising job and his recent promotion depends on maintaining a conservative, moral appearance.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

3.3K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 2 nominations total

Trivia
The name of the advertising firm for which Sam Bissel works, Burke & Hare, is a reference to William Burke and William Hare, two Irish laborers living in 18th century Edinburgh, Scotland who became notorious as history's most famous "body snatchers" who, until they were discovered by the British authorities, killed at least 16 travelers and then sold their corpses to medical schools for dissection.

Goofs
The Bissells' kitchen wall telephone moves from being mounted on the outside surface of the post to the kitchen side of the post.

Quotes
Hertz Commercial Man: [after finally being lowered into convertible] Man, that's *real* coffee!
[in tears]
Hertz Commercial Man: Oh, noooo!

Connections
Featured in AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Jack Lemmon (1988)

Soundtracks
Let Hertz Put You in the Driver's Seat
(uncredited)
Lyrics and Music by Richard Adler
Performed by The Hi-Los

User reviews37

Featured review

7/10

An Amusing Romp

When Good Neighbor Sam was released in 1964 Jack Lemmon was being taken seriously as a dramatic actor as well as a light comic actor as witnessed by the rave reviews he got for The Apartment and Days of Wine and Roses. While Good Neighbor Sam doesn't stack up against those two films in Lemmon's career, it's still an amusing and pleasing romp.

Have you ever noticed how many films like Good Neighbor Sam start out with a mistaken impression? Through a lie told by Romy Schneider who is the good neighbor that Sam has, people in her life and in his get the impression that they are married. He's married to Dorothy Provine and she's married to Michael Connors. And both for their own reasons have to keep the deception up. All the situations the principal players get into stem from the original white lie.

It would be so much easier if everyone told the truth from the gitgo, but then we wouldn't have a movie.

Lots of familiar names pop up here in support. Edward Andrews as the unctuous boss of the advertising agency Lemmon works for, Louis Nye as the creative private detective who gets it wrong, and last but not definitely not least Edward G. Robinson as the puritanical dairy king.

Minor league Lemmon, but still fun. And as another reviewer says, that theme is unforgettable. You'll have it in your brain for days.