The Gazebo

The Gazebo

This movie didn't win any awards. I'm not sure how much the critics liked it. But I enjoyed this comedy. Glenn Ford is great as a nervous guy who gets mixed up in murder. Debbie Reynolds (better known for "Singin' in the Rain") is also great in this movie. And any movie with Carl Reiner, you know it's gotta be hilarious. I really enjoyed this movie. I don't know if it's on VHS, but if it comes on TCM again, it's worth watching.

One would assume that a film containing murder, blackmail and * would have an edge to it but this Glenn Ford Debbie Reynolds vehicle plays out like a TV situation comedy most of the way, tame and broad. Alan Nash is a befuddled television director feeling pressure from the job and a blackmailer who has * photos of his wife Nell a Broadway star. Unable to meet the extortionist's demands he lures him to his suburban home, murders him and buries him under the gazebo. Problem is the blackmailer had associates and Nash's perfect crime begins to unravel fast. Ford's Nash is obvious and over the top employing a lot of Keaton/Lewis slapstick to excess while Reynolds remains cutsie clueless. He has a fine opening scene as he direct's a live TV show and Reynolds has a decent song and dance number but they remain upstaged throughout by the scene stealing of John McGiver as a contractor and Mabel Albertson as a hearing challenged cleaning lady who provide this light dark comedy with the films only bright moments. Also out performing the leads is a well trained pigeon shoehorned into the story line that shows remarkable stage presence though not as tame or as dull as this torpid clunker.

This is a funny movie about dark subjects: blackmail and death. Debbie Reynolds is a famous stage actress whose TV writer husband (Glenn Ford) is approached by blackmailers who threaten to ruin her career by releasing some early photos of her. Glenn will defend his wife's honor, even if someone has to die. The new gazebo being built in his back yard is a tempting hiding place for the evidence. Will the police and his best friend, the D.A. (Rob Reiner) find him out? And what about that pigeon? The film is black and white and dates back to the 1960s, but so is The Loved One. The Loved One has been released on DVD. Why would an Oscar nominated comedy with big name stars like The Gazebo not be available on DVD? It shows on American cable channels occasionally but needs more fan pressure to get it released.

Poor Glenn Ford, talk about problems! His wife is being blackmailed, and his friend, the local district attorney, would like to bed her, and is not shy about showing it. Then there's the problem of disposing of the body of the blackmailer, who he's shot, after luring him to his home. Later he discovers he's killed the wrong man! All this very, very frustrating. I particularly enjoyed the scene where Ford's calling a list of acquaintances and asking various women if they'd seen their husbands ... that is, lately? Seeing the relieved look on his face as the replies came back, yes, was pretty funny. But, this is a comedy so all works out fine at the end. I gave it a *7* -- could have picked an *8*

Billed as a comedy, "The Gazebo" stars Glenn Ford as Elliott Nash, an overwrought writer who is no fun to be around, but for some reason his wife, Nell (played by Debbie Reynolds) is constantly smiling and affectionate, as if she is reacting to someone else. Elliott is the victim of a blackmailer. Eventually, he decides the only way out is to kill the blackmailer. But Elliott is very inept at crime. What follows is hilarity, or at least it is supposed to be. I actually think Glenn Ford did a good job of acting, but he was miscast. While watching, I kept thinking that if Dick Van Dyke or--better yet--Jack Lemmon had played his role, it would have actually been funny. Debbie Reynolds' role is minimal. Too bad, because her light-hearted presence saves the film to some degree. She sings one song, but mostly her talents are wasted. I found this film painful to watch and tedious, despite the talents involved.

Ford was hilarious as a blackmailing victim who decides to end his troubles with a simple murder. From the first nothing goes right, with everything under the sun conspiring against him, as he goes nuts trying to hide the body and keep it hidden. The murder scene was a total riot.

Turn on the sink spigot and water shoots out the stovetop; flick a light switch and the TV comes on. Add a housekeeper whose voice can be heard in Australia, and you've got a promising comedy. In fact there are a number of clever ideas in this screen adaptation of a stage play. Nonetheless, in my book, the movie's only fitfully funny. Now, Glenn Ford wrote the book on effective low-key acting, a style adapting most readily to a droll brand of comedy, as in The Sheepman (1958). Here, however, Ford's in a perpetual tizzy that would tax even the expert delirium of a Cary Grant. He strives mightily, but the demands of 100-minutes of forced hyper is really over-stretching the effort and grows pretty thin. I agree with reviewer Blanche2—the part calls for a comedic actor like a Jack Lemmon or an Ernie Kovacs. Then too, this is really tricky material. After all, Ford is meticulously intent on a criminal act, namely, murder; still, I was surprised when he actually pulls the trigger. What's needed with slippery black humor of this sort is a light touch all the way through. Wisely, for example, Ford looks the fool in his outlandish murder get-up, while the victim staggers around like an all-night drunk. But the cops and especially Martin Landau appear not to be in on the joke. They're too serious by half, reminding me of an unwanted fact-- that once Ford pulls the trigger, he's morally guilty of a crime whether his bullet finds the mark or not, a sour note the script understandably glosses over. Again, this is really tricky material to bring off successfully. I don't mean to imply the film doesn't have its moments or that players like McGiver and Reiner aren't amusingly droll or that the perky Reynolds isn't more restrained than usual. It's just that the 100-minutes remains a patchwork of promising parts that unfortunately adds up to an uneven whole.

Unfortunately I'm in the minority when it comes to "The Gazebo," a 1959 comedy starring Glenn Ford and Debbie Reynolds and directed by George Marshall. As I correctly guessed, this film is based on a play. The premise is that a TV writer (Ford) is being blackmailed over "art" photos of his now Broadway-star wife (Reynolds) and is growing desperate as the financial demands of the blackmailer grow bigger. He lures the man to his house, kills him, and buries him at the site of the couple's new gazebo. Problems ensue, such as rain. I'm a big fan of Glenn Ford's, and I thought he and Debbie Reynolds made a wonderful couple. At the time the film was made, I think both were at the height of their popularity -- Ford was the #1 box office star in 1958, and Debbie graced the cover of every fan magazine. Then there was all the Eddie-Liz stuff. I mostly thought that Ford was too heavy-handed with the comedy and that he was too forced. I would have liked to have seen an actor with a true comic flare do the role like Jack Lemmon. For me, a misfire. Loved Herman the pigeon, though.

Glenn Ford was always a solid, consistent performer, and although I haven't seen this movie since it was first run, I remember much of it. This was the movie that allowed Debby Renyolds to be an adult. If movies of the 50's were not of the Golden Age, they were at least Silver. This was a time when screenplays had actual plots. It was also a time that continued the wonderful practice of allowing supporting players like John McGiver to become celebrities through sheer talent. Players like he, and Thelma Ritter, and dozens of others I could name, but won't, were as responsible for good films as the Stars, and were allowed their moments to shine in the movie. I miss the Old Hollywood. I will tell you that in the last 10 years, I have gone to 4 movies- three of them LOR. The fourth was Gibson's the passion- and well made though it was, I think it's put me off movies for another 10 years, at least.