Movies

LUCY'S MOVIE GUIDE

The Facts of Life

MOVIE #79

The Facts of Life (1960)

(featuring Lucille Ball as Kitty Weaver)


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Unlike the typical Bob Hope and Lucille Ball vehicles, The Facts of Life is essentially a domestic drama with comic undertones. Hope is married to Ruth Hussey, while Ball is the wife of Don DeFore. All four are old friends, who for many years have taken each other for granted.

A series of unforeseen circumstances requires Hope and Ball to spend a great deal of time together without their spouses, and as a result they fall in love. Though the affair is never consummated, Hope and Ball are prepared to run off together, but in the end they decide that adultery at their age just isn't worth the trouble.

Special Notes: Long unavailable for viewing due to legal tangles, The Facts of Life has gained legendary status as one of the few Bob Hope films of the 1960s to concentrate on character development rather than silly one-liners.

Recent viewings have revealed that, though a far more mature work than one might expect from Hope or Ball, Facts of Life still relies to a great extent on the sort of TV sitcom material that the fans of the two stars had come to expect by 1960.

The film was considered offbeat enough to warrant an Oscar nomination for best screenplay. The film was also nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one for Costume Design (for Edith Head and Edward Stevenson). For her performance, Lucille Ball was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress, Comedy.

Movie #79
Film Date: 1960

Release Date: November 14, 1960
Film Type: comedy
Film Color: black/white
Studio: Panama and Frank Production/United Artists
Film Length: 103 minutes

Director/Producer:
Melvin Frank (Director)
Norman Panama (Producer)

Character Role:
Lucille Ball (Kitty Weaver)

Supporting Cast:
Bob Hope (Larry Gilbert)
Ruth Hussey (Mary Gilbert)
Don DeFore (Jack Weaver)
Louis Nye (Charles Busbee)
Philip Ober (Doc Mason)
Marianne Stewart (Connie Mason)
Peter Leeds (Thompson)
Hollis Irving (Myrtle Busbee)
William Lanteau (Airline Clerk)
Robert Simon (Motel Clerk)
Louise Beavers (Gussie)
Mike Mazurka (Man in Motel Room)