Sunday in New York (1963)

If you're looking for a perfectly dated view of premarital sex, you'll be hard-pressed to find another gem like Sunday in New York. Jane Fonda, in a totally adorable role, plays a conflicted "beginner". She's refused to sleep with her boyfriend, Robert Culp, and in her confusion, seeks refuge with her airline pilot brother, Cliff Robertson. Cliff assures her that being a virgin isn't a bad thing and that he himself doesn't sleep around. Of course, he's desperately trying to sleep with his girlfriend, Jo Morrow, and hides that from Jane. To top it all off, Jane meets Rod Taylor and decides to pretend she's more experienced than she actually is.Adapted from Norman Krasna's hit Broadway play, this 1960s romantic comedy is just that: romantic and hilarious. Jane's comic timing is always great. "In movies, this is where the screen usually goes dark," she says when Rod's kisses make it clear he wants to take things further. When he finally learns she's a virgin, he slams on the brakes. He doesn't want to be responsible for ruining her reputation, and Jane finds his reasoning absurd. He wouldn't have any hesitation in sleeping with her if, say, in a week's time she'd already had a lover. "Call me next week!" she shouts, frustrated that her innocence is off-putting.It's really a very cute movie, but women's libbers out there will probably hate it. You're better off watching The Electric Horseman or The China Syndrome; Jane is in a strong, feminist role in those movies. In Sunday in New York, she's cute as a button, but not the most liberated tool in the shed. I loved her in this one, and found her just as visually and comically adorable as she was in Barefoot in the Park.

"Sunday in New York" is a pretty charming comedy, quite quaint compared to the raunchy comedies coming out today - which is why I was quick to embrace it. Actually, the movie does deal with a topic that's still quite hot today - sex. In fact, the movie is quite open about the topic of pre-marital sex compared to a number of other 1960s Hollywood movies. (The reference to "handball" is quite an eyebrow raiser - I can't believe it got by censors of the time!) However, the movie's main aim is to make the audience laugh, and while I didn't laugh out loud at any moment, I did smile a lot at the humor. It's very agreeable.I will freely admit that the movie isn't perfect. It's a bit long, and the stage origins of the material are pretty evident at times. Also, Rod Taylor's character is quite obnoxious to start off with, so much so that it's hard to see why Fonda's character get attracted to him (though he does become palatable by the end.) But these are minor quibbles in an otherwise enjoyable (and interesting) movie.

This is one of the most delightful, enjoyable and successful comedies of the 60s, and in 50 years it has lost nothing of its charm and not aged at all. Everyone remains young at heart somewhere in his being, and this film is something of a miracle worker bringing out that feeling of eternal continuous youth. The question is where all the charm is coming from. All the actors are in top form, but Jane Fonda and Rod Taylor are leading the show, she in a dominating character of constantly impressing eloquence and honesty, while he supplies a more subtle charm of the discreet comfort of an accompanying orchestra. It must be pointed out how much the music means for this film. It is perfect all the way and supplies exactly the right mood for every scene, constantly changing between jazz, entertainment and classical romantic - sometimes it approaches Rachmaninov. Above all, this is Norman Krasna's best script, and he was one of the most experienced script writers of Hollywood with decades of professional work behind him. The dialog couldn't be better. Phrases like "If I were you I would kiss me" and the dialog "What's the matter with you women?" Answer: "Men!" will stick forever like the best repartees of the heyday of screwball comedies. The story is ingenious: two couples find each other through jungles of complications and more than one regular mess. In brief, for a comedy, everything is perfect in this film, nothing is missing or lacking, it offers everything and will remain a joy every time you see it.

Produced right on the cusp of the sexual revolution in America, "Sunday in New York" (1963) probably stirred the libidos of many viewers. Previously, it was considered improper for young people to indulge in sex before they got married. But by 1963, with many couples challenging that taboo, the subject was due for another assessment. And it got one, in this clever and charming Peter Tewksbury romantic comedy, based on a script by Norman Krasna. Jane Fonda plays a 22-year-old virgin, Eileen. She's just lost the man of her dreams, Russ (Robert Culp) because he wanted sex before marriage and she refused. Now she's traveled from her home town of Albany to New York City, to visit her brother Adam (Cliff Robertson). Little sis wants to get big brother's views on the subject of extra-marital sex.On the 5th Avenue bus, Eileen meets Mike (Rod Taylor), and they go to get coffee together. Caught in a rainstorm, the two are drenched, and with no umbrellas and no taxis in sight, they have no choice but to repair to Adam's apartment to dry off.After some nervous conversation, Eileen decides to try and seduce Mike, if only to get the "virginity" monkey off her back. He's all for the sex, until he discovers -- at apparently the last moment -- that she is, er, a "beginner." Infuriated, Mike retreats to the safety of his bathrobe, then lectures the girl on the perils of seduction when one is a virgin. Eileen asks, logically, "Well, how is a girl supposed to learn?"Good question. But there's no time to discuss it, because just then, who should burst into the apartment but Russ, all the way from Albany to propose marriage to Eileen, whom he has decided he cannot live without. Russ has never met Eileen's brother, so seeing the two together in the apartment -- in their robes -- he assumes that Mike is Adam, and begins joshing with him and treating him like his future brother-in-law.The fun escalates when the real Adam comes home and discovers that Mike has co-opted his identity, and must now call himself "Mike" and pretend to be his own best friend.Rod Taylor is very game about his role in this film. He gets punched and knocked down by both Culp and Robertson, is drenched repeatedly in New York City's rainstorms, and is made to be Eileen's fall guy when the whole charade falls apart. Still -- SPOILERS AHEAD -- at the end Taylor's Mike gets to romance Fonda's Eileen, and the film appears headed for a happy ending.But Mike had to go through hell before he finds his heaven, in the arms of Eileen.Cheers, Dan Navarro [email protected]