Wer war die Dame? (1960)

Wer war die Dame?: Directed by George Sidney. With Tony Curtis, Dean Martin, Janet Leigh, James Whitmore. Ill-advised by a pal, a chemistry professor falsely claims he is an undercover FBI agent in order to cover-up his marital infidelity but his lie, although swallowed by his wife, gets him in trouble with the real FBI, the CIA and the KGB.

“Although the premise first hearing about it and reading it didnu0026#39;t exactly grab me and didnu0026#39;t sound plausible for a minute, the star power did attract me enough to see u0026#39;Who Was That Ladyu0026#39; anyway. Also had heard the title song beforehand, sung by none other by Dean Martin, and was quite impressed. Tony Curtis, Dean Martin and Janet Leighu0026#39;s careers were all hit and miss but they were always likeable enough and always did their best regardless of what was thrown at them.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhich is the case here with u0026#39;Who Was That Ladyu0026#39;. Can definitely see why the reviews here are mixed, with some really liking it and others being indifferent. Everybody is not at their finest and did have better material, but it doesnu0026#39;t waste them either. As for me myself, my opinion is somewhere in between, finding enough to enjoy but not really loving it and wishing that it could have been more. With it not starting off all that promisingly but it got better.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe story is very thin at times and is often very implausible and a little more complicated than it needed to be (even for a concocted story between characters intended to be that way). It could have gotten going quicker.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn terms of the writing, u0026#39;Who Was That Ladyu0026#39; did in my view at times try too hard for laughs, meaning some of the material is strained. While everything with the Russians is quite fun to watch and suspenseful, the film feels like a different film towards the end. Going from frothy romantic comedy to thriller.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHowever, the glossy production values are skillfully done. The music has energy and charm and the title song is vintage Martin, which will be a delight if a fan of him (have personally always loved his voice). The direction becomes more at ease when the film gets going and the dialogue has plenty of wit and is very amusing in many parts. The restaurant scene is a joy and very memorable.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCurtis is likeable and has strong comic timing, while over-eager at times. Leigh is charm personified and brings a lot of vitality to a role thatu0026#39;s fairly thankless and plot device-like. Martin works very well with Curtis and amuses. The chemistry between Curtis and real-life wife at the time Leigh are sweet without being too sugary, one would not have guessed that they were apparently having marital problems at that point. James Whitmore is enjoyably subtle and Larry Storch steals his scenes even if his character seemed as if it was lifted from another film.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSumming up, quite enjoyable though am a little mixed on what my thoughts are. 6/10”