SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE

DIRECTOR:
George Cukor

WRITERS:
Bella Spewack
Sam Spewack
Nunnally Johnson
Walter Bernstein

CAST:
Marilyn Monroe
Dean Martin
Cyd Charisse
Alexandra Heilweil
Robert Christopher Morley
Phil Silvers
Wally Cox
Tom Tryon
Eloise Hardt
John McGiver
Grady Sutton
Steve Allen
Jeff ( Tip the dog )


Ellen Arden / Eve / Ingrid Tic ( Marilyn Monroe )


Bianca and Nick Arden ( Cyd Charisse & Dean Martin )


Lita and Timmy ( Alexandra Heilweil & Robert Christopher Morley )


Insurance agent ( Phil Silvers )


Shoe salesman ( Wally Cox )


Stephen Burkett / Adam ( Tom Tryon )

Nick's first wife, Ellen, was lost at sea years ago. So Ellen has to be declared legally dead before Nick can marry Bianca. After that is taken care of, they get married.

Bianca and Nick board a jetliner and head back home. Meanwhile, Ellen reappears at their home. She walks into the backyard and spots her children, Lita and Timmy, playing in the pool. The kids become curious as to why Tip, their dog, is being so affectionate to her. She asks them if they remember her, but they don't. However, Ellen does not tell them she's their mother. She hasn't seen her kids in over five years, so she's dazed, but overjoyed to interact with them.

Nick and Bianca finally arrive home and find Lita and Timmy building a treehouse in the backyard. Moments later, Nick is shocked when Ellen walks down the stairs and greets them. She introduces herself as Ingrid Tic, their new housekeeper.

Nick doesn't tell Bianca about Ingrid's true identity. Later that evening, Ellen goes skinny-dipping in the pool. The doorbell rings as Nick is about to tell Ellen to get out of the pool. The man at the door is an insurance agent. He tells Nick that Ellen and a man called Stephen were rescued off an island by an American submarine. Nick is not amused by the fact that Ellen called the man Adam and reffered to herself as Eve when they lived on the island. As the insurance agent leaves, he becomes flustered when he spots a nude Ellen sitting by the pool.

Nick walks down to the pool and questions Ellen about Adam and the island. Ellen quickly becomes frustrated, and demands he tell Bianca that she's back.

The next day, Nick tracks down Stephen. But he's not the timid little man that Ellen described.

At a fancy shoe store, Ellen convinces one of the salesmen to help her deceive Nick. They both go to the house. In the backyard, the three of them sit down and talk. Ellen and the fake Adam bullshit Nick. Ellen thinks she's succeeded, and Nick doesn't seem to mind. The fake Adam leaves, and Ellen proceeds to try and make Nick feel guilty about all his suspicions.

Seconds later, director George Cukor says: "Cut it. Good. Thank you". Then the screen fades to black....



QUOTES:
Bianca: "What you really needed in your first marriage, was not so much a maid, but a mother figure. Not so much a wife, as a soft warm bosom for a little boy to rest his tired little head on. Now isn't that what Ellen was?"

Ellen: "Can I cry for you?"

Nick: "I don't feel good"

Insurance agent: "Listen to that splashing. Must be doing the breaststroke"

Nick: "Did you always take a moonlight swim on the island with Adam?... Eve"

Ellen: "How long does it take a man to tell a woman his wife's back? That his wife's back! It takes two seconds. I just did it in two seconds. You've had two days!"

Shoe salesman: "I was very excited by the island's vegetation"

Ellen: "Aren't you ashamed of those suspicions you had about me?"



VIDEO INFO:
DVD
WIDEscreen
Color
Region one
Company - Image Entertainment
NOT rated
Extras - Not applicable
Inserts - Not applicable



OBTAINED AT - CD Universe

PRICE - $11.49



DO I WANT MY MONEY BACK?:
NO!... absolutely not!... SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE is found on the MARILYN MONROE: THE FINAL DAYS DVD ( the movie starts on chapter 19 ).

There are two versions of this DVD. One is by FOX, and the other one is by IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT. I've been told the IMAGE version is slightly longer, but I don't know if that info is correct. Regardless, I highly recommend this video...

I really feel they should have rewritten the first five minutes of the script. Why? Because it seems much longer than it is. They could have explained certain events in a much shorter and enjoyable way. However, I still like what I saw, and I feel a sadness when I watch the last scene.....

THE MISFITS was Marilyn's last THEATRICAL RELEASE, but it was NOT her last movie. SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE is Marilyn's LAST movie. The fact it wasn't finished and shown theatrically is Irrelavant. SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE was her LAST role....



Some superficial observations: I think Marilyn Monroe never looked more physically attractive than in her last two movies ( THE MISFITS & SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE ). In SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE she looked stunningly beautiful....

FYI: SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE is a remake of movie called MY FAVORITE WIFE. After Marilyn's death, SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE was re-cast and made into a movie called MOVE OVER DARLING.