I was going to give this film kudos for doing something well that is typically botched by Hollywood. There are dramas with humor. There are comedies with drama. But rarely is a comedy/drama film very successful in mixing the two genres. This film did up till the last 15 minutes, when, in my view, it blew it all with slapstick. Shame, shame.In the early part of the film it seems like a light comedy as US embassy rep in London, Jack Lemmon, rents a flat and falls in love with a landlady (Kim Novak) whom he doesn't know has a notorious reputation of murdering her husband. Throughout most of the film there's a fine element of suspense, and it becomes a fine whodunit for a while...until the slapstick at the end when it just gets silly. The slapstick would have worked fine in a Red Skelton flick, but not here.The other problem with this film is the presence of Fred Astaire. Now I like Fred Astaire, and have enjoyed him in many musicals. But in this straight role (sort of), well it just doesn't quite work. Oh, it doesn't ruin the film by any means, but I didn't find him particularly believable as the head of the American embassy. I noted in the message boards that one of our reviewers felt Astaire stole every scene he was in. With all due respect, that's just an Astaire fan's viewpoint.I did tire of the background music throughout the film being almost exclusively "A Foggy Day In London Town". Too cheap for a real score? And, by the way...one thing that is never answered is who was the body being dragged into the basement early in the film.Despite all that criticism, this is mostly a pretty enjoyable film, nicely done for the most part, and quite entertaining. There's no question that Kim Novak and Jack Lemmon have film chemistry. Lionel Jeffries is good as a Scotland Yard inspector.Good film, but the foolish slapstick kept it from being a notch above.

Lemmon gives his usual sterling performance, although rather closer to the wisecracking, raffish roles that someone like, say, Tony Curtis would normally appear in, Novak shows that hourglass figure in a series of body hugging outfits, her strange Harlow-like eyebrows look out of place in a 60's film. Astaire shows immaculate timing and a nice line is self deprecation, letting Lemmon bounce the laughs off of him.What undoes the film is the desperately phony "foggy London", the sets sprinkle British telephone boxes and black cabs for effect, then undo it by introducing a Cockney flower seller (with obligatory straw hat) and filling the streets with British sports cars and limousines (since they were the most common exports to the US; Since this same cheapo trick was used for so many years in long running TV series such as "Columbo" and "Murder She Wrote", it's clear that US producers realise that US audiences can be conned at low cost).At heart the film is a strange, unworkable melange of comedy, romance and melodrama and fails to hit the mark on any of them. Screwball comedies blossomed and died in the 30's and 40's, this attempt to resurrect them does not succeed.

Jack Lemmon plays an American diplomat, Bill Gridley, attached to the embassy in England. On his first day in London he rents a flat from a very attractive new landlady, Carly Hardwicke played by Kim Novak. But unknown to him his new landlady has a "reputation" but for what. The dialogue sparkles from Lemmon's comment to Carly's query. you don't seem to harbor any prejudices, to which Lemmon responds; no, after all he is a Democrat from Massachusetts. And from the get-go it's clear Gridley is attracted to Carly but is she single, married,or divorced. On Gridley's second day he is grilled by his station chief Frank Ambruster, Fred Astaire, who informs him that his landlady murdered her husband. Suddenly Gridley finds himself recruited by Scotland Yard Inspector Oliphant, Lionel Jeffries, to "investigate" Mrs. Hardwicke to see if he can either prove her guilty or innocent. Of course Gridley leaps to Carly's defense especially after Oliphant's hysterical explanation of how women make not only loving wives but exceptional killers. Ambruster orders Gridley to cooperate and yet after he meets her and is smitten; he agrees that she is innocent. The film is filled with red herrings from titles of bedside reading to misunderstood phone calls that only enrich the comedy and the mystery. Lemmon is great as the would be lover who vacillates between loyalty and suspicion. This film is a classic and deserves an updated release.This film has stuck in my mind from my first viewing in 1962 because of the chemistry among the three principal actors. And the finale is one of the best of any chase scenes filmed.

Pleasant mystery/comedy with a young energetic Jack Lemmon and an attractive Kim Novak developing a love interest (as expected) while trying to solve the problem of the apparent murder of her husband. Some intriguing plot twists and surprising jumps. Light film provides a nice diversion for an hour and a half especially with the presence of Fred Astaire and Lionel Jefferies.Unfortunately it does not appear to be available on video tape at the present time.