not only doesn't this version come close, but it just is not a good film. Poor casting, poor use of the cast they did choose. Beginning with June Allyson, who is so badly miscast that nothing else matters. She is way too old for the role, and if not, she looks it, which is almost worse. She looks about 50. The hairstyle could not be less flattering if that were the point. And making this into a musical is just comical and not in a good way.Some of the sets and costumes are worth seeing. But oh, the 50's were hard on women, as far as hair and make-up went. Very difficult for beauty to shine through. Even Joan Collins looks older than she was at the time, due to the styling. Maybe I am old-fashioned, but the longer, soft hairstyles of the 30's and early 40's were so much prettier and sexier. In the 50's, they all looked so priggish and stiff, but I guess that represents the entire decade.

I was really pleased to finally locate this film as I'd never heard of it until seeing a segment in 'That's Entertainment Part 3' years ago. It's a big of an oddity- it almost seems as though it's the last chance for some big name women to strut their stuff on the big screen before retiring. The storyline vaguely follows the original play but the biggest error is the inclusion of male characters. The charm and cleverness of the original is the fact that men are discussed but never seen. The musical numbers are generally pretty dire so keep the forward button close to hand if you can't handle them- the banana number from the musical within the plot line is a huge cringe-fest. Great costumes by Helen Rose make it at least visually interesting (although I'm not sure where she was going with Dolores Gray's bust-line in one of the dresses- a bit of an east/west angle which looks frightening!!) Joan Collins is fun in the Crystal Allen role but a few wasted opportunities with some of the others. Why have Anne Miller in a movie and not have her dance? Anne Sheridan always lovely and Agnes Moorehead suits the role of the Countess. It's not a BAD film but it's such a strange affair. Stick to the original though I must say it is bearable compared to the 2008 version which almost had me reaching for a paper bag for both nausea and hyperventilation in it's awfulness. I'm glad to say I've seen it and maybe it will start me off on a hobby of collecting the lesser known 'treasures' of the musical genre. You WON'T leave the film singing the tunes from this film as they are generally forgettable but as a curiosity factor, I give it a 6.

This is one of my favorite movies since I was a kid. The bad reviews it gets here blow my mind. The cast was excellent in my opinion and the adding of the men unlike "The Woman" is great to me. Leslie Nielson is crazy hot and so is the guy who plays Buck. Also Joan Collins is indescribably hotter than Joan Crawford as Crystal Allen and fits the part perfect. Another question for me is who doesn't think June Allyson is adorable and The Countess is wonderful?? This is obviously one of those movies that you should see for yourself and make your own opinion because they vary drastically from person to person. Me my two sisters, my mother & my Grandmother have loved this movie our whole lives!! The remake of The Woman most recently (2008) is what was ridiculous and not worth watching, I mean they made The Countess a pothead and they wrote Meg Ryans part as just a pathetic female with no life or goals!!! Now thats a sad reproduction!!!

I don't know why so many people on here are trashing this film. Is it a classic movie, no. But is it so awful, no. It is a perfectly good, entertaining movie. I think Allyson, the perfect 50's movie wife, is cast well as Kay, who is a perfect wife who gets left. I thought it was a little inside 50s joke, here is the perfect wife being left. Anyway, she is good and yes she was not 20, but it is a wife role and her daughter is about 10. It is not a young woman's part, that is the whole point; the husband leaves her for a younger woman. Ann Miller, Agnes Moorehead, Ann Sheridan, Dolores Gray, Joan Collins are all great. Does Miller sing or dance, no. But maybe someone was thinking she was a good actress and funny with lines and could be in a movie and not tap dance. I am sure she was happy to be cast as an actress for once. She was always a very funny performer. So check the movie out for yourself, it is really pretty good (and nice to see Allyson in some pretty clothes after all those years of white blouses in movies).