This film was mentioned in a book I have about bad movies. No, these are not incompetent films or films with horrible production values, but ones that are sleazy and over-the-top--sort of like guilty pleasures--and that is definitely true of "The Pleasure Seekers".What the producers of the film did was take the 1950s film "Three Coins in a Fountain" and inserted a lot of sexual innuendo--at least, as much as they could get away with in 1964. While I liked the original film, "The Pleasure Seekers" was far inferior because it lacked heart and subtlety--replacing it was bedroom scenes and talk about premarital sex.The film is about three young American ladies who live in Madrid and are trying to have healthy relationships while strenuously avoiding premarital sex...at least sometimes. Carol Lynley plays a career girl who has her sights set on a married man (Brian Keith) as well as a single guy. Pamela Tiffin plays a stereotypical beautiful but dumb lady. She falls for an over-sexed rich playboy (Tony Franciosa) who promises marriage but really wants another notch on the bedpost. Ann-Margret plays a woman who is infatuated with a doctor who obviously has a secret, as he plays hard to get!! After all, this IS Ann-Margret and he either must be gay or married to resist her many charms.Towards the end of the film, it appears that the three have struck out in love and two of them are preparing to go back to America. However, because this is a Hollywood-style film, you know that at least some of these relationships will work out for the best. Tune in for yourself to see where these high-minded ladies land in this trashy soap.Overall, the film sure looks nice. It was filmed in and around Madrid and is pretty just like the original film (which was filmed in and around Rome). The music is also very nice and evocative. As for the acting and writing, it all seemed rather fake--like the people were playing caricatures instead of real people. Not a whole lotta depth with these folks--just a lot of raging hormones and inconsistent behavior. It is truly a guilty pleasure--the sort of titillating fare that they no longer make but was popularized in the late 1950s to mid-1960s--just as the Production Code was on the way out.Deep and insightful? No way,...but still worth a peek. For a similar experience, try watching THE BEST OF EVERYTHING (1959) and PEYTON PLACE (1957)--two films that manage to tell similar stories but in a bit better way.

Ann-Margret talks like she is coming out of Sweet Apple, Ohio in the very successful "Bye, Bye Birdie," the year before this film came out.To me, the film is nothing more than a cheap rip-off of "3 Coins in the Fountain," where 3 women are seeking the guys in Europe. This time the location is in Spain and Anthony Franciosa's Spanish accent leaves a lot to be desired. Brian Keith is fairly effective as the newsman having a fling with a much younger woman. Gene Tierney, who briefly appears in this film, has one stealer where she really tells the other lady off.The film has a similar ending to 3 Coins but it's really contrived especially with what Gene Tierney had carried on just before.

A tried and true formula (three girls living together and loving various men) gets a Spanish-flavored, musical treatment here from a director who had a clear affinity for the genre. Negulesco had already directed "How to Marry a Millionaire," "Three Coins in a Fountain" and "The Best of Everything" prior to this film! In Madrid, Spain, a print journalism company employs blonde Lynley, who has a thing for her married boss Keith while simultaneously being pursued by co-worker McKay. Her roommate is red-haired Margret who keeps busy as a singer and dancer for hire. They welcome Lynley's school chum, brunette Tiffin, who is there to experience life and art. Margret runs into (literally!) young doctor Lawrence and begins a tenuous relationship with him while Tiffin becomes entangled in playboy Franciosa's web of seduction. Amidst a crisp and strikingly beautiful Madrid, with great shots of some legendary artwork and some lovely scenery, the girls live and love, sometimes getting hurt along the way and, in Margret's case, occasionally belting out a song or two. Lynley is lovely and wears some simple and bright, but sexy, little dresses. Hers is an affected performance, but it's occasionally an effective one, too. Tiffin plays a dim bulb and does so rather shallowly with little real feeling, but she is, again, lovely to look at. Margret is very much "on" here, running, gyrating, emoting and slinking around as if her life depended on it. Fans of hers will not want to miss her fantastic body, luscious mane of hair or her musical performances, especially the flamenco dance in a snug pink dress. She does have one memorably preposterous scene in which she refers to herself as not wearing mascara while her eyelashes are thick and black with it! Franciosa is slick and slimy, working every angle to get women to do what he wants. McKay, who was no slouch in the looks department himself, is laid back in the extreme here, barely bothering to open his eyes all the way. Lawrence is appealing and attractive as well. Keith gives the sort of no nonsense, gruff performance he was known for with a touch of tenderness thrown in. His storyline is given a rather abrupt resolution, however. Tierney, in her final big screen performance, plays his sophisticated wife. She is barely given a chance to register except for a catty showdown with Lynley in the ladies room which was handily eclipsed a couple of years later when Patty Duke and Susan Hayward did battle in "Valley of the Dolls," another three girls against the world flick. Scotti plays a lascivious neighbor who delights in peeking in the windows of the girls' apartment and Elsom appears as Franciosa's wealthy and knowing mother. The film wasn't meant to be anything but a colorful and entertaining diversion and that's all it is. It's pat and familiar, but also quite enjoyable.

I liked this one, too. Beautiful locations and great stars! I was a kid when this came out, but it was neat to see a movie about young women who weren't all in a "Bachelor in Paradise" situation. You know, just old men with young girls! (Although, I guess Maggie had to figure her way out of a similar situation! Didn't we all?)Oh well, Madrid was beautiful! I loved Ann-Magret singing "The Pleasure Seekers" and the end song when she sings "your standing there and your grinning, like you don't know you not winning and all the time we're beginning the next time" (It just came to me- its called "The Next Time!)I did wish that Pamela Tiffin's character's wasn't so dumb- but then, all of her characters in films were dumb.