The Tender Trap Reviews

Moderately amusing adaptation of a hit comedy that shows off Sinatra's comedic ability and introduces a hit tune by Cahn and Van Heusen which should have won the Oscar, but didn't. Wayne, a man from Indiana, has come to visit old pal Sinatra, who is an agent in New York. Married Wayne is astounded by the line of gorgeous women who jiggle in and out of Sinatra's bachelor life. The women include Albright, Holm, Jones, and Lewis, each one more beautiful and willing than the next. Sinatra goes to an audition and meets Reynolds, a virgin who is determined to get married. Sinatra begins dating her, and she tells him she wouldn't even consider marrying him until long after he gave up his womanizing. Sinatra is astounded when she gives him this ultimatum because he's never said one word about marriage to Reynolds. Time passes and when Sinatra finds the women in his life are rapidly being picked off, he understands how lonely his life truly is. He's not able to make a decision so on the same evening, he asks both Reynolds and Holm to marry him. Both accept his proposal and he is in hot water. Reynolds finds out what he's done and leaves his apartment in a huff. Sinatra tells the truth to Holm and admits that Reynolds has stolen his heart. Wayne has been watching this and tells Holm that he loves her. Holm lets him down gently but firmly. Wayne nods and accepts his lot in life and will go back to his home state. Holm exits, gets into the building elevator, and meets Helmore, a charming man. Before they hit the lobby, Helmore asks her out to dinner. That leads to a marriage proposal. Reynolds and Sinatra are both invited to the wedding and when Holm tosses her bridal bouquet to Sinatra, he symbolically gives it to Reynolds. The title of the film eventually came into use among the panderers in New York who referred to their streetwalkers as "tender traps" rather than prostitutes. This was a slick comedy with few surprises, all the expected scenes neatly in place. Holm does a parody of Reynolds that is devastating. Max Shulman, who coauthored the play's script, was one of the 1950s' favorite humorists, with a succession of books that were among the funniest written at the time. They included Barefoot Boy with Cheek, Sleep till Noon and The Feather Merchants. He later created the TV series "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis." Cahn and Van Heusen's Oscar-nominated title tune became a pop standard but lost that year to "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" from the tearjerker of the same name.