British archaeology professor at a Southern California university, living at the home of his fiancée--a world traveler who is currently away--finds himself saddled with a young chippie who claims to be an escapee from reform school; turns out she's the 17-year-old daughter of his future wife, who somehow failed to mention she was the mother of a teenager. Budd Grossman adapted his play along with the film's director, Frank Tashlin, yet neither seems able to tell the difference between shrill one-liners and clever repartee. The cast is manic and cartoonish, dashing in and out of the professor's pad on the beach as if this were a "Carry On" farce from the 1950s. Terry-Thomas isn't as offensive as the younger players, but working strenuously at a piece of fluff is ultimately disastrous for the picture and the star. Farce doesn't seem to be Tuesday Weld's strong suit (she's metallic and grating instead of charming), while Richard Beymer as a smitten law student is merely a hole in the screen. Not much headway from 1954's "Susan Slept Here", which Tashlin also directed, although this one at least has a cute dachshund with a fetish for dinosaur bones. *1/2 from ****
Review of Bachelor Flat
