He didn’t know it, but he was giving his wife his business.
A rather dated and mediocre comedic romp is how most would describe 1962’s Who’s Got the Action?, starring Dean Martin as a lawyer with a damaging penchant for playing the ponies and Lana Turner as his bemused wife. Directed by frequent Martin collaborator Daniel Mann it’s somewhat typical for many of Martin’s comedies, featuring an unrealistic premise which is used as a one-trick pony (pun intended) throughout.
Steve Flood (Martin) initially comes off as a rather inattentive husband in the early minutes of this one, frequently leaving wife Melanie during an anniversary dinner. Perturbed, she leaves for home but her concerns grow as the calls continue there. Feeling sure that he’s stepping out on her, she turns to Steve’s legal partner Clint Morgan (Eddie Albert) for help. Ironically, when she calls to arrange an initial meeting, Clint makes plans to step out on his own wife with Melanie. During their lunch meeting his thoughts are dispelled as she learns that in fact the calls are from Steve’s bookmaker and not any amorous acquaintances.
The duo quickly come up with a plan to get Steve to switch his betting from his current bookie to a ‘secret’ one that Clint uses. Of course, this secret bookie is really Melanie and the duo figure that with Steve’s current losing streak they can offer perks- literally prizes for losing- to get his business. Steve makes the switch and- you guessed it- goes on a tremendous streak of good luck and ultimately begins making bets for many of his friends. They win so much so that Melanie has to sell most of their possessions to pay off the resulting winnings.
She sells them to her neighbor Saturday Knight (Nita Talbot) who is dating Tony Gagouts (Walter Matthau). Gagouts runs the books that Steve is leaving and becomes concerned with the loss of several good customers. Gagout has a nice setup, complete with velvet chair and a secret computer room hidden behind a sliding wall behind his desk. It’s very James Bondian even though Dr. No hadn’t been released yet.
Eventually Melanie is exposed as all the characters come together, with both Steve and Gagouts finding her simultaneously.
Who’s Got the Action? plays okay, but it really doesn’t pack any real laughs. Rather, there are a few instances which are cute and amusing in spite of their predictability. Though the cast for the most part seem ready to perform, the talents of a great cast are primarily wasted on a lackluster and glacially moving script.
Surprisingly, Dean Martin isn’t as smarmy as he is in many of his other comedic efforts (like the following year’s Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed?, also directed by Mann). For most of the picture he plays it straight and doesn’t resort to letting you know he’s in on the gag as he does in the later Matt Helm films. Though in his defense, by the end of the Helm pictures they were so campy that actually improved them a fair amount.
Lana Turner seems listless and never clicks with Martin on any level; actually she shows more chemistry in her limited screen-time with Eddie Albert. Albert himself doesn’t seem up to his usual supporting talents here, likely due to the weak screenplay.
Walter Matthau brings his typical grumpy and over the top performance and though it provides a slight spark even fails to propel Who’s Got the Action? into many’s list of memorable films.
It’s watchable and incredibly pretty to look at in Panavision, but at the end of the day a rather listless effort.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmdqXE7zXNM[/embedyt]