The Truth About Women (1957)

U.S. One Sheet Poster

The Truth About Women is a British comedy/drama co-written by the husband-and-wife team of Sydney and Muriel Box and directed by Muriel in Eastmancolor.  It is the story of the life and loves of a young man of privilege, Sir Humphrey Tavistock (Laurence Harvey).  The story begins when he is an old man, talking to a younger male friend (or family member) who is going through a big fight with his wife.  Sir Humphrey talks to the younger man about his own experiences through the years with women.  As the film looks back, we see that Sir Humphrey first fell in love with a liberated, modern woman in England, but his intention to marry her so upset his family that he was shipped off to a Muslim country near Turkey to serve in the diplomatic service of England and forced to live off of his meager salary.  It is there that he meets a young harem girl, Saida (Jocelyn, as Jackie Lane).  She never speaks and has her face covered at all times by a veil.  However, when she finally reveals her face to him, he is smitten by her beauty.  When she is sold at the public market, he tries to outbid the local ruler for her but fails.  He then resorts to sneaking into the palace undercover in order to steal her away from the ruler, but that ruse also fails, nearly costing both of their lives. 

 

We then follow Sir Humphrey through France (where he learns of the ways of French married couples, with lovers and mistresses), to the U.S.A. where he encounters a gold-digger, through England and abroad (where he marries and has children), and back to England following the death of his wife.  It does not appear that his advice had much impact on his acquaintance, since he and his wife again start fighting within moments of reconciling.

Simply put, Jocelyn is about the only positive thing that I have to say about this film.  Of all the female co-stars, which includes Julie Harris, Diane Cilento, Mai Zetterling, and Eva Gabor, Jocelyn is far and away the most attractive.  Yet, she has no lines in the movie!  Her segment, between about the 18 minute and 32 minute mark of the film, is the only reason that I can give to watch it.  I find nothing about Laurence Harvey’s screen persona that makes him believable as a ladies man that can woo women on every continent.  I’ll just leave it at that.

It appears that the film was intended as a generally humorous look at the age old battle of the sexes.  The problem, for me, is that I love that sort of film made in Italy in the 1960’s.  For example, I like Divorzio all’italiana (1961, Marcello Mastroianni and Stefania Sandrelli), Il magnifico cornuto (1964, Ugo Tognazzi and Claudia Cardinale), and Adulterio all’italiana (1966, Nino Manfredi and Catherine Spaak).  This British production, however, has none of the wit, charm, and edge found in those films.  Unfortunately, this is another example of Jocelyn’s 1950’s work that failed to fully utilize her talents.  If you are a Jocelyn fan, watch her segment to see her at work in color in the 1950’s, but don’t bother watching the rest of the film.

Production on The Truth About Women commenced in May 1957 and was completed by August.  IMDB shows UK release dates of October 1957 and February 12, 1958.  The film premiered in the U.S. in August of 1958.  Box office returns reported in Variety appear to have only been fair and show no evidence that the film scored well at the U.S. box office.  

IMDB shows a running time of 107 minutes.  I have seen no indication that the film has ever been released on DVD, but it was released in the U.S. on VHS video in 1991, with a reported running time of 105 minutes.   

 

It has also been available for streaming on Amazon with a reported running time of 104 minutes.

The version that I watched was a TV print that ran for approximately 98 minutes, so I cannot say for certain whether or not any footage of Jocelyn had been edited from that print.

Variety reviewed the film in its February 12, 1958 edition based on a February 4 viewing at Studio One in London (with a 107 minute running time), concluding that it was an "overlong, uneven comedy which is often witty; star cast should make this a reliable booking." As for Jocelyn, it noted:  "Diane Cilento, Julie Harris, Mai Zetterling, Eva Gabor, and Jackie Lane are the women in his life.  Each gives a pleasant, varied performance."   

 Here are a couple of British posters (courtesy of emovieposter.com), along with a British pressbook:

Here is a lobby card set (one of which shows Jocelyn):

Here are some U.S. publicity photos (the first 3 feature Jocelyn):

Here is a Danish poster: