It's interesting how some people see romance while others, like me, see something entirely different - desperation, degradation, exploitation...
take a cute woman to a dump of a apartment
Did people somehow miss the fact that Sheldrake is using Fran for sex? The 'dumpy apartment' is a step up from the leaky boat where he'd taken her before. Fran and the other women are cheap so that's how they're treated.
All the women who are taken to the apartment are going on their own free will so I don't feel bad for them in that sense. However, Fran and, at least, some of the other women are employees at the firm. We all know these women are not in positions of power; not only because they're ditzy but because during this time there are likely no women in those high level positions. That means their 'dates' are exploiting them in a business sense.
We know all these men are repeat offenders who use their positions in the firm to either reward or punish employees for things completely unrelated to how well or how poorly they do their jobs. Fran's case is particularly sad because she's young, naive, and lacking marketable work skills. She should still know better but it's clear she is being particularly exploited.
Baxter is really no different than the other men. He's played the game to move up within the company. He is part of the exploitation himself because he helps or enables the men to carry it out. In my view, his relationship with Fran is far from romantic by any stretch of the imagination. Like the others, he just sees an opportunity to use her and is setting himself up to be just like them.
She has problems but he makes no attempt to get her the help she needs. He takes care of her for Sheldrake's benefit not hers. He lies to her about Sheldrake's concern for her practically pushing her back into his arms and life. He only stands up to Sheldrake when HE (Baxter) decides it's not working for him. It's not at all about Fran because he makes no attempt to get her away from Sheldrake for her own good. The only reason he cares at all is because he now wants her. It's all about him.
Yes, he is enamored with her and is willing to 'take her off Sheldrake's hands' and possibly even marry her but that's what he wants. She's never once claimed to love him or want anything more from him than friendship. He's willing to use the fact she's broken and needy to claim her as his own. She's a prize that he knows the other men want. That's part of the appeal.
I don't know if the term was yet coined but he wants her as his trophy wife; arm candy to help boost his ego. We see how much he loves to be thought of as a sexpot. Before he decides to quit the firm and Sheldrake, he was willing to have Fran despite the fact she had been his boss' lover. Yeech, how crazy and nasty is that? It feels almost incestuous; like they have no problem passing her around.
Here's what happens after the movie ends. Fran marries Baxter. He finds another job and weasels his way up to the executive suite. Pretty soon, he's cheating on her with his subordinates. It's the corporate culture and he's all about doing what he must to fit in. Fran goes full circle to the opposite side of the equation; she's now the wife the husband keeps promising to leave.
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hammer4
10 years ago
There is no question that Baxter genuinely cares for Fran. That's the romantic aspect to this film and it is an important element.
I get the impression that you watched a different movie. To suggest that the Baxter character is intended to be no different than Sheldrake and the other philanderers is ridiculous. Granted, he is no saint. One can argue that he's engaging in rather seedy behavior by assisting his hire ups in their sexual trysts. But you've gone over the top in portraying him as a reprehensible person.
Sure, he has flaws. This adds to the film's somewhat edgy quality especially for 1960. His motivation in allowing use of his apartment may be to get ahead at his company. Maybe, but the movie does not stress this aspect.
How can anyone watch the post suicide attempt scenes and not feel that Baxter has a genuine concern and feelings for Fran? You are taking the doctor's comments about Baxter being a callous womanizer to heart when they are intended as irony.
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boxerrebellion
9 years ago
Growing up, I had never heard of this movie and it's only in recent years that I realized that this is the original that is the basis for the musical Promises, Promises. I have never seen PP, BUT, my parents had the soundtrack and I remember it from the late 60s onward as a child. Even in high school I would sometimes play it; I am guessing that my favorite song on the album is sung by the Baxter character about Fran - She Loves Basketball. If that is so, then the song made it obvious that he's falling for her; she's his kind of girl. I think that the 'story' in my head that I have for the musical probably informed my interpretation of this movie when I saw it.
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