The Honeymoon Machine

The Honeymoon Machine is a 1961 American comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Steve McQueen, Brigid Bazlen, Jim Hutton, Paula Prentiss, Jack Mullaney, and Dean Jagger, based on the 1959 Broadway play The Golden Fleecing by Lorenzo Semple Jr. In the film, three men devise a plan to win at roulette with a United States Navy computer. The scheme works until an admiral ruins their plans.[2]

The Honeymoon Machine
Theatrical 1961 film release poster
by Reynold Brown
Directed byRichard Thorpe
Written byGeorge Wells
Based onThe Golden Fleecing
by Lorenzo Semple Jr.
Produced byLawrence Weingarten
StarringSteve McQueen
Brigid Bazlen
Jim Hutton
Paula Prentiss
Dean Jagger
Jack Weston
Jack Mullaney
CinematographyJoseph LaShelle
Edited byBen Lewis
Music byLeigh Harline
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • August 23, 1961 (1961-08-23) (New York City)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2 million[1]

Plot

Civilian scientist Jason Eldridge runs Magnetic Analyzer Computing Synchrotron (MACS), a vacuum tube computer aboard the United States Navy ship USS Elmira. He and his friend Lt. Ferguson Howard realize that, by using MACS to record a roulette table's spins over time, the computer can predict future results. Howard and LTJG Beauregard Gilliam check into a Venice casino's hotel dressed as civilians with Eldridge, defying Admiral Fitch's order that naval officers on shore avoid the casino and wear uniforms. They plan to use signal lamps to communicate with a confederate manning MACS on the Elmira.

At the hotel, dedicated bachelor Howard meets and romances Julie Fitch, the admiral's daughter. Eldridge reunites with former girlfriend and heiress Pam Dunstan, in Venice to marry another man. The betting system is very effective, and the three men accumulate hundreds of thousands of dollars in casino chips; the money gives Eldridge the confidence to propose to Dunstan. However, Admiral Fitch sees and investigates their signals; soon the Navy, the American and Soviet consulates, and Venice city authorities are on alert for a "revolution".

The gamblers get Signalman Burford Taylor, who finds their signal lamp, drunk to detain him, but Taylor escapes and reports to the admiral. Julie Fitch tells her father that she and Howard have "got to marry" each other to save him from court-martial. The Soviets accuse the Navy of using MACS to steal from the casino. To avoid an international incident Howard agrees to intentionally lose all his chips on his last bet, but a riot breaks out between Soviets, Americans, and Italians in the casino over the chips. The movie ends with newlyweds Howard and Fitch celebrating their honeymoon in the hotel.

Cast

Reception

Bosley Crowther, critic for The New York Times was unimpressed, writing "It is a wild and labored operation, and when it finally comes to an end, one wonders whether it has even been bona fide farce."[4] He did, however, appreciate the efforts of the main cast: "It profits by pleasant performers. Jim Hutton, Jack Mullaney and Steve McQueen work hard as the three connivers."[4]

Steve McQueen walked out of the first public sneak preview and vowed never to work for MGM again despite being under contractual obligation for two more pictures.[3]

Box Office

According to MGM records, the film made a profit of $122,000.[5]

See also

References
  1. "1961 Rentals and Potential". Variety. 10 Jan 1961. p. 58.
  2. The Honeymoon Machine at the American Film Institute Catalog.
  3. Eliot, Marc (2011). Steve McQueen: A Biography. NY: Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0307453228. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  4. Bosley Crowther (August 24, 1961). "Honeymoon Machine". The New York Times.
  5. The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
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