Kind, compassionate Ella Peterson (Judy) works as a phone operator at Susanswerphone, her cousin Sue's (Jean Stapleton) answering service. Far more than just a job to Ella, her position gives her access to the lives of people she has come to care about. Though Sue continually warns Ella not to get involved in their clients' lives, lest the service be shut down for law violations, Ella simply can't help herself; she loves people too much to not do everything in her power to make their lives happy.
Ella is especially attached to Jeffrey Moss (Dean Martin), a playboy playwright who is struggling with his latest script. Wanting to do more than just give and take messages for Mr. Moss, Ella, using an old lady voice, has developed a phone relationship with him. Thinking that his message taker is a motherly old woman, Jeffrey calls Ella "mom" and feels very comfortable sharing his troubles with her.
When Jeffrey's agent leaves a message indicating that he is down to his final chance, Ella wants to encourage him to do the writing she knows is in him. However, with his phone unplugged and her call not getting through, drastic measures are necessary. Only a trip to his apartment will work, and when Ella manages to get inside and she sets eyes on her client for the first time, she finds that he is "Better Than a Dream."
As the kindhearted woman encourages him along, Jeffrey writes...and his agent loves it. Before long, Jeffrey has fallen in love with Ella...only thing is, Ella has never told him her true identity, and now, not wanting him to know that she deceived him, she is afraid to do so.
In addition to helping Mr. Moss write his play, Ella has gotten involved in the life of a dentist who aspires to write music (Bernard West) and a down-on-his-luck actor (Frank Gorshin). How those men's dreams entwine with Jeffrey's, all the while two detectives are investigating Susanswerphone as a possible escort service, makes for a very sweet, heartwarming film.
Judy Holliday is, as always, pure delight. From beginning to end, she is a total joy. Her character is the kind of person we need more of in this world; she's caring, compassionate, unselfish, friendly, warm, and kind. I love the way Judy brought Ella to life. I love her wardrobe too---the blue dress, the pink one, the white, the red...they were all gorgeous, and as I often do, I found myself wondering why women threw away that kind of a wardrobe. The scene in which she dresses in grubs and dons a Marlon Brando-type voice is quite amusing...one of the funniest in the whole film. Sadly, Bells Are Ringing would be Judy's final film performance.
Dean Martin is terrific in his role. I have to admit, when I first saw this film about four years ago, I was lamenting that Frank Sinatra wasn't cast in the part. As a huge Ol' Blue Eyes fan and a lover of his musicals, I thought he would have been the icing on the cake here in Bells Are Ringing. However, the more I've seen this film (4 or 5 times now), the more Dean grows on me, and now, I've come to the place of not only thinking he was perfect, but of being interested in listening to more of his music and discovering more of his works. I really love him here, and when he broke into "Just in Time," I was thrilled.
Nominated for the Best Music Academy Award, Bells Are Ringing features ten lovely songs, and I loved every one of them, which is often not the case (for me) with musicals. Usually, there are two or three songs I don't care for, but here, I loved them all.
Finally, my whole family loves this film. When I said we were watching a Judy Holliday film for her birthday month, both my kids made the same request..."Bells Are Ringing" please. While Born Yesterday is my favorite Judy film, this one is definitely my family's favorite...and a 5-star second favorite for me. Those who enjoy fun, lighthearted musicals, Judy Holliday, or Dean Martin, ought to completely love this. Out on DVD, this film should be very easy to track down.
Happy viewing!!
Ella is especially attached to Jeffrey Moss (Dean Martin), a playboy playwright who is struggling with his latest script. Wanting to do more than just give and take messages for Mr. Moss, Ella, using an old lady voice, has developed a phone relationship with him. Thinking that his message taker is a motherly old woman, Jeffrey calls Ella "mom" and feels very comfortable sharing his troubles with her.
When Jeffrey's agent leaves a message indicating that he is down to his final chance, Ella wants to encourage him to do the writing she knows is in him. However, with his phone unplugged and her call not getting through, drastic measures are necessary. Only a trip to his apartment will work, and when Ella manages to get inside and she sets eyes on her client for the first time, she finds that he is "Better Than a Dream."
As the kindhearted woman encourages him along, Jeffrey writes...and his agent loves it. Before long, Jeffrey has fallen in love with Ella...only thing is, Ella has never told him her true identity, and now, not wanting him to know that she deceived him, she is afraid to do so.
In addition to helping Mr. Moss write his play, Ella has gotten involved in the life of a dentist who aspires to write music (Bernard West) and a down-on-his-luck actor (Frank Gorshin). How those men's dreams entwine with Jeffrey's, all the while two detectives are investigating Susanswerphone as a possible escort service, makes for a very sweet, heartwarming film.
Judy Holliday is, as always, pure delight. From beginning to end, she is a total joy. Her character is the kind of person we need more of in this world; she's caring, compassionate, unselfish, friendly, warm, and kind. I love the way Judy brought Ella to life. I love her wardrobe too---the blue dress, the pink one, the white, the red...they were all gorgeous, and as I often do, I found myself wondering why women threw away that kind of a wardrobe. The scene in which she dresses in grubs and dons a Marlon Brando-type voice is quite amusing...one of the funniest in the whole film. Sadly, Bells Are Ringing would be Judy's final film performance.
Dean Martin is terrific in his role. I have to admit, when I first saw this film about four years ago, I was lamenting that Frank Sinatra wasn't cast in the part. As a huge Ol' Blue Eyes fan and a lover of his musicals, I thought he would have been the icing on the cake here in Bells Are Ringing. However, the more I've seen this film (4 or 5 times now), the more Dean grows on me, and now, I've come to the place of not only thinking he was perfect, but of being interested in listening to more of his music and discovering more of his works. I really love him here, and when he broke into "Just in Time," I was thrilled.
Nominated for the Best Music Academy Award, Bells Are Ringing features ten lovely songs, and I loved every one of them, which is often not the case (for me) with musicals. Usually, there are two or three songs I don't care for, but here, I loved them all.
Finally, my whole family loves this film. When I said we were watching a Judy Holliday film for her birthday month, both my kids made the same request..."Bells Are Ringing" please. While Born Yesterday is my favorite Judy film, this one is definitely my family's favorite...and a 5-star second favorite for me. Those who enjoy fun, lighthearted musicals, Judy Holliday, or Dean Martin, ought to completely love this. Out on DVD, this film should be very easy to track down.
Happy viewing!!