Cactus Flower

1969 "The prickly stage success that convulsed audiences around the world... with all its barbed wit and the sharpest comedy cast of the year!"

Cactus Flower

7.2 | 1h43m | PG | en | Comedy

Distraught when her middle-aged lover breaks a date with her, 21-year-old Toni Simmons attempts suicide. Impressed by her action, her lover, dentist Julian Winston reconsiders marrying Toni, but he worries about her insistence on honesty. Having fabricated a wife and three children, Julian readily accepts when his devoted nurse, Stephanie, who has secretly loved Julian for years, offers to act as his wife and demand a divorce.

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7.2 | 1h43m | PG | en | Comedy , Romance | More Info

Released: December. 16,1969 | Released Producted By: Columbia Pictures , Frankovich Productions Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:

Synopsis

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Cast

Walter Matthau , Ingrid Bergman , Goldie Hawn

Director

Robert Clatworthy

Producted By

Columbia Pictures , Frankovich Productions

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Trailers & Images

Cast

Walter Matthau

as Dr. Julian Winston

Hanging Up The Odd Couple II Out to Sea Grumpier Old Men I.Q. Dennis the Menace Grumpy Old Men How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Couch Trip

Ingrid Bergman

as Stephanie Dickinson

The Rossellinis Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words Orson Welles: The One-Man Band A Woman Called Golda Autumn Sonata Murder on the Orient Express From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler A Walk in the Spring Rain Cactus Flower

Goldie Hawn

as Toni Simmons

The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two The Christmas Chronicles Snatched SPF-18 Annabel's: A String of Naked Lightbulbs The Banger Sisters Town & Country The Out-of-Towners The First Wives Club

Reviews

thegulls1 Caught this on Turner Broadcast. Had no idea how it might end. Goldie was very funny and likable. Matthau was solid as a dentist whose loose views on honesty and marital commitments catches up with him, leading to thornier problems. He has misled his pretty & (much) younger girlfriend (Hawn) into believing that Ingrid Bergman is his office receptionist AND his wife. When he finally decides to pop the question to Hawn, she begins to insist he care for the needs of his (fake) wife..Watch for a classic 30-second double-take by Matthau when it dawns on him that the expensive mink stole he bought for Goldie has ended up with the wrong recipient.Great stuff all around. Frank, but presented cleanly enough that the whole family could watch.

preppy-3 Dentist Julian Winston (Walter Matthau) is a real ladies man. He's dating younger Toni Simmons (Goldie Hawn) but avoids a commitment to her by lying and saying he's married with kids. Finally he decides to marry Toni...but she wants to meet his wife. He gets his receptionist Stephanie (Ingrid Bergman) to pose as his wife and all sorts of complications occur.This plays like a Neil Simon play/movie. There are non-stop one-liners and everything comes out fine and good at the end. That's not saying it's a bad movie--just not a great or realistic one. Berman and Hawn (winning her first Oscar for this) are great! They have incredible comic timing and easily fling out the lines with ease. Bergman especially cuts loose at the end. It moves at a quick pace and I was never bored. There are only three serious problems with this--Matthau, Rick Lenz (playing Igor) and Jack Weston. Having Matthau playing a ladies man is a stretch and he has zero idea of how to do comedy. He always has a blank look on his face and says his lines in a monotone. Even worse is Lenz who is (I think) supposed to be charming, handsome and funny and is none of those. A very dull one note performance. Also Jack Weston is incredibly annoying as Matthau's best friend. Still this is worth seeing for Bergman, Hawn and the lines.

JasparLamarCrabb A feather weight sitcom stretched out into a feature film. Walter Matthau is a womanizing dentist who throws his conquests off by claiming to be married. When he finds himself smitten with kooky Goldie Hawn, he recruits his spinsterish nurse (Ingrid Bergman) to play his "wife," in order to convince Hawn he's getting a divorce. Mayhem ensues. There's lots of wisecracks in what is essentially a filmed play (Abe Burrows wrote the play, I.A.L. Diamond did the screenplay). Most of the funniest lines come from Jack Weston, as one of Matthau's less savory patients. Bergman is fun and it's great to see her playing in a comedy. Matthau is Matthau and Hawn (who won an Oscar) brightens up a story that could have been pretty dull stuff. Quincy Jones did the score, but listen for a number of songs from other Columbia products (TO SIR WITH LOVE; THE MONKEES) playing in the discotheque scenes. Directed by Gene Saks.

masercot I couldn't believe this movie only ranked as a seven out of ten. It is obviously based on a play. It has a solid cast. Goldie brings it; Matthau brings it; Bergman REALLY brings it...When Ingrid Bergman is on the screen, everyone else disappears. She carries her biography in every movement and every tone. She is beautiful and plain and shy and bold.The comedy in this movie is pretty strong...a lot of funny situations. But, it is the acting that makes this an exceptional movie.So, for a time when Goldie Hawn was primarily a pretty face and people danced to Monkees' music and men's suits were as ugly as they were polyester, see this movie...