sol1218 ***SPOILERS*** Very much like the 1978 women's movie "An Unmarried Woman" released six years later even down to it's dramatic and unexpected freeze frame ending "One is a Lonely Number" has to do with a young womens abandonment by her husband and being forced to go out in a world and face situations that she's lest prepared for.Right out of the blue English collage professor James Brower, Paul Jenkins, tells his startled young wife Aimee, Trish Van Devere, that he's divorcing her. The reason for James leaving Aimee is mental cruelty which was in her, thinking it's a piece of junk, throwing out a his rare 1st edition copy of "Paradise Lost" by John Milton! It later turns out that James left Aimee for totally different reasons; His affair with his cute and blond teenage secretary at the collage he teaches in.Out in the cold with bills piling up to the ceiling Aimee gets a job as a lifeguard at a local community swimming pool in San Francisco. Not at first realizing what she got involved in with the sneering and hot in the pants employment agent Sherman Cooke, Jonathan Lippe, Aimee is later shocked to find Sherman in the ladies shower, fully clothes, demanding that she take a cold shower together with him! It's as if by just doing his job, finding a job for Aimee, Sherman want's to bed her down as a reward! Threatened by an outraged Aimee to have him reported to the police for attempted rape as well as being spotted in the ladies shower by two unexpected visitors, a woman and her young daughter, Sherman makes a hasty retreat never to be seen again in the film.Aimee eventually gets her head together with the help of fellow divorcées Gert Meredith, Janet Leigh, and Madge Frazier, Jane Elliot, who've had experience in failed marriages with Madge going through her first and Gert her fifth divorce. Aimee also gets the very needed advice and attention that she so desperately seeking from a very unexpected source; The kind and friendly fruit & vegetable man Joseph Provo, Melvyn Douglas. It was Mr Provo, a widower after 39 years of being happily married, who set Aimee straight to what life, as well as good and cheap grade "A" #1 produce, is all about.Aimee does find out that not every man who's interested in her sexually and romantically is also interested in marrying her. This comes as a big surprise to Aimee when her new boyfriend Howard "The Duck" Carpenter, Monte Markham, reveals to her after a roll in the hay, or the sack, that he's actually married and happily at that! Becoming more and more independent and confident in herself Aimee eventually loses interest in her ex-husband James who's affair with his 19 year old secretary had already gone bust. This leads James, now feeling like a first class jerk, to drop his filing for divorce against Aimee wanting her back despite all the damage he caused her! But by then Aimee being a free soul with all the eligible and married men in town wanting to date and go out with her she tells James to go take a hike and get himself lost in the woods! Now free and full of confidence in both herself and her ability to overcome any obstacle put in her path Aimee now confronts the challenge that's been haunting her all throughout the movie! And Aimee, true to form, passes it with flying colors!

moonspinner55 Until it degenerates somewhat into drippy man-woman chit-chat, "One Is a Lonely Number" has some wry comments to make on the life of a 27-year-old woman on the verge of being divorced. Trish Van Devere has a soft, fuzzy quality about her which is quiet and likable; when her husband of four years walks out on her without an explanation, she's forced to get a job and face the realization of being alone or dating again (neither of which seems to please her). Rather predictable narrative is spiked by a solid visual sense and good location shooting in and around San Francisco. The film comes from an unusual pedigree (executive producer David Wolper and director Mel Stuart worked together the previous year on "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" and screenwriter David Seltzer later wrote "The Omen"), and some of the sequences (such as the hurt spouse packing up her husband's leftover things) were expanded upon in later films such as "An Unmarried Woman" and "Kramer vs. Kramer". Alas, Seltzer's script, adapted from Rebecca Morris' short story "The Good Humor Man", falls too easily into convention, and when a ready-made prince (Monte Markham??) confesses to Van Devere he's married, one is inclined to groan. The material was probably much fresher in 1972, however this scenario has since become well-mined territory for a torrent of "women's pictures". What makes this one interesting are the performances (especially Janet Leigh's as a brassy man-hater) and the stinging sense of helplessness. We follow the work-a-day trials of this single woman as she is forced into a rather crummy job as a swimming pool lifeguard--secretly afraid of the high dive--and has to do things she doesn't want to do. It certainly has impact, but the movie's bracing quality is diluted by the soap opera. A near-miss. ** from ****

MarieGabrielle However, I preferred this film. While it is a bit disjointed, and certainly the subject matter these days in not novel, it addresses the individual issues of divorce and abandonment.Some critics have dismissed this as a "woman's movie"...wow. Women today are a larger sector of the audience. Not sure what archaic demographic that critique is utilizing.At any rate, Trish Van Devere gives an understated performance as a newly single San Francisco woman, attempting to restructure her life. Jane Leigh is amusing in a nice cameo as a vindictive divorcée, she looks amazing for age 45, and gives a fun performance.Melvyn Douglas also has a cameo as resident grocer, Mr. Provo. He takes Van Devere to an outdoor play, and she breaks down as she finally realizes her four year marriage is over for good.Never an easy issue, divorce is painful and personal, if you watch this, and then ten years later, watch it again, you may feel differently. Recommended. 7/10.

Ripshin This movie came under the radar for me - I had never heard of it. Turner Classic Movies gave me the chance, as usual, to experience a film I would probably have never watched, otherwise."One" is a wonderful period piece, with great acting, and a simple but engaging plot.Granted, Janet Leigh's crude supporting character is a bit grating - the humor is jarring - but everyone else is cast perfectly.The San Francisco locale is used effectively, but sparingly.Interestingly, director Stuart also directed "Willy Wonka" the year before; he certainly knew how to work with actors.