Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Beulah Bram A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

MartinHafer Robert Mitchum lays a lawyer whose marriage back in Nebraska has just dissolved. Now, he's moved to New York and is very lonely. So lonely that he calls a woman (Shirley MacLaine) he barely knows. They go out and have a few laughs, then they go to her apartment. There, things move very quickly for a 1962 movie--surprisingly quickly, as he tries to get her to let him stay. At first, she's a bit put off--then she decides to sleep with him. At this point, however, he decides to leave--it's just moving too fast. Throughout the film the two are very open about sex and the dialog is quite gritty and realistic as well. Later, they even cohabitate--something you NEVER would have seen in the 1950s.Now these two people seem very, very different. Mitchum is well-spoken and a professional man from the Midwest. MacLaine is more a head-in-the-clouds Bohemian who is a Jewish New Yorker. Can two people THIS different fall in love and have it last? As you watch this film, you naturally assume the answer is no, as they just seem so unlike each other, argue an awful lot and what brings them together is difficult to put into words. In many ways, this odd relationship that defies the odds seems very reminiscent of THE WAY WE WERE (and you probably know how that film ended).Unfortunately, because the chemistry seems so odd in this film and the film is quite talky and stagy (it was originally a very successful Broadway play--and it shows), it's not a great film. Most of the problem is that although the dialog seems realistic, the combination of the two characters isn't. Why were they together in the first place other than they were lonely? And why did the movie seem to go on so long? So overall is it worth seeing? Perhaps, though this sure isn't a glowing recommendation.By the way, in a very disturbing scene, eventually Mitchum slaps MacLaine pretty hard. And, the way the film is made, it seems as if SHE drove him to it. Not exactly an enlightened scene and something that just seems wrong. And, not to be outdone, late in the film, she hits him as well!

dedmedved The post-beatnik / pre-hippie party scene is truly spectacular as a snapshot of a time/place rarely caught on film. While most of America was still living a black & white Eisenhower existence, this film shows the cutting edge NYC scene that had already moved beyond bebop and Kerouac and was just about to stumble full tilt into the Warhol Factory. The party scene probably seemed about as weird to middle America as the alien bar scene in Star Wars, fifteen years later. But one kid in every high school across the country changed their plans to attend 'State' and filled out last minute applications to NYU; they knew that they would grow old waiting for that world to reach their hometown.A little known treat for anyone into the early days of "alt".

FlickersRULE I call this film surprisingly great not because I was shocked that Mitchum or MacLane delivered fine performances, it's surprisingly good because of everything else this film has... in addition to M&M's delicious performances. I had no idea what to expect before watching this, just the way I like it. Because then I get the 5-10 minute rule to takeover -- either I'm hooked or I'm not.Well it started right away. This thing was shot in B&W anamorphic, and shot beautifully. The opening shots drew me in for their wide angles and good framing and nice dramatic lighting(ie what normal people call a good mood setter)... noirish in some respects. And then it sucked me right in.Maybe because it started on the stage and the scenes were so long but the dialogue was so well crafted that you just had to pay attention.Maybe the fantastic real life portrayals by M&M - not straying nor betraying.But I found myself constantly wanting to talk some sense into Jerry and Gittel -- ah thats what cinema is -- the desire to find out how it ends. And what an ending it is... I'll leave it at that.I give it a 10 because it maybe is among the very best of this category - the "realistic character dialogue romance featuring two very odd strangers (think Stewart and Novak in Vertigo)". Shot well, acted well... kept me glued to the end. I give it 10 and not 9 because well, without spoiling it -- they didn't go where they could have gone. And I think that most audiences won't understand that final point once they see it. Thats a shame. But those who understand will agree - brilliance all around.10 from me. And thats saying a HELLUVA lot.

editorbob This film is a good example of why I love black & white movies.Director Wise, cinematographer Ted McCord, and productiondesigner Boris Leven craft light, shadow, and line into two hours ofabsolutely lovely images, making the most of such elements asthe contrast between MacLaine's hair, eyes, and skin, and thejuxtaposition of the hard lines of doorframes and shadows withthe softness of rumpled fabric and fluid dancer's movement. (And Iloved the split set.) Total eye candy for B&W lovers, and anincidental, abrupt reminder of what a beautiful woman the youngShirley was.Unfortunately, the script seems very dated here in the twenty-firstcentury. The characters' relationship is frustrating, and (reportedoffscreen chemistry notwithstanding) MacLaine and Mitchum lookvery much mismatched. (Supposedly it was originally to be LizTaylor and Paul Newman. I can't see Liz here, but a MacLaine- Newman pairing could have been hot. But we'll never know.) Ifound MacLaine's character to be much more believable--morerounded, containing more nuance--than Mitchum's. While thisseems mostly the script's fault, I do feel that MacLaine here bringsmore quirky humanity to her work than does Mitchum (who I likevery much in general)."Seesaw" stands out for me as one of those films that, because ofits meticulous attention to visual detail, becomes an archetypalperiod piece as it ages--firmly among the films everyone making amovie set in the early 1960s should study carefully.