A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

The main attraction going for this film is the futuristic car shown in it, which for 1959 looked way ahead of its times. The comedy, as directed by George Marshall tries to be a movie exploiting the sexual tensions between the two stars. The same premise was achieved with better results in other films of the era, notably, "Pillow Talk".The mere idea of a young married couple putting such a barrier between their sexual life is risible, at best. The two stars, Debbie Reynolds and Glenn Ford try their best, but are bogged down because of the screen play.As someone has already noted, the film shows in minor roles actors that went to better careers in television. Eva Gabor, Harry Morgan, Edgar Buchanan, Frances Bavier, among them.The basic excuse for watching the film is the car and some views of Spain, as it looked in the late fifties. In fact, a woman in slacks, as we see Ms. Reynolds at the beginning of the film, as she arrived in Madrid, was a big no-no in the Spanish society of the time. Things have changed since then!

This film did well at the box office, and the producers of this mess thought the stars had such good chemistry in this that they cast them in the much darker screwball farce, The Gazebo. Frankly, I am shocked to see all the positive comments on this ludicrously plotted unfunny comedy. Both lead characters have the maturity of seven-year-olds and are much less interesting to spend time with. A veteran supporting cast including Fred Clark, Harry Morgan, and Eva Gabor lend excellent support. And, the beautiful cinematography certainly makes the rich countryside of Spain seem lush. And, there are four or five truly funny scenes to go with two wise scenes and a whole bunch of recycled and unfunny clutter. I cannot recommend It Started With A Kiss.

Besides being a slightly better-than-average romantic comedy, this movie features several very familiar television supporting stars -- if you're an old coot like me anyway! -- including Eva Gabor ("Green Acres"), Edgar Buchanan ("Petticoat Junction"), Harry Morgan ("Dragnet" and "M*A*S*H"), Frances Bavier ("The Andy Griffith Show"), Richard Deacon ("The Dick Van Dyke Show"), Marion Ross ("Happy Days"), and last, but not least, the Batmobile!

I'll admit, the main reason I watched this was for the car. As is mentioned in the Trivia Section, the car in question is a Lincoln dream car from the mid 1950's. Very rarely do these cars make appearances in the `real world', as most don't really function. They usually have no engine, or are made from some material that would be ruined if actually driven. These cars spend their life on a turntable at an auto show with fashion models in, or on them. After they serve their purpose, they get destroyed, or stored. Few, if any turn up in movies, as this Lincoln did, and then go on to TV stardom, as well! Ford later sold the car to custom car designer George Barris, and it became the basis for the Batmobile in the TV series "Batman". And if you were a kid like me at the time, IT was the star of the show. Sorry Batman and Robin!This is what was best described as a `Bedroom Comedy'. Rock Hudson, and Doris Day made movies like this, with a light amount of `sexual tension' sewn into a light comedy movie. You never saw 'anything', it was left to the viewers imagination, what happened.The film itself is decent enough. I like most anything that Glenn Ford did, and Debbie Reynolds turns in another good performance here. The supporting cast is peppered with plenty of folks who, like the car, went on to fame on TV, Eva Gabor, Harry Morgan, Edgar Buchanan, and of course, Francis Bavier.The country side of Spain is beautiful, the acting is competent, so I'll give it a 6 out of 10.