Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I can well imagine in its day this was regarded as risqué or even vulgar but looking now as i've just rediscovered Billy Wilder it stands the test of time and is probably in the Billy W top 3. Dean Martin sends himself up something stupid...Baby...and Kim Novak is such a good actress I can't imagine anybody else being good enough or brave enough to pull it off. Crammed full of innuendo and beautifully filmed in b&w where colour was available is a stroke of genius as it takes away the rear scenery and makes the characters stand out. The guy who plays the Petrol attendant steals every scene he is in and the whole cast seem to have so much fun. This movie is a dream from credit to credit.All the way through the movie I sensed a backdrop of small town madness and the score is haunting at times. This could have been a Hitchcock comedy. Best line for me.."If you want action Buddy,go to the Bellybutton" cracks me up every time.In fact I'm gonna watch it again.

Jealous piano teacher Orville Spooner (Ray Walston) sends his beautiful wife, Zelda (Felicia Farr), away for the night while he tries to sell a song to a famous nightclub singer Dino (Dean Martin), who is stranded in town.The Catholic Legion of Decency strongly objected to the completed film and it was condemned, the second film to get such an honor -- the first being "Baby Doll" in 1956. One can easily see why, as while there is no nudity, there is plenty of humor revolving around prostitution, adultery and and Dean Martin being a "sex maniac".A. H. Weiler of the New York Times called the film "pitifully unfunny" and "obvious, plodding, short on laughs and performances and long on vulgarity." This seems unfair. While it is not among Billy Wilder's best work, even Wilder's average films are better than many other people's greatest attempts. I can only say now (roughly fifty years after the film debuted) that while it was not perfect, it had its moments and was quite bold in its own way.

From the time to film opens to the end credits; it oozes with the Wilder touch. The plot of this '60's picture was very edgy for it's time...and it turned out to be rather edgy for me too. It has a deeply cynical aspect to it; making it a little hard for me to take in. Dean Martin's performance was very Rat Pack-y and plays up the swinger image to quite an extreme; "...there couldn't be enough of you...baby." Novak, who was planning on a retirement, took a part in this picture for the sole purpose of being able to work with Wilder; I'm glad she did. Her character made me want to crawl up in a ball and cry my eyes out, all the while remaining delightfully funny. In a nutshell? It's really a rather vulgar film. It has moments of brilliance...yet, doesn't even start to compare with Wilder's own "The Apartment." Yes, it deals with basically the same subject matter, but the writing was more brilliant and much more subtle. I recommend only if you are a Wilder fanatic (like myself) or a Novak connoisseur. I enjoyed the film overall; I just felt that the writing was lacking.

Kiss Me Stupid was condemned, that is right, condemned when it was released ( now it gets a PG rating) and thus this fine film was released via a small subsidiary of United Artists called Lopert Pictures and forgotten on its initial release. Seen today Kiss Me Stupid is a daring and brilliant film.One should read both 'Kim Novak On Camera' and also 'Conversations With Wilder' concerning this movie. Kim Novak at the time was a huge international box office star and had a rough time with Henry Hathaway on "Of Human Bondage". MGM had to decide who to side with and MGM went with Novak and Mr. Hathaway was either fired or quit from 'Of Human Bondage'. Wilder offered the female lead in 'Kiss Me Stupid' to Novak but read Kim Novak the riot act saying if anyone left this film due to temperament it would be Kim Novak not Billy Wilder. What resulted was a mutual love fest and Wilder declaring in Crowe's book that Novak along with Audrey Hepburn were his two favorite actresses. (Ginger Roger, Jean Arthur, Shirley MacLaine, Paula Prentiss etc take note!) In the coffee table book 'Kim Novak on Camera' Wilder noted Novak's ability saying Kim was "Gorgeous to the Camera and read her lines like music." One wishes Kim Novak and Mr. Wilder would have worked together again for example Wilder was unhappy with Marthe Keller on 'Fedora', a part perfect for Ms. Novak.Kim Novak on Larry King Live said the picture would have worked better with Peter Sellars who left due to health, and the film had to re-shoot the Sellars footage. Wilder had to get a replacement quickly so after Danny Kaye, Bob Hope, turned the film down Wilder went with Ray Walston. Jack Lemmon a Wilder favorite was working elsewhere. Walston simply did not have the star charisma to work with real movie stars Dean Martin and Kim Novak.This film is a good film that should have been a great film. Wilder did a good job and Novak gives a great performance.