Simply A Masterpiece

Good movie but grossly overrated

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

I am one of those frequenters to Visit here in "IMDb.COM" to repeatedly return here over and over, to read other folks opinions, views and reviews of their Movie Going Experiences.I would love to see a place in the IMDb REVIEWS Section given over to the following Information...1/ Did the Reviewer actually "See" the Movie on it's Original Theatrical RELEASE DATE ? 2/ Was the Movie experienced in a Movie Theatre, or was it experienced on Home Video? I believe that there is a Definite relevance & significance to the responses gained from knowing the ANSWERS to these Two Questions. What has this anything to do with the MOTION PICTURE Released in 1963, known as "UNDER THE YUM YUM TREE" with Jack Lemon and Cast? Plenty.. My being born in 1946, I was 17 years old in 1963. I got to see this film in an "ATMOSPHERIC Cinema" check out on the www... to find out what an "ATMOSPHERIC CINEMA" consisted of ...In this very "ATMOSPHERIC CINEMA" it was there, only Three Years later that I would be found working in the "Projection Room" of that Very same Theatre, I did not know that at that time, -as I was still in High School- In the Year of 1963, filmed Adult material was in short supply, and Movies were being altered gradually from very prudish story-telling and just venturing into territory where it had previously been prevented and forbidden since the years 1933/1935 by the ENFORCEMENT OF "THE Hollywood PRODUCTION CODE"!!! Le us not forget, that in 1959 we had "PILLOW TALK" with Doris Day and Rock Hudson which was a Ground-Breaking Comedy for it's time... Then we come to 1963 with "UNDER THE YUM YUM TREE" in the Glorious Technicolor process, a film Technology that would be deliberately phased out over the next couple of years, due to the Costs involved in Producing TECHNICOLOR MOTION PICTURES, more is the pity."... Yum Yum Tree", was about a mature-aged male ogling young women, and offering a relatively safe male fantasy for the guys in the cinema going audiences of 1963, we had not seen such characters portrayed on screen before. I can recall the beautiful Color of the Film, Carol Lynley's character portrayal of a Young Girl who could handle herself well from the ever advancing approaches of her lecherous Landlord played by Jack Lemmon ...who had generally played in Film comedies throughout the 1950's, at that screening in 1963, I found myself laughing at the antics and of the verbal sparring & repartee between Dean Jones and Jack Lemmon. It was a film made for it's time in "Hollywood History" and NOT a movie made for 2017 AUDIENCES, of present day audiences who kid themselves, believing that they know MUCH BETTER and looking from the present Vantage point of looking back to a time, that they cannot remotely hope to relate to, as they have no reference point from which to operate from, as they did not live in that ERA back in the early 1960's. Now that I am at the age of 71+ (plus) when I read reviews here on IMDb, when I read middling or negative comments, I am pretty sure I can discern who actually has Experienced the MOVIE being reviewed at the time of the Picture's Original Theatrical Release date, and someone who has only recently seen something for the Very FIRST TIME being "DECADES AFTER" and since the Original Release... We cannot alter the past, we have indeed lost a great many things over the intervening years, and a Number of the things that I most regret losing, looking back, is common Courtesy and Respect & Decency...These things are what this Present Era Lacks in, Just look around us...

"Under The Yum Yum Tree" (1963) is not as bad as some reviewers may have you believe if you consider the time it was made.It's hard to believe that no other reviewer seems to get the basic premise of this story. The concept is shown at the beginning titles (not to mention the film's title.) The "Yum Yum Tree" has grapes (fruit) hanging off of it while a man and woman dance around it. This is clearly representative of the Bible story in Genesis with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Eve is tempted by the snake (Satan) to take a bite of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Doing so will make her aware of her nakedness and therefore 'Carnal Sin'. She then corrupts Adam by convincing him to do the same.In this film, a young college girl, Robin (Carol Lynley) moves into a new apartment with her boyfriend, Dave (Dean Jones in Goody-Two-Shoes mode) to prove that they can cohabitate as intelligent adults in a platonic situation before they get married. The landlord, Hogan (Jack Lemmon), is literally the devil incarnate. He spends the entirety of the movie doing all he can to entice the young couple to break their moral code and have sex. Even going so far as to make sexual advances toward her himself.The film is presented as something of a fantasy/fairy tale, so the behavior and sets do seem a bit unreal. This sort of approach was popular as a sub-genre of the day. Compare it to "Damn Yankees" (1958) or "Bedazzled" (1967) as devil characters presented broadly, or even "Bell, Book & Candle" (1958). Therefore, Hogan is certainly a lecherous creep and Peeping Tom, surrounding himself in his apartment complex with young women of perhaps loose morals, which when considered as real human characteristics would be far beyond acceptable behavior. But when seen as the Devil himself his behavior makes more sense. It is supposed to be over-the-top! Hogan dresses in red, drives a red sports car, has an apartment with red carpet, walls, & furnishings. At one point Dave is sleeping on the couch snoring. Hogan sneaks in and waves his hand above Dave's head and the snoring stops, showing a bit of supernatural power. Later, Hogan mentioned that he is devilish while examining his key cabinet, then the film cuts to Dave who briefly prays "Oh God".True, the premise isn't too complicated and there is very little plot, but for an early '60s foray into "modern" sexual relationships it's all pretty harmless. Especially since the couple passes the test to stay chaste until married. The fun is in the over-the-top performances by Lemmon and the always amusing Paul Lynde & Imogene Coca. Worthy viewing for fans of the era, genre, or stars.

What do the American film "Under the Yum Yum Tree" (1963) and the British film "The Magic Christian," made six years later, have in common? Well, not much really, except for the fact that they're both supposed comedies with a large cast of pros, and that both stunned me with appalled disappointment the first time I saw them. In "Yum Yum," Jack Lemmon plays a character only known as Hogan, the lecherous landlord of the Centaur Apartments, who only rents to nubile young women...until he slips up and lets an apartment to Carol Lynley and her fiancé (Dean Jones). Stretching the viewer's credulity, the two are cohabitating platonically; as Lynley's character puts it, she doesn't want to be carried away by her "own fermenting juices." What follows are some inane, cartoonish, hard-to-swallow situations, as the jealous Hogan (who would today be recognized as a serial sex addict) eavesdrops on the young couple, uses his "inexhaustible" supply of housekeys to barge in on them at all hours, and contrives to exhaust Jones with an exercise regimen to prevent him from getting amorous with his own fiancée. That Jones doesn't call the cops on Hogan or beat the crap out of him early on stretches all believability past the breaking point; Lemmon has rarely played such a thoroughly unlikable character in a "comedy." Indeed, the laffs are sadly few and far between here, but don't blame the three leads. Pros that they are, they give it their all, as do the always dependable Edie Adams, Imogene Coca and Robert Lansing ("Star Trek"'s Gary 7), but the script continuously lets them down miserably. Only Paul Lynde, with his trademarked smarmy line readings, manages to engender any chuckles. From the film's insipid title tune, sung by James Darren, to its entirely predictable ending, this picture is something of a drag. I can't believe I'm writing this, but I've finally seen a Jack Lemmon movie that's a labor to sit through. Guess I'll have to screen "The Apartment" for the 30th time or so to wash the memory of this lemon out of my head....

Sure, the premise is sleazy, Jack Lemmon is embarrassing but the film is fast paced and certainly bouncy. The main reason to watch is because of a very charming and funny performance by the lovely Carol Lynley. Although she hasn't had many chances during her career to show off her comedic talents, this film contains a wonderfully funny scene in which Ms. Lynley's character is drunk. Her boyfriend, played perfectly by Dean Jones, is trying not to take advantage of her 'accessibility'. She runs the gamut from sexy to goofy with excellent timing. It is a wonderful performance and one that helps to take an edge off of the sleaziness of the main plot (Mr. Lemmon's apartment manager trying to deflower all these attractive young women).