brilliant actors, brilliant editing

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Gee, why not do a 70's version of Mr. Ed, but instead of a horse, get a talking dog? Make it obvious, as in close-ups, where the talking dog is a puppet, with only the mouth moving! Put a young Broadway star, never mind if he doesn't sing here and he's so uncomfortable, his acting ability questionable? Finally, put in an old reliable, Gordon Jump (pre-WKRP), and make sure he always gets his comeuppance (Jump is the bad guy here) by landing on water (sometimes with his lackey). Watched this as a kid, and despite my tolerance level, it still sucked.