The Swinger

The Swinger
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	George Sidney
Written by	Lawrence Roman
Produced by	George Sidney
Starring	Ann-Margret
Cinematography	Joseph F. Biroc
Edited by	Frank Santillo
Music by	Marty Paich
Production company	Paramount Pictures
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	November 14, 1966 (1966-11-14) (New York City)
Running time	81 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$700,000 (est. US/Canada rentals)^[1]

The Swinger is a 1966 American sex comedy film directed by George Sidney and starring Ann-Margret and Anthony Franciosa.^[2]

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Plot

Kelly Olsson is an aspiring writer, but Girl-Lure magazine keeps rejecting her racy submissions. Kelly decides to show the magazine boys what they are missing. She creates a fake identity for herself, pretending that a story about a young woman's wild ways is actually about herself.

Girl-Lure's lecherous editor, Sir Hubert, and his suave editor, Ric Colby, like the concept but aren't sure they trust the facts. Kelly tries to fool them by staging an orgy in her apartment building, asking friendly tenants to go along with her scheme. Sgt. Hooker of the vice squad does not feel she is fooling, however, and places Kelly under arrest.

Ric comes to her rescue. But when her hoax is revealed, he decides to get revenge by insisting that Kelly pose for a provocative layout for the magazine to prove she is as wild as she claims. By the time his car and her motorcycle meet head-on in the end, they're in love.

Cast

Ann-Margret as Kelly Olsson
Anthony Franciosa as Ric Colby
Robert Coote as Sir Hubert Charles
Yvonne Romain as Karen Charles
Horace McMahon as Detective Sergeant Hooker
Nydia Westman as Aunt Cora
Milton Frome as Mr. Olsson
Mary LaRoche as Mrs. Olsson
Corinne Cole as Sir Hubert's Secretary

Production

George Sidney had previously made Bye Bye Birdie and Viva Las Vegas with Ann Margret. Sidney says the script for Viva Las Vegas had been written in eleven days in order to meet a commitment and The Swinger was similar. "We did the script in ten days," he said. "The studio had a commitment and needed to fulfil it... We devised a script that would give Ann-Margret an opportunity to show her facets. And boom, boom - off we went."^[3]

Filming started 13 December 1965 and finished by March 1966 after which Ann-Margret went to Vietnam to entertain the troops.^[4]

Sidney called the film "a wild, outrageous 'in', what's-happening-in-the-world-today kind of picture."^[5]

Reception

Filmink called it "s a hopelessly confused comedy" which "feels like it was written by someone while drunk and Tony Franciosa is yet another male lead not worthy of the star" arguing "this film, a vehicle geared entirely around Ann-Margret’s talents, came close to killing her Hollywood career more than any other by virtue of its sheer incompetence."^[6]

Soundtrack

Songs from The Swinger (And Other Swingin' Songs)

Studio album by

Ann-Margret

Released

1966

Genre

Jazz
pop

Label

RCA Victor

Producer

Al Schmitt, Neely Plumb

Ann-Margret chronology

Beauty and the Beard
(1964)

Songs from The Swinger (And Other Swingin' Songs)
(1966)

The Cowboy and the Lady
(1969)

The five songs performed by Ann-Margret in the film in addition to the instrumental "Swinger's Holiday" were all included in her 1966 album, Songs from The Swinger (And Other Swingin' Songs) released by RCA Victor. Six additional were recorded for the release. The album also contains a re-recording of "I Wanna Be Loved" which had appeared on Ann-Margret's 1963 album, Bachelors' Paradise.

The title track was written by André Previn and Dory Previn and sung by Ann-Margret over the opening and closing credits of the film. Quincy Jones was also credited as an arranger on the album.^[7]

In their review of the album, Cashbox noted that the singer "sings songs from the flick 'The Swinger' and other pop goodies...the artist creates a solid sound on this album which could very well be a noise maker."^[8]

In 2023, Ann-Margret noted in an interview with Forbes that the track "More" was one of her and her husband Roger Smith's favourites that she had ever recorded.^[9]

Track listing

Side one^[10]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Swinger"	André Previn, Dory Previn	2:06
2.	"By Myself"	Arthur Schwartz, Howard Dietz	3:03
3.	"I Just Want to Make Love to You"	Willie Dixon	3:28
4.	"Swinger's Holiday"	Marty Paich	2:50
5.	"More"	Riz Ortolani, Nino Oliviero	3:08
6.	"Cute"	Neal Hefti, Stanley Styne	3:17

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"You Came a Long Way from St. Louis"	John Benson Brooks, Bob Russell	2:40
2.	"The Good Life"	Sacha Distel, Jack Reardon	2:39
3.	"After the Lights Go Down Low"	Phil Belmonte, Allen White, Leroy C. Lovett	3:54
4.	"I Wanna Be Loved"	Johnny Green, Edward Heyman, Billy Rose	2:55
5.	"Kelly's Dance"	Marty Paich	2:50
6.	"That Old Black Magic"	Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer	3:35

References

^ "Big Rental Pictures of 1966". Variety. January 4, 1967. p. 8. ISSN 0042-2738.
^ Allrovi
^ Davis, Ronald L. (2005). Just making movies. University Press of Mississippi. p. 80. ISBN 9781578066902.
^ Ann-Margret in 'Swinger' Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 24 Nov 1965: c7.
^ TO MAKE MONEY IN MOVIES, LET GEORGE DO IT Alpert, Don. Los Angeles Times 20 Mar 1966: b10.
^ Vagg, Stephen (September 6, 2021). "Surviving Cold Streaks: Ann-Margret". Filmink. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
^ (Clarence Bernard Henry) Quincy Jones:A Research and Information Guide, Taylor & Francis, 2014, pp. 78.
^ "Album Reviews: Pop Best Bets" (PDF). Cash Box. No. 14 January 1967. p. 34. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
^ Whitford, Emma. "54 Great Colleges Here And Abroad Still Seeking Students For Fall Admission". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
^ https://www.discogs.com/master/431878-Ann-Margret-Songs-From-The-Swinger-And-Other-Swingin-Songs