University of Virginia Library

'Some Kind Of Nut':
All About A Beard

By Steve Wells
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

During the opening credits of
"Some Kind of a Nut" you will
first notice that it stars Dick Van
Dyke. "He's a funny guy" you'll
say. Then you'll discover that his
co-stars are Angie Dickinson and
Rosemary Forsyth. "They're
beautiful girls" will be your next
thought. About a minute later
you'll spot that Garson Kanin
wrote and directed the film. "I've
liked his work in the past" will be
the ensuing transmission from your
brain. Finally, you'll conclude,
"With such people connected with
it, the film can't be all bad."

Yes it can. The truth is that
"Some Kind of a Nut" is one of the
most childish, inane comedies
Hollywood has ever given us. Its
opening scene (in which Mr. Van
Dyke and Miss Forsyth go through
all sorts of ridiculous acrobatics to
avoid being stung by a b) can be
topographically termed a valley,
from which the movie proceeds
rapidly downhill.

Its premise - and I swear I'm
not putting you on - is that Mr.
Van Dyke, a Manhattan bank teller,
grows a small beard and, as a result,
is immediately fired from his job
and rejected by his girl. The entire
film is centered around a few
well-groomed whiskers on his chin.
Because there is not even a trace of
logic to the chaos the beard creates,
the premise could not sustain a five
minute skit, much less a full length
movie.

The trite situation is matched by
moronic dialogue. The attempts at
humor are so feeble I feel compelled
to offer a few examples:

Dick: I learned it when I was a
boy scout."

Rosemary: "When were you a
boy scout?"

Dick: "When I was a boy."

Dick: "I thought we weren't
speaking."

Angie: "This isn't speaking."

Dick: "What is it?"

Angie: "Talking."

There is little the cast can do
with such material, Director Kanin
has tried to put life into his script
in much the same way a lifeguard
gives artificial respiration to an
already drowned swimmer.

Perhaps in his next film (assuming
he survives this one), Mr. Kanin
will deal, not with a beard, but with
a subject of greater significance,
such as the psychological effects of
a hangnail.

(Now at the Cinema)