The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

Blistering performances.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

A knockabout "comedy" with some too-very-much slapsticky antics from Tony Randall, which are so overdone that he outstays his initial welcome. Fred Clark and Philip Ober have some nice moments and the climax is reasonably entertaining, even if predictable once Debbie shows Tony that receipt which he tosses so casually aside (some bird- dog, he is!). Paul Douglas makes the mildly risqué jokes, Una Merkel stooges and Debbie Reynolds has the title song and a few bars of Cole Porter's "Under My Skin". Aside from some unflattering close-ups, Debbie looks grand. But George Marshall's direction is strictly routine even on just a low yoke-yoke level – as are other credits which waste Cinemascope on what is basically a minor, flat-footed domestic monkeyshine, a sort of very moderate "A" re-visit to a Ma and Pa Kettle "B". It's hard to believe this script was actually based on an H.E. Bates novel!

Rambunctious Debbie Reynolds (as Mariette Larkin) gets the urge to mate with tax collector Tony Randall (as Lorenzo Charlton). And, he wants to mate with her! - How? - Well, farming father Paul Douglas (as Sidney "Pa" Larkin) doesn't pay taxes; he trades things, and raises piglets. Maryland "Ma" Una Merkel raises children, and bakes blueberry pies. Ms. Reynolds rides a pig into wealthy neighbor Philip Ober (as Wendell Burnshaw)'s mansion, prompting Mr. Ober to summon Mr. Randall from the IRS (Internal Revenue Service). Will Randall collect taxes, Reynolds, or both? Reynolds and Randall are not a very convincing romantic couple. They should have considered casting, perhaps, Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue. Randall dances a drunken melody of "Frère Jacques" / "I've Got You Under My Skin". This is followed by an impossibly implausible (even for this type of film) implied sex scene, with Reynolds. Director George Marshall gives it an appropriate feature-length "sit-com" treatment; but, the material makes the increasing slapstick more painful than funny (witness the "barn" fight scene). The supporting cast, with its old pros and fresh faces, is a treasure trove, however.***** The Mating Game (4/29/59) George Marshall ~ Debbie Reynolds, Tony Randall, Paul Douglas, Una Merkel

Energetic romp overseen by that veteran of slapstick George Marshall. This is not his best, but he does keep things moving. Enjoyable for the most part if you can get past owlish Tony Randall as the answer to a maiden's dream (Debbie Reynold's). He certainly looks the part of an IRS collections tiger, but it's a stretch in the romance department. Lots of barnyard innuendo as earthy farmer Paul Douglas and his obstreperous family manage a living outside the money economy. He barters things in shrewd fashion, while enjoying life's simple pleasures. That is, until snobby neighbor neighbor Philip Ober sics the IRS on him in an attempt to grab his property after Douglas refuses to sell.Really clever premise, with a provocative subtext that pits the older agrarian way of life against the modern complexities. Bureaucrat Randall must collect a lifetime of back taxes from throw-back Douglas who, of course, has never dealt in money. But Randall, all officiousness, has never encountered the likes of the artful farmer and his bursting-with-life family that keep him perpetually off-balance. At the same time, comely daughter Reynolds works her wiles in typical spirited fashion. Some funny set-ups, especially when the barnyard critters turn on the hapless bureaucrat. However, some of the slapstick goes on too long for my liking, suggesting that Marshall is indeed past his prime. Nonetheless, Douglas is near perfect as the good-natured hick, while Reynolds manages the spunk without too much excess. Look for outlaw biker Bill Smith as a muscle-bound rowdy, and of course the great Fred Clark in one of his typical bah-humbug roles. All in all, there are some genuine guffaws, but in some ways the movie is more interesting than anything else. Come to think of it, comedy aside, the movie can be viewed as a must-include at any hippie or Libertarian film retrospective.

I have always liked this comedy as one of the few ever seriously trying to deal with the U.S. Government's yearly demand for taxes. Ever read a tax code?: it is quite a trial to follow it's multiple clauses that our congressmen and senators push in to help their financial backers and various interest groups. Despite claims that it is fair, the tax code has always laid the lion share of the burden on the middle and working classes rather than the rich and influential. Most of the various special clauses are meant for their use - go through the average 1040 or 1040A form and look at the variety of different investment and business ventures all of which have a different set of rules. Most people will never have any use for these.The story here is that a wealthy landowner (Philip Ober) uses his influence to tip off the IRS that his neighbors (Paul Douglas and Una Merkle) have not payed taxes in 20 years. The Baltimore office of the IRS is under Fred Clarke, and he is snapping to attention for Ober with his influence. He sends Tony Randall to check out the situation.Randall finds that Douglas, Merkle, and their three girls and two boys are pretty decent people, who rarely have need for cash (they get along on their farm produce and barter with their neighbors). But Randall, trained in the clear (to the IRS) lines of the tax code tries to pin down the family to fundamentals. But gradually Douglas notes that Reynolds is fond of Randall, and he keeps sidetracking Randall from his chore, eventually getting him drunk. He also makes it difficult for Randall to leave by having the motor of his car removed "for repairs" by his two sons.The plot follows the growing attraction and frictions between urban, vaguely ambitious Randall, and countryside, life loving Reynolds. They make a cute couple actually. Eventually, after Ober complains, Randall is sent back in disgrace and Clarke (a tougher cookie) gets down to brass tacks. And comes up with a very large tax bill, that will possibly ruin Douglas's family.The film does not end there - it does end happily, but it does remind us that the power to tax is the power to destroy, and that the Government does, all too frequently, go in for destruction. A chance in a million reversal saves the family, but it is so rare that we know it is just a dramatic trick. More realistic is how Clarke's boss, (Charles Lane) cuts to the essence regarding Ober's "help" by suggesting that next year his taxes will be looked at more carefully. After that Ober is rather green.