Who's Got the Action?

Dean Martin, Lana Turner, Eddie Albert, Paul Ford, John McGiver, and Walter Matthau star in this pretty funny movie about gambling, the mob, and horse races. Mom was confused by the plot and while part of me was too, I managed to laugh at many of the visual and verbal gags and characterizations that abounded. Especially seeing Matthau do some of his familiar deliveries brought a smile to my face. In other words, Who's Got the Action was enjoyable passable entertainment.

"Who's Got the Action" is a forgettable time-passer. I wasn't totally surprised, as the film starred Lana Turner...and by 1962 the quality of her films had diminished considerably. I was surprised, however, to see a major star at the time, Dean Martin, in such a slight film.

Martin plays a husband who loves to gamble on the horses. He's not very good at it and the wife wants to teach him a bizarre lesson...she sets herself up as a bookie for him because she KNOWS he'll lose a lot of money. The problem is that he starts winning big...and others notice and join him in betting with this mystery bookie. Soon, real gangsters are noticing they're losing clients and they are NOT happy.

The film is supposed to be a comedy but there really weren't many laughs. Add to that one of Walter Matthau's worst performances and you've got a movie that should have been better but wasn't.

One of Dean Martin's least-known films and while not a total success, it's fairly enjoyable.

The initial scenes feel like a fairly conventional romantic comedy but once Turner's plan to be Martin's secret bookie gets into full motion, it becomes a full blown farce.

And as a farce, it's a pretty good one. It develops some fine momentum with running gags (like the car collision scene or whenever Jack Albertson's policeman character appears) and revelling in the consequences and complications of when Turner's plan gets out of hand.

Alas, when the film tries to wrap up its convoluted goings on, it runs out of steam and the final 15-20 minutes are fairly cumbersome and unfunny.

The cast is stacked with talented performers; perhaps too stacked as several are underused. For example, Eddie Albert as Martin's friend and work colleague is funny and amusing but because of the plot goes missing for long stretches in the film's second half.

The one weakness in the cast is Lana Turner, someone who I never found to be a particularly interesting performer. She is competent in her role but doesn't have the same comedic mindset as the rest of the cast and as a result her character is easily the dullest in the film.

So while not what it could've been, this film is an amusing timewaster. It's certainly better than a lot of other films Martin made in the 1960s.

Listless little comedy which drags on and on for an hour and a half.Lana Turner,one of the queens of melodrama -"The bad and the beautiful","Madame X","Peyton Place",the sublime "imitation of life"- or film noir ("the postman always rings twice") has not the great comical presence the part asks for.Walter Matthau steals the show:ahead of his time,his character uses a big computer;although a dirty man,he lectures his subordinate about his poor old mother,whom he must support even at his own expense.

A distant relative of "the sting" .People who are allergic to bets,bookies and stuff like that ,take to your heels.

Wouldn't you know it? Dean Martin has a gambling problem, or at least his wife Lana Turner thinks so, in this relatively unknown but worthwhile movie. This Lana/Dean teaming is an hilarious hoot to watch. While it may seem a bit incredible to believe, if you just sit back and relax, you'll find plenty of laughs. With a great cast featuring Walter Matthau, Paul Ford, Eddie Albert, Eddie's wife in real life Margo, as the maid, and Nita Talbot as Lana's next door neighbor with great taste in decorating. Dean's presence gives the film the why-do-I-care-about-anything feel to it, and Lana's misadventures make for chaos in this madcap tale of betting on the right horse!