The Facts of Life

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The Facts of Life

Released Nov 14, 1960

1h 43m

Comedy

Drama

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2 Reviews

59%

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500+ Ratings

The Gilberts, Larry (Bob Hope) and Mary (Ruth Hussey), and the Weavers, Jack (Don DeFore) and Kitty (Lucille Ball), are neighbors and close friends -- even though Larry and Kitty always grate on each other's nerves. When the friends' annual vacation arrives, Larry and Kitty are the only ones at the hotel, as their spouses can't make it. Stuck together for the trip, Larry and Kitty, surprisingly, fall in love. The two must now contemplate whether starting over is worth it at middle age.

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Dwight MacDonald

Esquire Magazine

Mr. Hope and Miss Ball have become hardened in the mold of situation-comedy, skilled at gags and double-takes, but no longer able to simulate real people.

Jul 23, 2019

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

A mild satire on an adulterous affair between bored suburbanites.

Rated: B-

Nov 18, 2009

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Kerri H

It's good but not great. Bob Hope and Lucille Ball are both hilarious... usually. In my opinion, the dialougue was just too "jokey." One sets them up and the other delivers the punch line. It came off as hokey and stale. When they're not telling jokes, it's a pretty good story.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

07/03/25

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steve d

Cute but completely forgettable.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

Although I grew up with Bob Hope, he is not funny here or anywhere. His "humor" grows worse and worse with age. Lucy is not funny or capable of acting, outside of her interactions with Desi Arnaz and Vivian Vance. This movie is another dud, something Lucy became famous for after the wild popularity of the 1950s.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

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Audience Member

Very funny and so true

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

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Audience Member

Oddly semi-serious Bob Hope and Lucille Ball comedy. Bob and Lucille are both trapped in separate loveless marriages but have a fling in Acapulco when they find themselves there without their spouses. Most of the film takes place after they return home and find themselves seeing each other at bridge parties and other social situations and the two then decide to continue seeing each other secretly. Bob is still filled with snapping one line zingers, but the drama lays our fairly seriously, though the film has (SPOILER ALERT!) a very disappointing and dated ending where the two "come to their senses" and decide it's better for their families to stay in a loveless marriage. Overall, it's an interesting change of pace for Hope and the drama plays out fairly well despite his out of place zingers. Saul Bass provided one of his usual cool title sequences.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

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Audience Member

***Due to the recent RT changes that have basically ruined my past reviews, I am mostly only giving a rating rather than a full review.***

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

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Melvin Frank

Director

Bob Hope

Larry Gilbert

Lucille Ball

Kitty Weaver

Ruth Hussey

Mary Gilbert

Don DeFore

Jack Weaver

Louis Nye

Hamilton Busbee

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Synopsis

The Gilberts, Larry (Bob Hope) and Mary (Ruth Hussey), and the Weavers, Jack (Don DeFore) and Kitty (Lucille Ball), are neighbors and close friends -- even though Larry and Kitty always grate on each other's nerves. When the friends' annual vacation arrives, Larry and Kitty are the only ones at the hotel, as their spouses can't make it. Stuck together for the trip, Larry and Kitty, surprisingly, fall in love. The two must now contemplate whether starting over is worth it at middle age.

Director: Melvin Frank
Producer: Norman Panama
Screenwriter: Melvin Frank, Norman Panama
Distributor: United Artists
Production Co: HLP
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 14, 1960, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Runtime: 1h 43m

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