Once Too Often. 1950. USA. Directed by Charles Turner. Screenplay by Danny Klughertz. With Jack Lemmon, Constance Ford, Leo Needham. 16mm. 25 min.
In this US Army training film, a soldier named Mike (Lemmon, in his film debut) has a 10-day leave from his military duties. He’s an easygoing guy who rarely thinks about his sometimes reckless behavior; he crosses streets without looking, takes a ride from a drunken driver, and changes a lightbulb while precipitously climbing on a chair. Mike is watched over from the heavens by Fate and his assistant—until he tempts fate once too often and is hit by a truck and killed.
Phffft! 1954. USA. Directed by Mark Robson. Screenplay by George Axelrod. With Jack Lemmon, Judy Holliday, Jack Carson. 35mm. 88 min.
Accountant Robert Tracey can judge a client’s character by examining their checkbook and tax return. So when he takes Nina on as a client, he falls in love with her receipts as well as the woman! When Robert and Nina decide to call it quits after nine years of marriage, Nina turns to her domineering mother for advice and Robert goes out on the singles scene with his wingman, Charlie. But Nina and Robert keep running into each other during their miserable dates with ill-suited partners. This was Lemmon’s second film with Holliday in 1954.