The 1960s in the U.S. are generally considered to have been a time of sexual revolution and profound societal changes, in which sex became acceptable outside the strict confines of heterosexual marriage. Feminism, gay rights, the hippie movement, birth control and other influences synonymous with the era played important roles in these new attitudes.

These changing times were reflected in the movies, although the Hollywood Production Code, which continued to be enforced through 1967, meant that the new influences on bedroom politics were usually treated in a coy and non-threatening way. Our selection of films from the '60s follows this pattern, referencing the "new" attitudes without actually endorsing them.

Boys Night Out (1962), a comedy from MGM, seems at first to be the story of a divorcé (James Garner) who arranges for an apartment with a "kept" woman (Kim Novak) to be shared by three friends who are dissatisfied in their marriages. Turns out the men's needs are not really sexual, and that the beautiful blonde is actually a sociology student doing research on adolescent fantasies in adult suburban males.

The Chapman Report (1962), the only non-comedy in our collection, is an episodic drama based on the novel by Irving Wallace which was in turn inspired by the Kinsey Report. George Cukor directed the film for Warner Bros. It stars Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. as a researcher who interviews four Los Angeles women with sexual problems. Jane Fonda plays a widow who believes herself to be frigid, Shelley Winters is an adulterous housewife, Glynis Johns enacts an older woman who lusts after younger men and Claire Bloom is a nymphomaniac. At the insistence of the Catholic Church's National Legion of Decency, the ending of the film was re-edited so that the researchers conclude that most American women are actually quite "normal" sexually.

Sunday in New York (1963) also stars Jane Fonda, an important player in celluloid sexuality of the '60s. Here, in an MGM movie based on Norman Krasna's stage comedy, she plays a virginal young music critic who comes to the city to visit her brother (Cliff Robertson) and considers a dalliance with a handsome bachelor (Rod Taylor). Time magazine wrote that, "As usual, winking wickedness turns out to be mostly eyewash."

Promise Her Anything (1966), a British-American comedy from Paramount, stars Leslie Caron as an attractive young widow who moves into a Greenwich Village brownstone with her infant son. She catches the eye of a handsome maker of nude films (Warren Beatty) but thinks her wealthy psychologist boss (Bob Cummings) is a better prospect for marriage. Arthur Hiller directed the film, which touches lightly upon a number of timely subjects including female sexuality and the exploitation of children.

Not with My Wife, You Don't! (1966), a "buddy comedy" from Warner Bros., was developed from a story by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, who used to write the Crosby/Hope "Road" movies. (Hope has a cameo in archive footage.) Tony Curtis and George C. Scott star as two Air Force pilots who fall in love with the same gorgeous woman (Virna Lisi) during the Korean War. Years later, after Curtis has married her, Scott reappears to create farcical complications. At the time, the players were well-reviewed for their comic performances.

Any Wednesday (1966) enlists Jane Fonda in the '60s Sexual Revolution once again, this time as a young Manhattanite who is the mistress of a businessman (Jason Robards) and occupies an apartment he maintains for her. Complications arise when the businessman's wife (Rosemary Murphy) and a handsome client (Dean Jones) discover the arrangement. In this Warner Bros. film, based on a Broadway comedy, the attitudes now seem dated - but, again, an expert cast keeps things interesting.

Doctor, You've Got to be Kidding! (1967) stars winsome Sandra Dee as a would-be singer who is about to have a baby, with three different suitors (Bill Bixby, Dwayne Hickman and Dick Kallman) claiming to be the father. Costarring are George Hamilton as Dee's stuffy boss and Celeste Holm as her pushy mother. Somewhat in the manner of Doris Day's 1960s vehicles at Universal, this winking MGM comedy pretends to be much racier than it actually is.

by Roger Fristoe