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| Inger with Sol Siegel |
Naturally this is very exciting for my first movie. Bing’s very nice. He seems so relaxed it relaxes me. Right now I consider myself a very fortunate girl. I’m doing what I like best—acting. In Man on Fire I play a lawyer’s secretary who saves Bing Crosby from making a lot of mistakes. In the end we wind up together. It’s a good part, but the picture is basically a Crosby vehicle. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my young life playing opposite Bing. I hope I’m lucky enough to do it again.”
The first day of rehearsals I was so nervous I thought he’d fire me. Instead, he was very quiet. I found out later that Bing Crosby takes a good deal of knowing. He weighs things very carefully. He’s cautious. If he likes someone, he opens up. But this takes time. He’s extremely likable and an extremely fine actor. Essentially, he’s an instinctive actor who doesn’t realize how good he really is. He’s not impressed with himself at all. The one thing that bothers him in front of a camera is a lot of takes. He gets stale quickly. The first take is usually best for him. I’d been on the film two days when I had to go to the hospital for an appendectomy. When I came back, Bing greeted me like an old friend. We’d all have tea at 4 o’clock, just sit around and talk.
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| Inger and Bing in a shot for Parade Magazine, June 1957 |
Inger had married theatrical agent Anthony Soglio in summer 1955, but the couple was estranged before Inger began filming Man on Fire. Twenty-two year old Inger fell for fifty-three year old Bing and shared:
I’ve dated him several times, and for an actor he’s unusual. He doesn’t like to talk about himself. He’s extremely well-read and interested in more subjects than show business. He knows so much about politics, sports, painters and writers you wouldn’t believe it. He’s one of the most well-rounded gentlemen I’ve ever met. After you go out with Bing, you’re spoiled for young men of, say, 25 or 26.
In January 1957, Inger filed paperwork to officially separate from Anthony Soglio and would file for divorce in April. Inger and Bing would, as Erskine Johnson put it, "continue to costar after hours" through the spring. In early May, reporters noted that Bing was in love with Inger, but by May 7th Dorothy Kilgallen was sharing the following tidbit:
The Hollywood temperature-takers report Inger Stevens furious over Bing Crosby’s Las Vegas fling with Pat Sheehan. Inger was thought to have inherited the Groaner from Kathy Grant, and it may turn out that she also has inherited the same denouement.
On June 26, 1957, Inger, despite being sick, signed autographs for fans and confirmed that she was still dating her costar though neither had plans for marriage.
The film premiered in Los Angeles on July 5, 1957, and Inger received positive reviews for her performance as legal secretary Nina Wylie. Motion Picture Daily reported that the film had "power and dramatic impact" and that Inger had "more than a promise of future greatness." Photoplay noted "lovely Inger Stevens" and "sensitive acting." Variety praised Inger as "another newcomer who should be heard from in the future. She is particularly appealing as she nurses Crosby through his vicious and embittered moods."
The movie is rare because Bing's character never sings. Bing said:
It was my own idea. I figured if I couldn’t get away without singing in this picture, I never could. There’s really no reason for a song. The character is not an entertainer; he owns a small manufacturing company. I always figured before that I was a crooner and people expected me to sing when they saw one of my pictures. But I don’t think anybody’s going to run out of the theater and demand their money back if they don't get a song out of me. I think it destroys some of the illusion of a dramatic picture if you throw in songs. The Country Girl would have been better without them.
In the film, Earl (Bing Crosby) struggles to cope during a custody battle over son Ted (Malcolm Brodrick) with his ex-wife Gwen (Mary Fickett). Earl is still bitter about Gwen leaving him for his former friend Bryan (Richard Eastham). As Nina, Inger serves as Earl's right hand woman and voice of reason throughout the picture. Though Earl is slow to recognize it, the devoted Nina is also deeply in love with him. My favorite scene comes early in the film and finds Earl and Nina sitting at a bar.
Earl: You're the first lawyer I've ever seen with a dimple.
Nina: I'm not really a lawyer. I graduated from law school, but that's all.
Earl: How old are you?
Nina: 25.
Earl: You're very honest
Nina: In that case, I'm 27.
Earl: I would've thought you were younger.
Nina: Why don't you keep on thinking it?
Earl: Been a long time since I was 27.
Nina: I've looked at your passport. You're pretty old, Mr. Carlton.
Earl: If you're going to start talking to me like that you better call me Earl.
Nina: I have been calling you Earl for a long time now...when I think about you.
Earl: Why should you think about me?
Nina: You're one of our best clients, aren't you?
Earl: Ah, I guess that's good enough reason.
Nina: I'm glad I thought of it.
A few moments later...
Nina: Mind if I ask you a very personal question that's really none of my business but I'd certainly like to know?
Earl: What?
Nina: Why don't you ever go out? You know, women?
Earl: Oh, I'm not the type. I don't think I'd know what to say. Women don't like me very much. I'm kind of awkward, I guess.
Nina: Clumsy's the word. Have some more sugar.
Earl: I say something to make you mad?
Nina: Goodness, no. Why should I be mad?
Earl: I don't know. I just kinda got the idea you were...where were we?
Nina: The subject was romance and we were beating it to death with a stick.
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| Favorite Coming Stars of 1958 |
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| Inger and Bing on ABC's Wide World of Entertainment, 1964. |
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