Good Neighbor Sam
According to Robert Osborne on TCM, this was a film that Jack Lemmon didn't really want to do, but by doing it he fulfilled a contract with Columbia. And, like the previous year's Under the Yum Yum Tree (1963), it stupefied Lemmon that they were both very successful films.,The Bissell's kitchen wall telephone moves from being mounted on the outside surface of the post to the kitchen side of the post.,Hertz Commercial Man: [after finally being lowered into convertible] Man, that's *real* coffee!
[in tears]
Hertz Commercial Man: Oh, noooo!,Featured in AFI Life Achievement Award: AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Jack Lemmon (1988),Let Hertz Put You in the Driver's Seat
(uncredited)
Lyrics and Music by Richard Adler
Performed by The Hi-Los,"Good Neighbor Sam" bombed big time when it was released in 1964. At the time I thought, "What a shame. This is Jack Lemmon's best comedic acting in years, and this is a pleasant movie."

Looking at it now, I understand why "Good Neighbor Sam" was a failure. For one thing, it's way overplotted (there's enough subplots for THREE sparkling comedies). It's played at the sitcom level and runs over two hours. The "domestic violence" subplot is disturbing, even for the times. However, it is still funny, beautifully cast (especially Lemmon, Dorothy Provine, Romy Schneider and Edward G. Robinson) and mostly gentle satire (the Hertz commercial retakes are a hoot). Best of all, the "billboard defacing," which happens near the end of the movie is the funniest sequence of all, meaning "Good Neighbor Sam" NEVER lets up.

Special note should be taken of Frank DeVol's music (the recurring theme is a classic). I recommend this one highly,