The Art of Love (1965)

Plot: In  1960s Paris, a Struggling artist fakes his own death so his works will increase in value.
Stars: Dick Van Dyke, James Garner, Angie Dickinson,  Ethel Merman. Elke Sommers

I first saw this movie on TV when I was 12, and thought it the wittiest, funniest thing ever.  But as they say, "You Can't Go Home Again" and on re-watch....oy vey!

So, how do you make a mediocre movie with such a great cast?  Easy, give them a bland, unfunny script. There's nothing wrong with the plot or the cast - it just isn't funny. Sommers and Dickinson don't do much - while Garner and Van Dyke overact frantically, trying to make their dull lines work.  Meanwhile, Irving Jacobson, Ethel Merman and Naomi Stevens seem to have wandered in from a Brooklyn Deli - who could believe they were French?  Making it worse, Burbank stands in for Paris, and the sets are over lit.

Summary:  Too bad, so sad. Another mediocre Carl Reiner comedy, proving he was too small for film.