A Guide For The Married Man (1967)

Happily married Paul (Walter Matthau) discovers his buddy and neighbor Ed (Robert Morse) has been cheating on his wife.  Paul is curious -- a little too curious, in fact -- about how Ed has been able to get away with it for so long.  Ed makes the process look effortless, and it's not long before Paul is considering stepping out on his wife, Ruth (Inger Stevens).

Paul's decision seems kind of crazy, considering his wife is very personable and attractive.  Ed regales Paul with stories of how other guys have done it and how well or not they handled situations that came up.  The stories are presented in scenes featuring various actors in cameos, including Joey Bishop, Phil Silvers, Jayne Mansfield, Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Ben Blue, Louis Nye, Sid Caesar, Terry-Thomas, Carl Reiner, Polly Bergen, Sam Jaffe, Hal March, and Marty Ingels.  Some of the stories are mildly amusing, others are more humorous.  The film goes along at a fast pace, leading up to Paul planning to have an affair with an attractive client.

Reportedly, this was the last film that Jayne Mansfield actually did before a fatal accident took her life.  In the version of this film that I saw, it appeared that the story Ms. Mansfield appeared in was edited.  Perhaps to cover up how much of herself she was showing; but by late 1960's standards in comparison to today, the scene is very tame.

"The Slowest Gun In The West" (1960)

Nat Hiken, who was responsible for two classic TV series, "The Phil Silvers Show" and "Car 54, Where Are You?", wrote, directed and produced this western comedy.  It was aired as a comedy special.

The town of Primrose, Arizona is overrun by outlaws.  The latest sheriff has been shot down, and the good people of the town have to search for someone else who is willing to take the job.  Fletcher "Fletch" Bissell III, otherwise known as the Silver Dollar Kid (Phil Silvers) rides into down and immediately gets on the wrong side of the bad guys (Ted DeCorsia, Jack Elam, Lee Van Cleef).  Fletch talks a good game, but it's revealed quickly that Fletch is a coward.  Plans are made to kill Fletch to get him out of the way, but he manages to avoid danger.

The guys who want to keep the town crime ridden get an idea:  they decide to find someone to take out Fletch, who despite his ways, has brought peace to town.  They find Chicken Finsterwald, who's claim to gun-slinging fame was shooting an old lady in the back.  When the woman recovered and came looking for him, cowardly Finsterwald (Jack Benny) ran out of town.

Silvers was in fine form, out talking the other characters, and talking his character's way out of trouble.  Silver's brand of comedy worked well with Benny's self-depreciating, understated humor.  I was pleasantly surprised to see Elam and Van Cleef, actors known for their work in serious western films.  Jack Albertson (of "Chico and the Man" fame) appeared as one of the good townspeople, and I barely recognized Marion Ross (Mrs. Cunningham on "Happy Days") as a love interest of Fletch's.