Robert Danvers is a vain, womanizing and wealthy host of a high-profile television cooking show. He meets Marion, a no-nonsense 19-year-old American hippie who has just broken up with her British rock musician boyfriend Jimmy. After a halting start, they begin an affair, and she accompanies him on a trip to a wine-tasting festival in France, where she embarrasses him by getting extremely drunk, but they enjoy their time together on the coast in the South of France. However, when they return to London, Marion makes up with Jimmy and turns down a desperate proposal of marriage from Danvers. Throughout the film, Danvers' favourite line with women is: "My God, but you're lovely"—which, in the final scene after Marion has gone back to Jimmy and Danvers has made a date with another woman, he says to his own reflection.
The film is based on the stage comedy There's A Girl In My Soup, written by Terence Frisby, produced by Michael Codron, directed by Bob Chetwyn and starring Donald Sinden, Barbara Ferris and Jon Pertwee. It ran for six and a half years in the West End, from 1966 to 1973, including three years at the Globe Theatre, breaking records to become London's longest-running comedy. This record was later broken by No Sex Please, We're British and then Run for Your Wife. Film rights were bought in 1967 by Columbia and Nat Cohen. Eventually Mike Frankovich became producer and the Boultings directed. Goldie Hawn signed in January 1969. The movie introduced Christopher Cazenove, who later co-starred on Dynasty, and Nicola Pagett, who played Elizabeth Bellamy on Upstairs, Downstairs. A novelisation of the film, written by Raymond Hitchcock, was published in 1971.
Reception
Box office
There's a Girl in My Soup ranked as the seventh film in takings at the British box office in 1970.
Critical response
Variety found the film "a delightful surprise: a rather simple legit sex comedy transformed into breezy and extremely tasteful screen fun"; Roger Greenspun in The New York Times, dismissed the film as "without illumination or wit or good humor or good sense," and concluded "The only performance to praise is that of Tony Britton, who, as Danvers's very much married publisher and friend, achieves a level of sophisticated pleasantness that actually, suggests comedy. Peter Sellers, on the other hand, is at his least inventive. And Goldie Hawn, who I think might be fun in another part, mostly indulges in bad habits with her too-expressive eyes. In fairness, both Miss Hawn and Mr. Sellers are handicapped by roles in which any attempt at a characterization must seem an imposition." Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 1.5 stars out of 4 and wrote that Sellers had "his first decent role in several years" and gave a "completely sympathetic performance," but "no amount of humor is able to wake up the film's tired story premise." Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times was positive, writing "Escapist entertainment it assuredly is, yet Frisby has wisely provided enough quiet moments between his gags to allow his characters to become real enough to care about." Tom Milne of The Monthly Film Bulletin stated that Sellers was "hopelessly miscast" and that the film "would have been much better served by a straight romantic lead." The website Allmovie comments that "Soup was different in its day, as the heroine of the piece was not a Doris Day-type eternal virgin, but a sexual being who not only gives herself freely to a man but is upfront and unapologetic about her willingness. The movie has little going for it beyond this premise, and it wanders rather aimlessly, if agreeably, before abruptly resolving its insignificant conflicts."
Awards
Frisby's script won The Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Best Screenplay in 1970. Goldie Hawn was nominated for Best Actress at the BAFTA's for her work in this and Cactus Flower.
