Inside The Ladies Man's Boarding House

I officially moved back into my apartment this weekend (at least, I think I did. This is pre-written, but I'll keep you posted on whether I made it back before the oft-promised second wave hit after the fact!), and while my place isn't as elegant or dreamy as the next apartment I'm featuring in my Apartment Therapy series, a girl can dream!

gif created by me at giphy (video source)

So let's talk about the boarding house in The Ladies Man. This set is 100% real, as you're seeing it on the screen. Jerry Lewis directed this movie and had the set, a four-story dollhouse, built on a sound stage to create many of the visual gags you'll see in the movie. The set featured 40-rooms, apparently, and cost about $500,000 (in 1961's dollars) to build.

Right off the top: if you ever watch this, just know that there's little in the way of actual plot. It's mostly shenanigan after shenanigan as Jerry Lewis plays the woman-shy handyman at a ladies-only boarding house (he's off women after being scorned in a love affair!). 

Anyways, onward to the boarding house!

As the main titles play, one of the ladies is flipping through a copy of Look magazine (they actually created the magazine she's reading: they get a special acknowledgement later in the opening credits) at her vanity. 

You can see several bottles of red fingernail polish on the vanity, a few bottles of perfume, and something pink in the left corner. 

Here's the main door of the boarding house. Very nondescript for such a beautiful interior! 

Jerry Lewis (as Herbert H. Heebert) is meeting with Katie, a matron who helps to manage the boarding house, in her office. It's very standard in terms of offices: wood-panel walls, portraits on the wall, and an ornate lamp. 

After securing himself a job, Katie takes him upstairs to his quarters. He gets bunk beds (though he manages to turn that into an antic that eventually sees him sleeping in the bed after they collapse, like he's Garfield), a desk, a wardrobe, a nice red armchair and side table, and a bunch of pennant flags. 

Here's Herbert's bedroom from another angle. The ruse is this: he was very publicly scorned in a love affair and now he's sworn off (and afraid of) the fairer sex; plus, he has no idea that he's working in a women's-only boarding house yet. It's too late at night. 

If you watch the source video for the gif I made up top, you'll see this whole sequence as it's intended. But let's break it down. 

In this salmon pink bedroom, we have a few ladies sharing a room (I'd probably throttle the one playing the trombone, but that's neither here nor there). They have little in the way of actual furniture, but they have a lot of throw pillows, some nice framed artwork, and a few knick-knacks on a shelf. The bed in the centre has a nice ornate headboard that I love, too. 

The lady in red walks out of the salmon pink bedroom, and here's our first glimpse of the hallway. Very staid and neat; some greenery on the few pieces of furniture, and nice red carpet on the floors. I love the coloured glass on the stairwell window in the upper right corner. 

In another pink room, one lady's having trouble rousing the other out of bed. I love the sharper pink and the rich wood features and furniture. 

Another floor of the boarding house, this time featuring the rudimentary elevator fit for one person. Note the stairwell window matches the other in terms of coloured glass, though this window is square instead. 

Here's the blue room; all of the accents and pieces are white-based.

Here's the gold room. Imagine having a harpist as a roommate and her playing it at all hours... I think I'd prefer it to the trombone roommate, though. 

I love the lavender bathroom, with all of its purple accent pieces. The rose pink bathtub is a nice break from the purple. 

In yet another pink room, all of the accessories are soft and feminine, except for the tiny blue clock on her vanity (they're all missing mirrors, but what can you do!). I love the I Dream of Jeannie-style bottle next to the lamp on the right. 

A wider shot of the same pink room to show the accessories in more depth. I love that the paintings on the wall are framed in the same colour as the wall; it's a neat effect.

In the tiny green bedroom. This one looks more...homey? And I don't know a single person who doesn't have a patchwork quilt like that, a gift from a grandmother or a quilting circle. At least they have a fireplace, so they'll be warm in that tiny room. 

The dining room with its bistro-style tables. There's a mural of a rural landscape along the walls. 

Another shot into the blue room, with the lavender bedsheets and the green vanity table skirt. 

A better view of the different stories. 

Leading into the dining room. 

A nice split between the living room area and the dining room. I love the candelabras on the mantle in the dining room; and the dusty pink couch and massive floral arrangement in the living room. 

Another view of the dining room. 

From an upper floor looking at the entryway and part of the living room area. That couch is fun, as in the area rug in front of the staircase. 

Our first proper view of the living room as Herbert walks downstairs (before he's met all the ladies). I love that round ottoman with the cushions that he's patting; and the large blue lamps framing the dusty rose couch (which I also love). 

In case you're confused by any of the rooms, they do a helpful pan-out to show you just how massive and impressively decorated the boarding house set was. Note the chandelier and the skylight window at the very top, and the grand piano where Herbert's standing. 

Another view of the dining room (and the ladies getting their first view of Herbert).

From the first floor landing staring down into the entryway. 

This looks like a study area. I love the desk set up and the floral couch just peeking out in the right side of the picture. 

Another view of the study room shows that it opens up into the hallway and provides a great view across the house. 

Those red lamps! The spiral staircase! 

A rare butterfly collection, which I'm only including for this...

...he opens it, for whatever reason, and all the butterflies fly out. 

But then he whistles for them and they fly right back to their respective spots. 

I'm obsessed with flamingos, so I'd love to own these...

...which makes it all the more devastating when he absolutely smashes them to bits when Katie walks in. 

A bookcase in the background.

Some neat mid-century knick-knacks on the shelf behind Herbert in the green room. 

Another split view of the hallway and the salmon pink room. I'm a fan of mid-century radios (I have a red one); but I love the look of the brown one behind the lady, as well as all the blush pink accouterments. 

Another split view showing how the rooms are set up: the blue room leads into the gold room. I love the bed skirt in the blue room, and I love the peek of the striped armchair in the gold room. 

A portrait of the boarding house's owner. The gag here is that as Herbert dusts across it, he brushes against the painted woman's lips and her lipstick smears across the painting. 

Another angle in the living room with a better view of some knick-knacks on the shelf, including the fan and a few decorative urns. Again, I continue to be obsessed with those blue lamps. 

Filing away the peekaboo blue shelf for my dream home. 

I'm including this for another look at the living room area, while they set up for a live television broadcast. Note the television set in the background on the right. 

I mostly snagged this screencap for the mid-century teleprompter in the foreground. 

Another view of a parlour room that opens into the hallway. Plus, startled Herbert in the background. 

They have a stage set up so that she can tap dance (of course Herbert knows how to tap; you thought they only hired him for his handyman capabilities?).

The hallway decorated for this lady to serenade us. 

Practicing their dance routine in yet another room. They've pushed all the furniture to the outer part of the room, but I love all the mish-mashed colours here. There's no particular colour scheme here. Again, love the blue lamp, which is skinnier than the ones in the living room area. And I love the television stand with its many cupboards. 

Now you think we've seen every room in this boarding house? 

Herbert stumbles upon a room he's never seen before and likely never will again. I hope she at least sits on the bed from time to time, that looks like such an uncomfortable pose. 

But, I mean, it's a gorgeously...monotone room. If all-white is your thing, I mean. I love the bed and the canopy, and the chaise lounger! 

And it appears to be the only room with a terrace, so it's got a great view!

This white room must be a pain to clean. Imagine Herbert, of all people, trying to keep this clean and not gumming anything up in the process. 

Another view of the staircases and landings. So elegant!

I love all the landing areas. They're so dramatic. And that chandelier! 

Hello Baby! This is just as Herbert's about to movie out. We've been teased into thinking Baby is a little kitty, but all the ladies run away when Baby actually makes his appearance! 

And with that, The Ladies Man goes out like a lion! Like I said, there's little in the way of actual plot, but if I could live in that boarding house, preferably in the salmon pink bedroom, I'd be set!

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- I took all the screencaps in this post. 

-Read Inside Holly Golightly's Apartment here.