Robert Wise directed Two for the Seesaw, a pedestrian romantic melodrama starring Robert Mitchum and Shirley MacLaine.
It was adapted from the 1958 Broadway play written by William Gibson with Henry Fonda and Anne Bancroft in the leads. in the lead roles.
Though Bancroft was an experienced stage actress (she was awarded the 1958 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play) the studio did not consider her a bankable movie star and instead cast MacLaine, who was on the rise after Oscar nominated turns in Some Came Running and The Apartment.
Jerry Ryan (Mitchum) is a lawyer from Nebraska who has recently separated from his wife. To get away from it, he has moved to a shabby apartment in New York. He is struggling with the divorce, which is not final.
At a party, he meets Gittel Mosca (MacLaine), a struggling dancer, and they instantly bond. But the relationship is hampered by their differences in background and temperament, not to mention Jerry’s still strong feelings for his wife.