Watch Cactus Flower

Cactus Flower brought to film the Abe Burrows Broadway comedy play of the same name, based on the original play in France which played to sold-out audiences. The plot revolves around a romantic trio consisting of 21-year-old Toni Simmons; Julian, the dentist she is in love with; and Miss Dickinson, Julian's office assistant who is secretly carrying a torch for him. After Toni tries to kill herself because Julian refuses to leave his marriage in order to marry her, Julian feels guilty that he has perpetuated a lie. He's not really married with three children, but is actually a confirmed bachelor who merely pretended to be married in order to avoid any sort of commitment. But in order to woo Toni back into his life in order to get her to marry him, Julian enlists the aid of his assistant to pretend to be the long-suffering wife he's now willing to divorce. It becomes a game of musical chairs when Toni senses that Miss Dickinson really loves Julian and Toni encounters a new man in her life who is more honest with his feelings than the lying Julian.