Gene Kelly directed a comedy in the mid-60s: “A Guide for the Married Man.” In a series of blackout sketches, Robert Morse teaches Walter Matthau how to cheat on his wife.
One scene featured Joey Bishop and a beautiful young woman caught together in bed by his wife. While his wife raves on about his infidelity, Bishop pulls on his pants asks and asks, “What woman? What on earth are you talking about?” Meanwhile the girl is in the same room, calmly getting out of bed, dressing, and finally walking out the door.
While the wife babbles about his obvious infidelity, Bishop calmly collects himself and denies everything, telling his wife, “What are you talking about? There is no woman.”
Soon the girl is gone, Bishop is sitting fully dressed in his easy chair, steadfastly denying that anything has happened. Eventually his wife doubts she ever saw anything. In the end she apologizes and begins to make dinner.
That’s TNR’s strategy in a nutshell.
