IF A MAN ANSWERS

The author of Ask Any Girl (1958) works on the premise that to have (a husband) is not always to hold (him) so that young Chantal, raised by a Parisian mother, a Back Bay father and an outspoken grandmother, once she has snared Gene Wright, finds her mother's secret works like a charm. It is to use dog training methods (read ""pet"" for ""dog"" or ""animal"") and Chantal is able to get Gene to come willingly, fetch and carry, -- and adore his mistress. The unexpected revelation of her system creates another impasse but, again, Mother knows best and the resurrection of a fictitious admirer-lover gives Chantal the edge. Only this time her husband and her father are playing too and Chantal -- and her mother -- are harried into behavior. Frivolous -- and, even with some amusing moments, the sparkle gets dim.