Listen to Doris sing "Pillow Talk"

 

"Doris Day is nominated as Best Actress for Pillow Talk"

"The other half of her partyline, songwriter, Brad Allen (Rock Hudson), annoyingly monopolises the phone singing love songs to a bevy of women."

 

In 1959, after 11 years in films, Doris Day was nominated for her first Academy Award as 'Best Actress of the Year' for her exuberant acting in "Pillow Talk", co-starring Rock Hudson. Many felt that the recognition of her talent was long overdue. She had given a wonderful performance in MGM's "Love Me or Leave Me" (1955) with James Cagney, which was deemed as a sure-fire bet for a nomination. To the shock of many critics and fans, she was not among the five actresses cited that year. MGM chose to promote Eleanor Parker, who starred in "Interrupted Melody" for the coveted Oscar.

In 1959, in a field dominated by dramatic performances, she had formidable competition from Katharine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor in "Suddenly Last Summer", Audrey Hepburn in "The Nun's Story" and Simone Signoret in "Room at the Top". Although Doris Day did not receive the Academy Award (she lost to Simone Signoret), she did win almost every other accolade including:

The Theatre Owners Laurel Award as The Most Popular Actress of the Year,
Photoplay Magazine's Most Popular Actress citation,
A nomination as Best Actress in a comedy from the Foreign Press Association,
The coveted World's Favourite Actress trophy from the Golden Globes, for the second year in a row, and The Top Female Box-office Star of the Year by the Herald's Poll of top box-office stars.

"Pillow Talk", written by Stanley Shapiro and Maurice Richlin, was a cleverly written script that was deemed racy in 1959. Day played Jan Morrow, a fashionable New York interior decorator, who is in conflict with the other half of her partyline, songwriter, Brad Allen (Rock Hudson), who annoyingly monopolises the phone singing love songs to a bevy of women. Frustrated, she seeks help from the phone company, who send out a female inspector who instantly becomes smitten with the handsome Mr Allen.

Jonathan Forbes (Tony Randall) is meanwhile pursuing Jan, who although she's fond of him, has no romantic interest in him. Randall plays a rich executive who is also producing a Broadway musical being written by his friend, Brad Allen. Today, this sounds much too contrived, considering New York is populated by over eight million people! But then, this is Hollywood!

In a chance meeting, Jan meets Brad Allen at a nightclub where she is having a drink with a client's son (Nick Adams) who, having offered to drive her home, is trying to seduce her. After too much to drink, Adams passes out on the dance floor and Brad comes to Jan's rescue. (He earlier overhears their conversation and realises that she is not only Jonathan's dream woman, but also the other half of her partyline - who hates him!) A bonifed wolf, he decides to conceal his identity to woo Jan, who is instantly attracted to him. He introduces himself as "Rex Stetson", a Texan visiting New York on business. Finding him 'hokey' but extremely charming, Jan volunteers to show him the sights of the city.

Close Encounters of the Box Office Kind: Doris Day and Rock Hudson meet for the first time on the screen in "Pillow Talk".

This theme set the tone for several Day/Hudson films that were to follow, using deception and mistaken identity to fuel the sexual tension between the two stars. A clever split screen technique was used to put them in 'compromising' positions (each in his/her own bed or in the bathtub) talking intimately on the phone.

Consequently, Brad romances Jan and she falls in love with him, all the while keeping her antagonistic telephone 'relationship' with her enemy, Brad Allen, who is having a great laugh with his masquerade until he realises that he has fallen in love with her.

Jan tell Jonathan about Rex, who hires a private eye to investigate him - only to discover that Stetson is his best friend, Brad Allen. A furious Jonathan confronts Brad and orders him to leave New York to finish the score for the show he's producing. Brad cleverly invites Jan to join him for the weekend. She enthusiastically agrees, partially to counter a suggestion by 'Brad Allen' that rather than being the perfect gentleman" her new boyfriend might be gay!

During the weekend in Connecticut, Jan comes across a sheet of Brad's music and casually plays some notes on the piano. She soon recognises the familiar-sounding tune as the same one that the other half of her party line uses to seduce the women who call him! Realising that Rex Stetson is actually Brad Allen, Jan is horrified at having been the object of Allen's deception. The rest of the film concentrates on Brad's efforts to win back the furious Jan and her ultimate realisation that she also loves him.

Rock Hudson was surprisingly good in his role as the double-dealing Brad Allen. In his ensuing years after "Pillow Talk", he consistently gave credit to Doris Day for 'teaching me how to do comedy'. He was reluctant to take the picture when Ross Hunter first offered the role to him but after meeting Doris, he couldn't wait to go before the cameras! Personally, I had never seen Hudson so comfortable on the screen. He had been Oscar nominated for "Giant", but to this day, I cannot comprehend why. He was much better in this film.

Doris Day gave a highly professional and spirited performance. Audiences were laughing so loudly that they didn't catch her periodic overacting which becomes more obvious after you've seen the film a dozen times over the years. Overall, however, it garnered for her the well-deserved Oscar nomination as Best Actress. And, even today, younger people who first see this picture fall in love with Miss Day.

Thelma Ritter, veteran character film actress, received an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress as Alma, Jan's housekeeper, who has a penchant for drink and arrives each morning for work with a hangover. It was a joy to just watch Ritter work. Tony Randall was extremely funny as Jonathan Forbes. Randall was certainly robbed of a nomination for Best Supporting Actor; I'm still wondering what happened!

Julia Meade was somewhat obvious as Marie, the over-sexed girlfriend of Brad. Doris Day film regular, Hayden Rorke, was fun as the telephone rep. Veteran character actress, Lee Patrick, was zany as Nick Adams' mother, Mrs. Walters. Other outstanding appearances were made by Mario Dalio, Mary McCarthy, Allen Jenkins, singer Perry Blackwell, Muriel Landers and William Schallert.

The production was first-rate. Jean Louis designed great costumes for Miss Day and the sophisticated hairstyles by Larry Germain displayed a new glamorous Doris Day. The look of the picture was sharp and the CinemaScope photography captured the panorama of New York's dramatic ambience during the 1950s and '60s. This is a film of which Doris Day can justly be proud! It's great entertainment and after all these years remains fresh and a joy to watch.
Ralph McKnight, August 2000, New York

 

It's difficult now to imagine the excitement that "Pillow Talk" generated when it was first shown. Doris Day and Rock Hudson were both huge stars at the time and the film was risky and groundbreaking for both of them. For Hudson, his career had reached a plateau playing strong silent (humourless) types and he needed to expand his male-lead repertoire before audiences got bored. For Day, then 35, musicals were loosing their popularity and she also needed a new direction.

And what a direction! Don't forget that of the three films she made before "Pillow Talk", two were in black and white ("Teacher's Pet" and "The Tunnel of Love). The other 1959 film, "It Happened to Jane" was very much in the Doris Day stereotype – a feisty young woman standing up for her rights against all the odds. So audiences were unprepared for both the glamorously transformed Day, and the sexy titillating story - not to mention Rock Hudson doing romantic comedy.

Producer Ross Hunter, who persuaded her to play the role, claimed he was responsible for "taking Doris Day out of the kitchen and into the bedroom". Of course, today it's not a 'politically correct' movie with lines like "If there's anything worse than a woman living alone, it's a woman saying she likes it" – Thelma Ritter to Doris Day.

However, as a product of the late fifties, it was perfect and gave the careers of both stars a tremendous boost. The film was one of Universal's three biggest money-makers that year. Top was "Operation Petticoat" ($18.6m), followed by "Pillow Talk" ($15m) and "Imitation of Life" ($13m). 
Bryan James, webmaster 

 

A must-read: Bright Lights Film Journal: Pillow Talk

 

Pillow Talk/Down With Love Flash Movie
(Opens in new window - turn your sound on)

 

 

Doris Day at the opening of Rock Hudson
and Carol Burnett in "I DO! I DO!

by Derald Hendry

Back in the early 1970's there was a special run of Rock Hudson and Carol Burnett in "I DO! I DO!" in Los Angeles. This musical about marriage opened to great reviews and huge crowds. Two friends, Bob and Sally and I were already on the way from Florida to California when I picked up a Los Angeles newspaper in San Antonio while visiting friends there. They were advertising this special attraction and gave a free telephone number to call for tickets. Very excitedly Sally picked up the phone and called for tickets. Sorry. No tickets were available. Us? Very disappointed. Then, the person on the telephone (who turned out to be Martha Scott, the movie legend) said that she did have some tickets left to a gala pre-opening event in which there might be lots of stars in attendance. It would be slightly more expensive, but would we like tickets to that performance? Would we? Yes, indeed!

When we arrived in Los Angeles a few days later, we rushed to the box-office and got our tickets. The theater, the Plumstead Playhouse, was all aglow with a marquee that stated: ROCK HUDSON AND CAROL BURNETT "I DO, I DO!" Incidentally, Martha Scott was one of the main directors of the Playhouse. In case you have forgotten, Martha Scott was Ben Hur's mother in the famous film epic. We met Martha and prepared for the event. Sally and Martha became "first-name" friends.

We toured the homes of the stars in the afternoon and drove back and forth by the home of Doris Day, on Crescent Drive in Beverly Hills, hoping to catch a glimpse of Doris. They even said that Doris sometimes went bicycling in the neighborhood, so we stared at every bicycle rider we saw.

Later that evening, with curtain going up at 8 P.M., we arrived there at 7:00 to watch any stars that might be coming to the premiere. It was a very HOT evening in L.A. The temperature that date had reached 100 degrees. Sure enough, around 7 P.M. the stars began to arrive. I had a 35mm camera with normal speed film so the slides I took were not very good. We saw Ed Ames, Susanne Pleshette, Sally Kellerman, Ray Bolger, Art Linkletter, Ann Miller, Roger Moore and others arriving. Lots of stars and lots of glamor..like a Hollywood premiere--only a few fans were there, along with us, enjoying the excitement.

By 7:45 we decided that we had better go on in to claim our seats. We entered the main lobby and were getting ready to go to our seats when suddenly the outer lobby began to blaze with flash shots going off. What was going on? We rushed to see. My friend Sally said: "IT'S DORISDAY!" Sure enough, there she came from a black limousine, accompanied by Ross Hunter, director of her films with Rock Hudson. She was simply stunning! She wore a tight, pink printed satin dress, with hair right out of "Pillow Talk." She really impressed the crowd. She paused for a brief moment at the main doorway, pushing back her hair. It was really dazzling to see her there in the lights, in person. Sally rushed up to Doris and asked for her autograph exclaiming, "Miss Day, my brother Bob has been a fan of yours for years!" "Really," she said, "Where is he?" Bob came up slowly to meet her, somewhat overwhelmed and speechless by the thrust of her unexpected appearance. She had a bandage on her right finger so she gave a loving squeeze instead of a handshake. "It's people like you that make my efforts worthwhile," she said to Bob and then explained that she had cut her finger cutting some meat. I stood nearby, unnerved and somewhat taken aback. She graciously signed their programs and then went into the theater. We were then ushered to our seats on the right side of the auditorium. It was fun to see the stars seated all around us in their black ties and gowns. The air conditioning was not working very well and it was hot in the theater. Art Linkletter stood up and said to the crowd, "It's hot in here. Let's get comfortable." He took off his coat and the other male members of the audience followed his example.

Doris and Ross Hunter had seats about 1/3 of the way from the front of the stage in the center section. As they prepared to sit, Doris straightened up her tight-fitting dress before she seated herself. She was laughing and having a very good time. Bob turned and said to me, "Derald, go and get her autograph!" Others in the audience were doing the same thing. I am rather timid myself, but I finally got up enough courage to do so. I went to her row of seats and then said, "Miss Day, May I please have your autograph?" I handed her my pen and my program. "Sure," she said, with a flourish. "We drove back and forth by your house today and I think it's quite beautiful," I said as she autographed my program. "I told Terry that there was a car driving back and forth outside," she said. She smiled. I melted. I returned to my seat.

The play began and was enjoyed by all. At intermission the weather was still unbearably hot. We saw Doris go to the upper lobby where the refreshments were being served, and followed her. We were overwhelmed with her beauty and demeanor. She got liquid refreshment and held it to her forehead, sat there for another few minutes and then returned to her seat.

A private party was held after the play and Ross Hunter encouraged Doris to attend. "Oh, Ross," she said, "He'll be so tired." "But he'll be expecting you to come," Ross said. So they went up to the private affair.

Sally had her autograph book with her, filled with signatures she had gotten that evening However, she did not have Rock Hudson or Carol Burnett's autograph. So, she went back to Martha Scott and explained how she had driven all the way from Florida to see the play and wanted so badly to get their autographs. Martha said, "Give me your book, put your address in it and I'll get their autographs for you and then send it to you." Sally handed it over, never doubting Martha.

When we got back home to Florida, there in the mail was the autograph book, with all the signatures in it. What a memorable evening!
Derald Hendry

Rock Hudson at Movies Unlimited