Doris Day Forum Banners 2017

[jmichael]

I can't think of much to say beyond what Johnny expressed so well.

These are sweet films and they fit the post WW2 mood of optimism and escapism perfectly. Doris was charming and her chemistry with Gordon MacRae was effortlessly natural. Director David Butler and the entire cast made this confection sugary sweet without aftertaste.

Michael

[Musiclover]

What a cute banner, Bryan. And well said, Johnny and Michael. The writers of BTLOTSM, Robert O'Brien and Irving Elinson, also co-wrote the screenplay for Lucky Me and I think one can see similarly mischievous situations in both films.

[webmaster]

Thanks, Johnny & Michael! We're getting near the end so keep up the good work!

And thanks also, Judy- the banner is the bottom half of the TCM film double DVD:



I don't remember seeing that shot in the film, do you? Maybe it was a publicity photo?

Interesting about the Lucky Me connection - another of my favorite non-appreciated films!

[Tybear2015]

Hello everyone! I trust everyone is doing well and having a good summer.i love these 2 movies and I love Doris and Gordon McRae together. These 2 movies are full of fun. I love them because they make me laugh. Great story lines great cast. Doris is the absolute best! She is on the cover of Closer magazine this week, got a copy Monday. The picture of Doris on the cover alone is worth the purchase. I love ❤ this forum and I love ❤ Doris!

Tybear

[Jas1]

Here here Tybear.

[webmaster]

Thanks, Tybear!

Next is That Touch of Mink, I think we may have covered it already but just to keep the sequence going:



More reviews of it here: http://www.dorisday.net/that-touch-of-mink/

[jmichael]

I wish they had found a better premise for her historic pairing with Cary Grant. Unfortunately, TTOM became the one film that presents Doris as a coy forty year old virgin and the label stuck.

Ten Things I Like About This Film

The opening with Doris getting splashed by Grant's limo got things off to a rousing start.

I love the watery pastels of the opening title sequence created by Universal Title.

Laugh Out Loud moment: "Things are hopping up there!" - a line that Doris delivered perfectly.

Most Valuable Supporting Player: Gig Young.

Second Most Valuable Supporting Player: Audrey Meadows, whose sarcasm was most welcome.

Best Sight Gag # 1: Audrey Meadows slapping Gig Young at the automat.

Best Sight Gag # 2: Doris with the liquor bottle stuck on her big toe.

Best Comic Reaction: Doris expressing outrage at the automat when she meets Gig Young.

Best Gown: Doris' form fitting black evening gown and white jacket was one of the most elegant outfits she wore in all of her films.

Best Character Name: Cathy Timberlake was the perfect name for Doris' girlish character.


Michael

[Johnny]

Michael, the delightful opening of That Touch Of Mink stays as a vivid memory for me as well. The cinematography reminded me of a French Impressionist painting by Claude Monet. Doris' character wearing her white raincoat with the black trim makes her a focal point in the rainy street scene.
There is a great deal to like about That Touch Of Mink. I would have liked Gregory Peck or Tony Curtis in the Cary Grant role. I like Cary Grant in most of his films but I felt he was holding back in this role as wealthy Philip Shayne Doris and Cary make an attractive couple. I wonder if Cathy's anxiety and reluctance to enter a sexual affair with Philip had something to do with his age and wealth. This topic is not addressed in the script. Perhaps the script is the product of the 1962 production code. Perhaps Doris' husband Martin Melcher did not want Doris' character to have an affair. Regardless the audience liked Doris and Cary as a romantic couple.

Cathy Timberlake is the perfect name for Doris' character. Cary Grant had suggested the title Catherine. He did not like the title.

Thinking about the twenty- year age difference between Doris and Cary and the twenty- year age difference between Doris and Clark Gable in Teacher's Pet, the sexual chemistry between Doris and Clark sizzles.

That Touch Of Mink was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Writing, Story and Screenplay written directly for the screen. It was nominated for best art direction and best sound.

[Musiclover]

Doris played that liquor bottle scene to perfection, and to me it stands as one of the funniest in any of her films. I also love her reaction to John Astin's advances at the unemployment office. The picture won both the Golden Globe and Writers' Guild awards for best comedy of the year; however, there was a dearth of American comedies released in 1962. The strongest competition, in my view, were Notorious Landlady and Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation. I think the latter of those two has more humorous situations than TTOM.

[texas gonzalo]

As I recall, TTOM was the first motion picture to gross one million dollars at one theatre during its opening run. And in this case it was at Radio City Music Hall. Those were really Happy Days. Texas Gonzalo

[Ania]

Great banner, and the film is very funny, and Doris in this film is delightful and so funny



Ania

[webmaster]

Here's my tribute from a few years back:

https://youtu.be/891JllpodnM

[Johnny]

Thanks Bryan for re-posting such a fun, creative tribute. It is delicious and delightful.

Doris singing Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps was used in the wonderful film Strictly Ballroom. I love this song.

While I was Doris and Cary in the elevator it reminded of the Midnight Lace elevator scene. I am wondering if it is the same vintage elevator.

Today is Canada's 150th birthday and we are going out to photograph the celebrations, decorations, store windows, and Canadian flags to make some great memories.

[jmichael]

That's a very clever video, Bryan, and the song is perfect.

Thanks for sharing it.

Michael

[Musiclover]

Very cute video, Bryan, and nobody delivers on Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps better than Doris. I'm wondering whether the clip of Cary Grant singing is from the film Night and Day.

[webmaster]

Thanks, guys and gal.

Judy, I just looked up your question, it's from a film called Suzy, 1936, (never heard of it).
http://www.carygrant.net/reviews/suzy.html

Quote: Here is the version Cary Grant sang in the film.....!

"Did I remember to tell you you're delightful
You're everything I want you to be
Your eyes are lovely and far beyond comparing,
Especially when they're glaring at me!

I can't make up words to say how swell you are
But I can tell you are, I know so well you are
I started falling, the moment that I saw you.
Believe me I adore you Cherie!"

Lyrics: Harold Adamson, Music: Walter Donaldson
© www.carygrant.net 1997-2013

[Musiclover]

Thanks, Bryan. I'd not heard of the film Suzy either, nor did I know that Harold Adamson wrote the lyric for Did I Remember. With backing by Van Alexander's orchestra, one of Doris's many fine jazz renditions is of another Adamson lyric, Everything I Have is Yours. Give it a listen. It's superb.

[Jas1]

Michael - agree with your observations on Touch of Mink - and great banner.

Also, would add -Doris sported one of the best/most flattering hair styles ever in the film. And I always loved the scene where Gig asked the secretary to take off her glasses and take down her hair "it always worked in the movies."

[webmaster]

Some interesting reviews on the Cary Crant website, including from Bosley Crowther

This is a section from VARIETY, May 9, 1962

..."Though short of the mark if you count sharp wit, there's still a fair amount of jollity churned out of all this for most audiences. Yet the burden for laughs is on the subsidiary humor - the neurotic syndrome of Gig Young as Grant's sauce-addicted fiscal adviser, and most especially in some wacky sequences in an Automat. Funniest of these is the no-cost method devised by payroller Audrey Meadows to keep roommate Day in groceries.

Although Grant gives his tycoon the advantage of long seasoning at this sort of gamey exercise, he's clearly shaded in the laughgetting allotment. As written, Miss Day's clowning has the better of it; and she, by the way, certifies herself an adept farceur with this outing. But not surprisingly, the featured bananas make the best comedic score. Young, who may be getting typed as a wisecracking lush, affirms his claim to the characterization. And Miss Meadows seems born to the dry, caustic comedienne, which is no surprise per her tv track record. It pays her high compliment to say she reminds viewers of the Eve Arden heyday. There's strong support down the line, with particularly effective contributions from Dick Sargent, Alan Hewitt and John Astin.

...Of some trade interest, incidentally, is the wholesale fragmenting of production covet in what's become a now-familiar maze of profit and tax maneuvering. The percentage pie carves up three ways, among Granley (Grant), Nob Hill (Shapiro), and Arwin (Doris Day - Martin Melcher), per screen credits for each. Further, Robert Arthur gets executive producer billing, with Shapiro and Melcher listed as producers, separate and additional to their corporate identities. Everybody figures to have a juicy melon to slice."
http://www.carygrant.net/reviews/that.html

[jmichael]

After reading these reviews from 1962, all I can is, wow - how times have changed.

Michael

[Johnny]

Thanks Bryan for posting the fascinating TTOM reviews.

The early 1960's are defined by icons President and Jacqueline Kennedy, Bob Dylan, Martin Luther King, Audrey Hepburn and Doris Day amongst others.

Looking at these reviews in the context of those times explains why Doris Day ranks as the #1 box office star in the world. Her elegance, dignity, independence and emotional intelligence resonated with the audience. As Michael said, times have changed since 1962.

The supporting players make That Touch Of Mink sparkle.

[Jas1]

That Touch of Mink is a beautiful looking film - I don't think anyone could argue with that - true beauty in all areas.

[webmaster]

Moving on to the last film that tied for Best Films No 14, we have The Ballad of Josie.



BACKGROUND from Johnny

The original title for The Ballad of Josie was The Epic of Josie. Doris took a refresher course in riding, roping, handling a six-shooter and a rifle. She practiced horseback riding on the beach in Malibu.
Jean Louis made Doris three pairs of pants for the film. One pair was for standing, the second pair was for sitting and the third pair was for Doris mounting her horse. Reportedly, 1,500 sheep were hired for a film scene and the numbers grew to 1,525 by the ninth day of shooting the sequence

It had been 14 years since Doris made the very successful Calamity Jane (1953). Variety reported that the ads for The Ballad of Josie were billed, Doris as (Calamity Josie) Day. The film was released in November 1967. As with most of Doris’ films, her character Josie was strong, bright, confident, self-respecting and could match or better the abilities of any male character. Doris was a feminist (meaning equal in all respects) long before the word became part of American culture. I think this is true of Doris Day in her present life.

I believe that cinema history will take a second look at The Ballad of Josie and appreciate the film in a new light. At the time (1967) the film western was going, if not gone, out of fashion. Films such as The Graduate and Bonnie and Clyde were capturing the attention of the audience.” – Johnny, Doris Day Forum

http://www.dorisday.net/the-ballad-of-josie

[jmichael]

Oh, Marty, how could you?

Michael

[Johnny]

The Ballad of Josie deserved better in the writing of the screenplay. If it had more edge and drama, it would have been taken more seriously. Doris needed better material for her character. She is subtle, smart and determined. She proved equal and often stronger than the male characters in the film. The Ballad of Josie was dismissed as a charming good- hearted film. The film needed to be a stronger drama or stronger comedy.

Thinking about women in leading roles in western dramas, Joan Crawford in Johnny Guitar (1954) and Barbara Stanwyck in The Furies, (1950), Susan Hayward in Rawhide, (1951) come quickly to mind. Doris knows how to give a strong, subtle, intelligent performance without presenting as tough. Her characters always have emotional depth in all her films.

In 1965 Jane Fonda appeared in the brilliant comedy Cat Ballou. It had great success. It is a role Doris could have shone in.

As mentioned, The Ballad of Josie opened as a double-bill which makes me wonder how much was spent on the marketing campaign.

In summary, there is an affection I hold for this film because Doris makes the film better than the screenplay.

Happy 4th of July to Doris Day and all our forum friends in America. Have a fantastic day.