Doris Day Mentioned in Ford vs Ferrari

[docwheels]

Was watching the great new movie Ford Vs Ferrari. About half way through the movie there was a discussion between a Ford executive (Josh Lucas playing Leo Beebe) and Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) about whether Ken Miles (Christian Bale) was an acceptable driver for a Ford racing team.

Beebe was adamantly opposed to the difficult, quick-tempered, say-whatever-he's-thinking Ken Miles driving a Ford race car. He was particularly concerned that if a reporter asked Miles if there were any problems with the car that Miles would criticize Ford. Shelby was fighting for Miles making the argument that just because a person can say all the right things to a reporter doesn't mean that person will be the winning driver.

To make his point, Shelby says, "heck you can hire Doris Day and put her behind the wheel, if you don't mind losing."

While readers of this forum may consider this a somewhat derogatory mention, to me it is yet one more indicator that by the 1963-65 time frame in which this scene takes place, Ms. Day had already become a cultural icon. That fact that writers in 2019 would write a script with such a reference is further evidence that her screen persona remains such a cultural touchstone today.

From what I've learned of Ms. Day, I doubt this was the way in which she wanted to attain iconic status - but, wow, what a powerful archetype she was and remains today.

If you don't like this reference, please don't hold it against the movie. It's actually an excellent movie that I think represents many of the values Ms. Day stood for - hard work, excellence even when you didn't feel that way, resilience, persistence, loyalty, and humor

[Jas1]

Agree Docs.