The Thrill of It All (1963)

The Thrill of It All
Directed by Norman Jewison
Written by Carl Reiner and Larry Gelbart
1963/USA
Ross Hunter Productions/Arwin Productions
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Dr. Gerald Boyer: I’m the kind of a husband who likes to see his wife. Not staring at him from a billboard, or looking up at him from a magazine ad. I want to see her, and I want to see here in person and often.[/box]

I found it difficult to laugh very hard at a comedy whose main point seems to be that a wife’s place is in the home.

Beverly Boyer (Doris Day) and her obstetrician husband Gerald (James Garner) have the idyllic marriage, complete with two adorable small children.  Although they have a live-in housekeeper (Zasu Pitts), Beverly keeps busy cooking and making her own ketchup.  One day at a party she inadvertently endorses the host’s brand of soap and ends up becoming the company’s spokesperson.

Beverly’s new job makes her better paid than Gerald and takes her away from the family even more that his night deliveries.  Hilarity ensues as the couple squabble.

I like Day and Garner and they have excellent chemistry.  It’s just hard to get behind a plot that keeps teaching Day over and over that “doctor’s wife” is a fulfilling career in itself.