Pillow Talk
Directed by Michael Gordon
Written by Stanley Shapiro and Maurice Richlin; story by Russell Rouse and Clarence Green
1959/USA
Universal International Pictures/Arwin Productions
First viewing?/Netflix rental
[box] Alma: If there’s anything worse than a woman living alone, it’s a woman saying she likes it.[/box]
This Technicolor 50’s “sex comedy” was rescued for me by the chemistry and performances of its leads.
Jan Morris (Doris Day) is a smart, independent interior decorator to the New York elite. She shares a party line with Brad Allen (Rock Hudson), a womanizing song writer. Brad gets on her last nerve by talking on the phone constantly with his various conquests. Eventually, she confronts him but he continues behaving badly.
Jan’s wealthy client Jonathan Forbes (Tony Randall) wants to marry her. He also happens to be the backer of the Broadway show Brad is composing. Jonathan’s description of his prickly neighbor intrigues Brad so he poses as a mild-mannered Texas rancher to date her up. Misunderstandings and witty repartee ensue. With Thelma Ritter as Jan’s hard-drinking housekeeper and Marcel Dalio as Jan’s boss.
This was cute, pleasant and entertaining. One can immediately see why Day and Hudson went on to make two other films in the same vein. The supporting performances are strong and the dialogue, while silly, is sharp. This film just screams late 50’s Technicolor comedy. If you like those, you should not miss this.
The DVD I rented contained a fun and affectionate commentary by film historians.
Pillow Talk won the Academy Award for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen. It was nominated in the categories of Best Actress (Day); Best Supporting Actress (Ritter); Best Art Direction – Set Decoration, Color; and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture.
Trailer
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