One of the first (and certainly the most popular) of the early-'60s bedroom comedies--movies about sex that never use the word, relying instead on double entendres, implications and innuendo. A New York City party-line connects a single working girl--a somewhat rigid and humorless interior decorator with a shapely figure--and a bachelor songwriter and ladies' man who has one tune for every new gal. They're enemies on the phone-line only; once he gets a good look at her (or rather, her shimmying behind on the dancefloor of a nightclub), he decides to woo her using the alias of a shy Texas cowboy. In their first of three pictures together, Rock Hudson and Doris Day share fresh, happy chemistry; their love scenes are convincing--Hudson is a great kisser--and soon Day is singing "Possess Me" to herself on the car-ride with Hudson to his pal's country hideaway. Tony Randall (who also appeared with Hudson and Day in both 1961's "Lover Come Back" and 1964's "Send Me No Flowers") and Thelma Ritter are equally terrific, and the picture has a lovely, cocktail lounge-styled plastic-perkiness which is very winning. With the advent of '60s permissiveness on the screen, "Pillow Talk" (with it's winking, nudge-nudge 'naughtiness') soon looked coy and antiquated; however, it holds up nicely today. Five Oscar nominations--including Day as Best Actress (her only such nomination!)--with one win: for Stanley Shapiro and Maurice Richlin's original screenplay from an initial treatment by Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene. *** from ****
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By 1958, Doris Day's career was on the downslide and something drastic needed to be done to revive her career. 1959'S PILLOW TALK redefined Doris' image and created an entirely new genre of the "will she or won't she" sex comedy as well as introducing one of the greatest romantic screen couplings in history...Doris Day and Rock Hudson. Day plays Jan Morrow, an interior decorator who shares her phone line with Brad Allen (Hudson) a song-writing playboy who ties up Doris' phone by singing love songs (actually the same song) over the phone to the parade of women in his life. Day's attempts to get a private phone line fail and she and Hudson begrudgingly come up with a system to share the phone which Hudson doesn't stick to. Tony Randall plays Jonathan Forbes, a rich playboy who is a client of Doris' and Rock's best friend, who is crazy about Doris but she doesn't feel the same way. One night, Brad discovers Jan at a nightclub and knowing she already hates him, pretends to be a wealthy Texan in order to romance her and this is where the fun begins. Yes, the story is dated because party lines are virtually a thing of the past but it is the linchpin upon which this story delightfully plays out. Director Michael Gordon cleverly uses split-screen images to put Doris and Rock together on screen in seemingly compromising positions, very adult for 1959 and watching Brad pretending to be cowboy Rex Stetson, trying to romance Jan while Brad tries to advise Jan over the phone about what a cad Rex is, is a lot of fun. Day lights up the screen here, in a luminous performance that earned her her first and only Oscar nomination. Hudson, previously only seen in dramatic films up to this point, turns out to be gifted farceur and interviews in his later years, always credited Doris for teaching him how to do comedy. Randall is comic perfection as Jonathan as is Thelma Ritter, who was also nominated for an Oscar for her work as Jan's housekeeper. A delight from start to finish that introduced a new movie couple that would give Fred and Ginger and Spenceer and Kate a run for their money.
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MOscarbradley26 July 2005This smart and sassy sex comedy was made in 1959 but it could just as easily have been made in 1939 and the roles played here by Doris Day and Rock Hudson could have been played by Irene Dunne and Cary Grant. Michael Gordon's direction is serviceable at best but it has a likable Oscar-winning script by Russell Rouse, Maurice Richlin, Stanley Shapiro and Clarence Greene that makes the most of it's premise of the mismatched couple who find romance in the most unlikely of farcial situations.
Day is starchy and frigid but Hudson is immensely likable and displays a real comic flair. There is a gay joke at the expense of the Hudson character and knowing what we know now we might well ask how much of an 'in-joke' this really was and just who was in on the joke. The film was a huge success and re-vitalized Day's career in non-musical roles. Tony Randall's character of the slightly effete millionaire who is in love with Day is not unlike David Hyde Pierce's Niles in "Frasier" and you can see some of the best "Frasier" scripts in some of the situations here. Influential or what? -
wrenster13 March 2003So there I was, in my sick-bed when this film comes on. I start to watch, having never seen it before, and to my surprise, find myself laughing...out loud.
I have never really been a fan of either Doris Day or Rock Hudson, but I did enjoy this piece of fluff. And in our modern times when comedies currently released in the cinema can hardly raise a smile, let alone a laugh, I found this a pure delight. So the sexual politics maybe a little outdated, but there were some beautifully timed comedy set-pieces: The moment Doris Day discovers the real identity of Hudson's character has one of the best use of music I have seen in a movie since the Warner Bros cartoons!
A film that I didn't think I would enjoy, but was completely bowled over by. -
beresfordjd2 December 2005In spite of what we know now, Rock Hudson still convinces as a woman-chaser!! He was never considered to be a great actor but he convinced the public for years- so what dom the critics know? This movie is brilliant in every respect-script, plot , performances and the look of the whole thing. How can Doris Day be so sexy and virginal at the same time? Rock Hudson showed a real flair for comedy in this film and it is no wonder that every romantic comedy has been judged against the "Rock Hudson/Doris Day" movies. Even the Doris Day movies NOT starring Rock Hudson were called "Rock Hudson/Doris Day" !!! Doris Day was/is one of the most underrated actresses of the last 50 years. She could play comedy with perfect timing, but convince totally in dramas (check out "Love Me or Leave Me"-fantastic performance.) I must have watched this movie dozens of times and it is still true entertainment. If you have never watched one of her movies then make a point of doing so-yes they have dated, but what has not? Real talent not hype is what true stars have. By the way the 9/10 is because of the dated plot.
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babeth_jr3 April 2006I can honestly say that this is my favorite movie of all time. It has everything a romantic comedy needs...a wonderful script, snappy dialog and of course, the wonderful performances by every single actor in the movie. Doris Day is dead on as Jan Morrow, a single interior decorator, living alone in New York City in the late 1950's who has to share a party line on her telephone (which was not that unusual for that day and time, as hard as it is to believe now) with Brad Allen, played with smarmy brilliance by Rock Hudson. Tony Randall plays Jan's friend and client, Jonathan, a neurotic millionaire who wants to be more than just friends with Doris, but can't get to first base with her. The delightful Thelma Ritter is perfectly cast as Alma, Day's hard drinking but wise housekeeper. Doris can't stand sharing her party line with the womanizing Brad Allen, but when Allen sees her at a night club and figures out who she is and that she will never have anything to do with him if she knows his true identity, he invents an alter ego for himself, Rex, the cowboy from Texas. The ensuing story just gets funnier and funnier, as Jonathan, (Tony Randall's character) starts figuring out the deception, and romantic mayhem ensues. Doris Day never looked lovelier as she did in this film, and Rock never looked more handsome. It is ironic that he played such a blatant womanizer in this film, when of course, in real life he was a gay man. Although the film seems kind of dated now (at the time this film was made it was unusual for a woman to be single and successful) it is still tons of fun to watch. They just don't make movies like this anymore. A definite 10 stars!
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xyzkozak11 January 2015Favorite Movie Quote: "At least my problems can be solved in one bedroom. You couldn't solve yours in a thousand!"
With Westerns, War-Dramas, and Sci-Fi dominating the movie-fare of the 1950s, producer Ross Hunter was aptly warned that Screwball Comedy like Pillow Talk would never, ever be a success at the box-office.
Even though Screwball Comedy had long been pronounced "dead" at the end of the 1940s, Pillow Talk turned out to be one of the most successful films of the 1950s. It proved just how starved movie-audiences were for pure escapist fluff, such as it was. Pillow Talk went on to be nominated for 5 Academy Awards. It won an Oscar for "Best Screen-writing".
Pillow Talk starred Doris Day and Rock Hudson. Pairing these 2 stars together proved to be such a success that they eventually went on to make 2 other Romantic Comedies together, but neither of which turned out to be as magical as Pillow Talk.
Featuring some pretty snappy dialogue, energetic performances, lush photography, and high production values, Pillow Talk is certainly an all-round fun and very enjoyable 1950s Comedy. -
TheLittleSongbird3 October 2010Before I saw Pillow Talk, as much as I did love Young At Heart, Move Over Darling, Love Me or Leave Me and The Thrill of It All, I thought I'd never see a Doris Day film that I loved more than Calamity Jane. Well with Pillow Talk, I found it. It is witty, charming, smart, fresh and funny, and like I said with Move Over Darling it doesn't have a single wasted scene. Also it is my personal favourite of the films Day made with Universal Studios.
I will admit when I first saw the film I did occasionally find it slow and the ending a little abrupt. Seeing it again, any flaws I had with it initially went completely, and the more I saw Pillow Talk the more I found to like and the more I liked it. The story about a telephone party line is smart and quite original. It is glossy froth, but I like glossy froth. The production values are pretty simple yet glamorous and the music is pleasant and memorable, I especially loved the title song which is really quite catchy. The screenplay is witty and funny and has charm to it too, while the film is very well directed by Michael Gordon.
Even better are the performances. Doris Day once again is fresh and endearing, and Rock Hudson also has his share of adroit humour and does it with flair. But these two are superbly supported by Tony Randall, who I think gives his best performance in this film and Thelma Ritter who also have the best material. In conclusion, a truly wonderful film, if you give it a chance I think you'll like it. 10/10 Bethany Cox -
Pillow Talk was the first of three films Rock Hudson and Doris Day teamed on. Personally, I don't think it was their best, but it's entertaining enough.
Though for the life of me I can't understand what Doris did in this particular comedy to warrant an Oscar nomination. Pillow Talk doesn't stand out in that way. Doris was passed over for such things as Love Me Or Leave Me, The Man Who Knew Too Much and Midnight Lace where she really did do some good acting.
The premise is dated, party lines are certainly a thing of the past now with text messaging cell phones. I do recall back around the same time my grandparents still having a party line. In that sense Pillow Talk is dated.
Still the film is funny enough. Virginal interior decorator Doris Day happens to get the same party line as wolfish songwriter Rock Hudson. Rock with his non-stop love life is constantly cutting in on Doris's business calls.
When he accidentally learns who she is when at a bar she's fending off the advances of young Nick Adams, Rock embarks on an all out campaign to nail her as another trophy. Of course the imponderable of love always gets in the way in these films.
Doris Day in all of her comedy films, be they with Rock Hudson or others always got a good group of supporting players. It seemed obligatory that Tony Randall before finding fame as Felix Unger, was always cast as the hero's best if goofy friend. It's either him or Gig Young in these roles. He creates his perennial character in Pillow Talk.
On the female side Thelma Ritter as Doris's perpetually hung over maid is her deadpan best. My favorite scene in Pillow Talk is her drinking Rock Hudson under the table.
Though audiences today might not get the whole party line premise, Pillow Talk is still funny enough for even the younger viewers. -
claudio_carvalho11 May 2013In New York, the interior decorator Jan Morrow (Doris Day) and the wolf composer Brad Allen (Rock Hudson) share a party line, but Brad keeps it busy most of the time flirting with his girlfriends. They do not know each other but Jan hates Brad since she needs the telephone for her business and can not use it.
Coincidently Jan's wealthy client Jonathan Forbes (Tony Randall) that woos her is the best friend of Brad and he comments with him that he feels an unrequited love for Jan, who is a gorgeous woman. When Brad meets Jan by chance in a restaurant, he poses as a naive tourist from Texas named Rex Stetson and seduces her. But Jonathan hires a private eye to find who Rex Stetson is.
"Pillow Talk" is a delightful romantic comedy that improved my Saturday afternoon. This is the first time that I watch this movie and Doris Day and Rock Hudson show a great chemistry. But Thelma Ritter steals the movie in the role of the alcoholic housemaid Alma. The gags with the nurse and the obstetrician are also hilarious. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Confidências à Meia-Noite" ("Confidences at Midnight") -
Calicodreamin28 November 2021A risqué comedy for it's time and it really plays off well. The lead actors have great chemistry and most of the jokes lane well. Doris Day is cool and stylish and gives this movie a great vibe.
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edwagreen16 February 2006After a string of serious dramas, Rock Hudson broke out into comedy and showed his adeptness to it in 1959's "Pillow Talk."
As a swinging song writer, Rock was charming but nasty to the person that he shared a phone line with-Doris Day.
The two really go at it as they accuse each other of monopolizing the phone. What they don't know is that they share a common friend, the ever great Tony Randall, a millionaire in this one, who can't seem to get Day to marry him.
Doris is an interior decorator in this one and when she does the home of the wealthy Lee Patrick, son, Nick Adams, in a funny performance, gets drunk while with her at a local nightclub. As luck would have it, Hudson is in the next booth with his date, a lovely Julia Meade. He realizes that this is his enemy from the party line. Too woo her, he puts on a terrific Texas accent, which he may have learned from his role in "Giant," and becomes Rex Stetson.
You can imagine the hilarity when Day finds out who he really is. Along for the ride is Thelma Ritter, Day's maid, who portrays Alma, an alcoholic maid, ready to give good advice to all concerned.
The dialogue is great. Randall hopes that Hudson will do great scoring when he loans him his weekend retreat in Connecticut.
This was the only film that Doris Day was ever Oscar nominated for. Thelma Ritter received her 5th of 6 supporting nominations for this film.
A classy movie, funny to watch, and a pleasure to view. You may even wish for cross-wires after seeing this great film. -
The settings are cute, the wardrobe lovely, the actors talented, and the script snappy, but I really could not get into this film.
This is one of the many movies I have seen with the formula of manipulative louse finds upstanding citizen with something they want (ex. power, wealth, that body), cons them, louse ends up not following through with it because true love, upstanding citizen finds out truth and freaks, but no worries, they get back together in under twenty minutes.
I disliked it in Guys and Dolls, but here there are no side plots or fantastic music numbers to distract me.
So the story is that a man with fantastic charisma which he uses to pick up women is hogging the party line of the female lead. She is rightfully annoyed about this but he is dismissive and says she is just jealous he isn't one of the women he chats up.
She complains to multiple people, but everyone without a crush on her hints that she is not really mad about not being able to call people from her home (what?) but what she is really upset over is not getting the D.
Manipulative louse gets away with it because he put all his character points on charisma. (I did some home installations a few years ago and I would have been really uncomfortable with someone crowding me like that, no matter how pretty they are.)
Then they meet outside of the apartment, face to face, for the first time. Louse goes,'Wait, the woman who has been yelling at me is hot. I want a piece of that.' He proceeds to use a fake accent to chat her up. Cue shenanigans of him trying to keep her from finding out the truth. Insert rest of formula.
Movies like this make me want to take the upstanding citizen aside and go, "Honey, I know you are lonely and really attracted to this person, but I want you think about something for a moment. The person you are attracted to has spent years of their life manipulating people to get what they want. Behavior like that does not clear up overnight. Just because they love you doesn't mean those bad habits won't reemerge. So I want you to think about this for a while away from them before you find yourself swept along in something that could be really damaging down the line.
I know I'm over-thinking this, it's a comedy. On the other hand, there are much worse movies out there who don't deserve such a loop hole. I'll stick to my 6/10, only because many people won't be bothered by the same things as I. -
rbrtptrck15 December 2006You have but to look at "Pillow Talk" to see why youth rebelled against the plastic world the 1950s offered us. The origins of feminism's fight for freedom can clearly be seen in the almost-armored burden of Doris Day's seeming thousands of ensembles, accessories included, to the hilt. Even when she's alone, her slip and her dressing-gown match, and she wears jewelry with her housecoat. And her hair seems a blond helmet; it and her apparently tattooed-on make-up are as firm and fresh when she leaves her virginal bed each morning as they are when she crawls into it at night. How could a woman have an instant left to think after going through the process of getting rigged up like that (she seems to change outfits ten times a day, as if she were her own Barbie doll). Just inhaling all of that hairspray alone must have addled her reason. However, all this adornment is oddly unrelated to the mating process. Male advances on the presumably attractive object Doris has made of herself are greeted as insulting offenses. Only bad or stupid women fall for Rock Hudson's million-megawatt charm. Doris may be a bit flustered when first hit by Rock's Cinemascope shoulders and boomerang-shaped grin, but her armor protects her. Despite split-screen shots which make them appear to be in bed or bath together, the zippers on Doris' outfits remain firmly locked. I watched several intelligent women go mad from trying to live up to Doris' example, their husbands descend into sullen recluses, and their offspring wind up on prescription drugs from childhood. Something had to give.
Coy jokes about castration ("We may be forced to disconnect him."), sight gags about alcoholism, and the treatment of male gayness as a slightly shocking misfortune (a misfortune for the women attracted to them, of course; gay men were considered far too silly and funny to be the objects of any human concern) give a pretty clear image of the rewards and releases that the Eisenhower era offered us. The roots of Woodstock, the Pentagon march, "Hair," and "The Rocky Horror Show" are all there in the incredibly shallow widescreen world of "Pillow Talk." -
BumpyRide13 October 2004Out of all the "Bedroom Comedies" of the 50's & 60's this is the best by far. Nothing else comes close to "Pillow Talk" with its witty script, stylish sets, and costumes and a great cast of "A" actors at their very best. Some movies wrap you up like a warm mink coat and make everything seem right in the world. 1950's New York looks fabulous, and I've always wanted to go one of those chic supper clubs decked out like Doris is here. This is one of those rare movies that make you laugh, no matter how many times you've seen it. How sad it is for some reviewers to take fault with Alma and her apparent drinking problem (only to find love herself and throw away the bottle!) or Rock's sexuality that some just can't get past. This is an elegant romp with Doris and Rock.
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SwollenThumb28 March 2018How can you critique something you are just meant to enjoy? There will never be another combination like Doris and Rock, both giving everything to their roles. And you can tell they are having fun doing them. I especially enjoyed Rock's bit of physical comedy trying to squeeze himself into a very low sports car!
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rbrb6 December 2004Well done Cinemax(cable TV channel) for showing this wonderful movie!
Surely this must rank amongst the top romantic comedies of all time.
Brilliant performances from the super stars Doris Day and Rock Hudson, with equally brilliant support from the likes of Tony Randell and Thelma Ritter.
This picture is so good it had me laughing out loud constantly.
Everything about this film is perfect: the script, the acting, the music, the story, the lighting, music, costumes, titles et al.
Why is it that most movies of this type nowadays ain't a patch on this one?! And the movie industry should ask itself why it cannot find megastars as good as the cast in this picture.
The basic story line involves a shared phone line leading to deception and romance. The use of split screen portrayals is done marvelously. For example the two lovers talk romantically in separate bath-tubs in their different apartments the touching of each others feet is magically shown by the split screen.
One of my favorite scenes is where Rock Hudson in one of his deceptions, pretends he is gay, and of course later history reveals the irony of that.
I thought one of the best lines in the movie was when Thelma Ritter says in effect that one cannot tell a good bottle of wine from a mere sip.
All in all, top class entertainment:
10 out of 10. -
preppy-315 July 2003The first of the three so-called "sex comedies" made with Doris Day and Rock Hudson.
Day plays interior decorator Jan Morrow. She shares a party line with womanizing Brad Allen (Hudson). She hates him for always monopolizing the phone calling his various girlfriends. Allen's best friend Jonathan Forbes (Tony Randall) is in love with Jan. Brad sees Jan, falls in love, disguses himself as a Texan and proceeds to steal her away from his buddy. Some friend!
SPOILERS IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH!!!!
This movie has a lot of negative things about it--the sexual innuendo is stupid and extremely unfunny (I groaned aloud at one of the lines). Thelma Ritter plays an alcoholic maid named Alma--her alcoholism is presented as cute and funny--alcoholism is NOT funny (although I did laugh when she drank Hudson under the table). There are a few homophobic lines that come from Hudson--homophobia is never funny and hearing them come from Hudson is extremely disturbing. The film also makes the point that a woman living alone with a successful job can never be happy without a man in her life. Sheesh!
The good things--the acting is good--Hudson and Day play off each other beautifully. I love the split screens used throughout the picture. Everything looks colorful and beautiful--Day is just breathtaking and her clothes are incredible--Hudson is strong, handsome and when he smiles...sigh. Also this is where some of the things we now see as cliches were invented--the voiceovers, split screen, the (purposedly?) lousy back screen projection and the montage of Hudson and Day seeing the sights.
So, on one hand I liked this a lot--there's always something to look at. On the other hand the stupid sex jokes and treatment of women make me uncomfortable. I can only give it a 7. And don't let the term "sex comedy" bother you--this might have been extreme in 1959 but it's very tame today. -
gridoon20 August 2001This first teaming of Doris Day and Rock Hudson is a delightful, visually beautiful comedy - old-fashioned but hardly dated. The two stars make a charming, shiny couple (it's easy to see why they were so popular in their time) and Thelma Ritter steals the show in a needless but funny supporting role. The only problem you may have is that the course of the plot seems to be thoroughly predetermined from the first frame, but the film does a pretty good job of delaying the inevitable. Great sound effects, too. (***)
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utgard146 September 2015Two New Yorkers (Rock Hudson, Doris Day) sharing a party line find themselves annoyed with one another. He's a womanizer who monopolizes the phone to talk with his many girlfriends. She's a fuddy duddy who doesn't think much of his lifestyle. Eventually he sees her and realizes what a looker she is, so he pretends to be someone else to date her.
I'm a big classic movie fan but there's something about this period (late '50s through the early '60s) that just leaves me cold. I can count on one hand the number of films from this period that I genuinely love. This is not one of them. I did enjoy this and I think it's good and daring for its time, but it just didn't connect with me like it obviously has so many others over the years. For one thing, I have never really cared much for Doris Day. Nice singing voice, pretty enough, but there's something so staid and sober about her that I find it hard to become invested in her characters in these types of movies. I recognize mine is a minority opinion among classic film fans. I know others like her but she just doesn't do it for me and I find her much-touted chemistry with Rock Hudson to be overstated.
Anyway, this is considered by many to be their best movie and I can see why. It moves along at a nice pace and the comedy is somewhat risqué for the time. The fashions and sets will appeal to those who are fans of the period. Hudson is having a blast and it shows. I already gave my opinion on Day but, if you're a fan, you'll undoubtedly enjoy her here. Tony Randall and Thelma Ritter steal the show in supporting roles. The recurring bit with the obstetrician who thinks Rock is pregnant is probably the funniest part of the movie. The screenplay won an Oscar (!) and Doris Day was nominated for one (!!). How either of those things came about from this I will never know. Must have been a slow year. -
inkblot1122 March 2010Jan Morrow (Doris Day), an interior decorator who moved from Milwaukee to Manhattan, is at wit's end. In the late fifties, especially in the booming New York City area, private phone lines were hard to come by. Thus, she has a "party line" (she shares one) with Brad Allen (Rock Hudson), a smooth songwriter of Broadway hits. Since Brad is very handsome, women call him at all hours, thanking him for their "nights" together and begging him to sing them love songs on the phone. This exasperates Jan, for she needs to make business calls as well as personal. Arguing and pleading with him does no good. So, she goes to the phone company with a complaint and a plea for a private line but it backfires. Wouldn't you know, Ma Bell sends a unmarried female inspector to investigate and Brad charms her into writing a positive report. This upsets Jan even more. But, one day, wealthy businessman, Jonathan (Tony Randall), who provides the finances for Brad's shows, happens to mention that he has a new love interest. Yes, he tells Mr. Allen, her name is Jan and she decorated his office very nicely. Not only that, she's a looker. Well, well. Soon after, a chance encounter at a restaurant lets Brad see Ms. Morrow but he knows if flirts with her as himself, he's dead in the water. Thus, when she needs help with a drunk client, he poses as "Rex Stetson" from Texas, with a drawl and since Jan has never seen him, she has no idea he is pulling one over on her. But, oh, how she likes his looks and charm! The two begin to go out on dates and Jan falls head over heels. Meanwhile, Brad still calls up Jan to give her advice on love, which she can't help listening to, since she knows he's an expert. How soon will it be until the truth comes out? This is a classic romantic comedy that may indeed be the best one ever made. My sisters and I loved it as teens in the early sixties and "caught" it on the tube whenever we could. The two stars, Hudson and Day, are perfection itself as the sparring phone partners and as the couple falling in love. In addition, the rest of the cast, including Randall and Thelma Ritter, is also quite nice. The setting, costumes and camera work are topnotch, too, while the script is gleefully, unabashedly funny AND romantic. If you have never seen it, don't delay. Buy, borrow or rent it, plop yourself onto the couch with some soft pillows, and giggle your cares away.
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tomgillespie200223 April 2011Jan Morrow (Doris Day) is a successful interior designer living in her cushy New York apartment, apparently content with her single life. Unfortunately for her, she shares a party line (a shared phone line) with composer and serial ladies man Brad Allen (Rock Hudson), and whenever she needs to make a call, she is always caught up in his crooning seduction technique which he tries on all the ladies. His arrogant playboy attitude riles Jan and she seeks to have the party line ended. Jan is also being wooed by millionaire client Jonathan Forbes (Tony Randall), who, unbeknownst to her, is Brad's friend and business associate. After hearing about Jonathan's infatuation with Jan, who Brad has never met, and after coincidentally coming across her in a bar, he adopts a fake Texan accent and backstory, and seduces Jan. Aiming to teach her a lesson, it's only a matter of time before his cover is blown and the possibility that he may just fall in love with her.
The sight of Doris Day and Rock Hudson, with their squeaky-clean personas and rather smug characters, is usually enough to induce vomiting. However, in Pillow Talk, the first time I've seen the two together in one of their now-celebrated rom-com partnerships, I found them, and the film, a delight. Okay, so Doris Day is a tad annoying, but Rock Hudson is in great form here. Playing dual roles, he has the appeal to make his really quite nasty and obnoxious character still likable. Tony Randall, always a reliable supporting character, is great fun too.
Modern-day romantic comedies should take notes from this on how to create a film with actual chemistry between the two leads, a witty script, and genuine charm. It has been attempted with films such as Down With Love and the Coen brothers' Intolerable Cruelty, but have ultimately failed to hit the mark. The film is also tightly directed by Michael Gordon, who maintains a snappy pace throughout.
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tcchelsey2 August 2020Been watching this masterpiece for the better part of 50 years and, yes, it never ages.
Doris Day and Rock Hudson set THE standard for the contemporary date night couple. When you come down to it, very rarely do you find a film where everything clicks, all at the right place at the right time. Priceless dialogue, writing, acting, even bit parts. The sets are remarkable, if not unforgettable, after all these years.
This type of film was definitely Doris Day's niche with Rock Hudson perfectly cast, very close in comparison to the teaming of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, minus the dancing sequences. Factually, at the time of release, there were scowls from some theater owners who balked this type of comedy was dated and wouldn't draw much of a crowd. How little they knew.
Talk about a stellar supporting cast, lead by incomparable Tony Randall, a staple in the Day/Hudson films, followed by Thelma Ritter, perhaps one of the best character actresses of all time, and not to forget two veterans of honorable mention, Lee Patrick and Allen Jenkins. Well worth viewing multiple times and most definitely an audience pleaser that is gaining a new generation of fans. We miss you, Doris.
Ace director Michael Gordon followed this up with the chiller, MIDNIGHT LACE, also starring Doris Day.
Watch for it.
Always on dvd and beautifully remastered color blu ray. -
SnoopyStyle10 June 2019New York City suffers from a shortage of phone lines. Jan Morrow (Doris Day) is forced to share a party line with ladies' man Brad Allen (Rock Hudson) who monopolizes their shared line. Jane is a high class interior decorator. Her client Jonathan Forbes (Tony Randall) keeps proposing marriage although she's not hitting the moon. Alma (Thelma Ritter) is her wise-cracking hungover assistant. Jan doesn't know that Jonathan is actually Brad's friend.
This is well before my time and I'm not sure how that phone line works. I guess the same goes for Doris Day and Rock Hudson. They're also before my time. She's quite funny when she's given the material and he's a good partner. They're not comedians and there is a vanilla ice cream quality to their fun. It's just nice and they're very photogenic. -
nelsonhodgie11 April 2021Doris Day was really good in Hitchcock's remake of his own The Man Who Knew Too Much. But in Pillow Talk, I find her somehow completely devoid of any sexual appeal whatsoever. She moves stiffly, never ever seems less than uptight. I dare anyone to sit through her "crying" scene with the great Tony Randall and not be wishing he'd pushed her out of the car. As for Hudson -Rock is as bland as wonderbread. However Tony Randall steals the show. His blandness is out of the park stratospheric and makes for some genuine laughs !