The Thrill of It All (1963)
James Garner once famously complimented Doris Day as having the best fanny in Hollywood. Either she didn’t like the praise or they didn’t get along for a different reason, because in The Thrill of It All their kisses were some of the most awkward in screen history. They play a husband and wife team whose marriage gets threatened when Doris decides to pursue a career and neglect her “wifely duties”. Yes, the premise and execution of the conflict is extremely dated and offensive to modern feminists, so if that rubs you the wrong way, you won’t like the movie.
The supporting cast is the best part of the movie. Doris’s children, Brian Nash and Kym Karat—best known as Gretl from The Sound of Music--are absolutely adorable, unlike many movies from the 1960s that portray children as irritating, annoying brats. Kym was five years old in this movie—what a darling little girl! Arlene Francis opens the film with an adorable and hilarious scene: she’s seen hysterically laughing as she gets out of a taxi and walks into an elevator full of somber men. I thought she must have just escaped from a lunatic asylum! Arlene’s laughter infects the surrounding men, and soon everyone’s laughing. When she approaches Edward Andrew, her husband, she laughs and cries and announces the happy news: she’s pregnant. Arlene and Edward are very sweet and touching together, making me wish they’d been the focal point of the film instead of the younger couple.
Through the dated man-and-wife roles, there are some very funny jokes sprinkled in. Carl Reiner acts in hilarious cameos as a television star acting the same scene every week in different costumes, and Doris Day manages to inject some real acting into a very accessible scene in which she humiliates herself on national television and tries to hold back her tears. The worst part of the film is James Garner’s character, a dated, selfish, misogynistic jerk. It’s a wonder David Niven wasn’t called in to reprise his role in Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, as the characters were so similar and mean-spirited towards their wives.
The first half of The Thrill of It All is actually really cute and funny. My recommendation is to watch the movie, and when Reginald Owen says the line, “Get her a swimming pool,” turn it off. It just goes downhill from there.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Doris Day movies here!
More James Garner movies here!
The supporting cast is the best part of the movie. Doris’s children, Brian Nash and Kym Karat—best known as Gretl from The Sound of Music--are absolutely adorable, unlike many movies from the 1960s that portray children as irritating, annoying brats. Kym was five years old in this movie—what a darling little girl! Arlene Francis opens the film with an adorable and hilarious scene: she’s seen hysterically laughing as she gets out of a taxi and walks into an elevator full of somber men. I thought she must have just escaped from a lunatic asylum! Arlene’s laughter infects the surrounding men, and soon everyone’s laughing. When she approaches Edward Andrew, her husband, she laughs and cries and announces the happy news: she’s pregnant. Arlene and Edward are very sweet and touching together, making me wish they’d been the focal point of the film instead of the younger couple.
Through the dated man-and-wife roles, there are some very funny jokes sprinkled in. Carl Reiner acts in hilarious cameos as a television star acting the same scene every week in different costumes, and Doris Day manages to inject some real acting into a very accessible scene in which she humiliates herself on national television and tries to hold back her tears. The worst part of the film is James Garner’s character, a dated, selfish, misogynistic jerk. It’s a wonder David Niven wasn’t called in to reprise his role in Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, as the characters were so similar and mean-spirited towards their wives.
The first half of The Thrill of It All is actually really cute and funny. My recommendation is to watch the movie, and when Reginald Owen says the line, “Get her a swimming pool,” turn it off. It just goes downhill from there.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Doris Day movies here!
More James Garner movies here!