July 29, 2011
65. The Thrill of It All (1963)
Starring Doris Day, James Garner, Arlene Francis, Edward Andrews
Directed by Norman Jewison
Plot: "A doctor tries to cope with his wife's newfound stardom as an advertising pitch woman." (from TCMDb)
This movie is really silly, and it wasn’t one of my favorites, but I will concede that it’s quite amusing.
Doris Day is fun as usual and her Jean Louis wardrobe alone is worth viewing the movie for (thus so many screen caps of what she’s wearing!). There were some fun cameos in this and lots of familiar character actors—Zasu Pitts (pictured above), Carl Reiner (who also was one of the writers of the screenplay), Reginald Owen (he was hilarious as Old Tom Fraleigh), Alice Pearce (also in Bewitched), Bernie Kopell (Get Smart!) and Hayden Rourke (I Dream of Jeannie) among others.
This isn't bad entertainment, but it lacks a certain sparkle...or something. I can't quite put my finger on just what.
Content advisory: A bit of crass humor and some mild language. Both unwarranted and unnecessary, though minor.
Doris modeling more flawless ‘60s fashion.
The kids in this were kind of funny when they weren’t being annoying. :) You may recognize the little girl from her role as Gretel in The Sound of Music. She was adorable!
The film’s humor poked at the advertising world was quite funny. I also love Doris’ outfit here (and the set!).
One of Beverly’s few hobbies is canning their own ketchup. The moment where her husband (James Garner) finds her and Mike (Elliot Reid) in the basement is probably one of the funnier moments. Garner’s line delivery is just so perfect. Other than that scene, though, I found Garner rather hit-and-miss with the comedy. It wasn’t awful, but it makes me appreciate what Rock Hudson did. It’s not easy to carry off this type of comedy and make it work!
Arlene Francis is a woman who has finally conceived and she and her husband are elated. (Don’t worry, I’m really not giving much away because this is revealed about one minute into the film—even before the opening credits roll.) It’s a little hard to accept that Francis (56 at the film’s release) is young enough to even have a baby, though! Edward Andrews as Francis’ husband was was way too over the top in this, especially near the end.
Love her outfit!
One thing I really did not get about this movie was why Gerald (Garner) went to such lengths to make his wife jealous. There was this big plot buildup and then it went absolutely nowhere. I’m still puzzled about that.
More photos…
…and CUT!
