A Doris Day Festival on TCM

[CineMaven]

[knitwit45]

OK, ladies, both of you HIT THE SHOWERS! I'll calm Mr B. down (wonder if he's heard the bring some rye bread line???)

[moira finnie]

Hey, guys, I hate to interrupt your amusing reverie about Stephen Boyd, but I have a question and thought others might find a few interesting Doris items on tonight's TCM agenda.


Here's the schedule for tonight, Wed. April 4th. (All times shown are ET):

8:00 PM
Midnight Lace (1960)
A young woman can't get anyone to believe she's being stalked.
Dir: David Miller Cast: Doris Day , Rex Harrison , John Gavin .
C-108 mins, TV-PG, Letterbox Format

10:00 PM
Storm Warning (1950)
A model on vacation discovers that her sister's husband is a murderous Ku Klux Klansman.
Dir: Stuart Heisler Cast: Ginger Rogers , Ronald Reagan , Doris Day .
BW-91 mins, TV-14,

11:45 PM
The Winning Team (1952)
Baseball great Grover Cleveland Alexander fights his way back from a blinding injury.
Dir: Lewis Seiler Cast: Doris Day , Ronald Reagan , Frank Lovejoy .
BW-98 mins, TV-G, CC,

1:30 AM
Julie (1956)
A stewardess is stalked by her psychotic estranged husband.
Dir: Andrew L. Stone Cast: Doris Day , Louis Jourdan , Barry Sullivan .
BW-98 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

3:30 AM
The West Point Story (1950)
A Broadway producer tries to put on a show at the legendary military academy.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth Cast: James Cagney , Virginia Mayo , Doris Day .
BW-107 mins, TV-PG, CC,

Question:
Does anyone else have a hard time watching movies where Doris Day spends most of the film crying and in hysterics? You couldn't pay me to watch Midnight Lace or Julie again because of the awful spectacle of the poor woman coming apart at the seams in both movies--and I like many of the other people in both movies. It just seems voyeuristic and cruel to watch an actress go through this. Either Doris had a lot more technique than I ever knew, or she really was pushed around by that hubby of hers who picked out these roles for her.

Items that interest me on Tonight's TCM Schedule:

Storm Warning is fascinating because it is about the Ku Klux Klan, but Warner Brothers--a studio that once had cujones in the '30s & '40s--was so worried about the chilly political climate of the period that they forgot to mention racism or religious prejudice as the animating forces of this organization. And of course, they wanted to show this movie in Southern theaters.


The screenwriters [one of whom, Richard Brooks, who became a noted director, rarely spoke of this film in later life, perhaps because of the script's timidity] definitely saw A Streetcar Named Desire and thought their in-house bad boy, Steve Cochran could be a hayseed version of Stanley Kowalski, while Ginger Rogers got to be a very durable version of Blanche and Doris could be an ideal thoughtless Stella! I'm amazed that Tennessee Williams didn't sue, though maybe his recent check from WB for the actual film of "Streetcar..." covered all the bases with him.

Other than the fact that the movie pussyfoots around reality, its partial view of a certain type of mentality is quite well presented, dramatizing a "working man's association" that exploited white blue collar laborers by stealing their dues and pinning the blame for trouble on "outside agitators." The film did a good job tapping into real class tensions and rural frustrations with characters searching for blame for conditions that don't have easy explanations. The mob scenes (with even a few African-American faces sprinkled among the crowd) are tense and harrowing at times, but please be warned, the film is still remarkably violent at times.

Cochran, Ginger and Doris are all very good in the film, though Ronald Reagan, in one of his last parts at Warner''s, seems kind of squishy as a special investigator- prosecutor. I actually like Reagan as an actor most of the time, but he doesn't seem to be interested here. There is a good bit by character actor Ned Glass as the somewhat conscience-stricken owner of a bowling alley. Ned is the only person in the movie who clearly might know a thing or three about racism and prejudice first hand, (shhh, the filmmakers are too wimped out to say so out loud, but Ned, who is given the vaguely ethnic name of "George Athens," is J-e-w-i-s-h). Shortly after this movie and his funny appearance as the wardrobe man pushing the threadbare cat suits in The Bad and the Beautiful, Ned's career took an almost decade long nose-dive thanks in part to harassment from McCarthyites. I wrote a kind of conflicted blog on this movie here if you are interested. I would love to know others' opinions of this movie.

The Winning Team (1952):
I sort of liked this the first time I saw it, though I realize it is kind of a carbon copy of The Stratton Story with bad luck and human frailty interfering with a golden career in baseball and threatening a happy marriage. Reagan seems to have thrived in these roles that allowed him to get sick and be vulnerable (The Gipper in Knute Rockne All American, legless Drake in King's Row, the epileptic scientist in Night Unto Night and this movie). I was just wondering if others liked this movie or saw it as sort of manipulative?

[knitwit45]

Question:
Does anyone else have a hard time watching movies where Doris Day spends most of the film crying and in hysterics? You couldn't pay me to watch Midnight Lace or Julie again because of the awful spectacle of the poor woman coming apart at the seams in both movies--and I like many of the other people in both movies. It just seems voyeuristic and cruel to watch an actress go through this. Either Doris had a lot more technique than I ever knew, or she really was pushed around by that hubby of hers who picked out these roles for her.

YES! I can't watch The Man Who Knew Too Much for that very reason. Doris hysterical makes my teeth itch!

[moira finnie]

YES! I can't watch The Man Who Knew Too Much for that very reason. Doris hysterical makes my teeth itch!

Oh, jeez, I'd wiped that one clean off my memory pan, Nancy. One of the few times I HATED Jimmy Stewart* was when he pumped Doris full of pills before telling her that their son had been kidnapped in The Man Who Knew Too Much--but then Doris' reaction was even more excruciating to watch because she was woozy as well as outraged and frightened...not to mention waiting for that key moment with the cymbals and kettle drums near the climax later.

*James Stewart was really creepy in his condescending treatment of Doris' character throughout the movie. I loathed his smug attitude toward her career, her friends, and her intelligence, even while I felt that Hitch was parodying a kind of childish innocence in American women of the period. Hitchcock seemed to be toying with Anglo-American attitudes toward domesticity and women in general throughout his career in movies on this side of the pond and the other, but it is still hard for me to say how he really felt about "the fair sex."

[knitwit45]

I had a different take on it. I thought he was treating her with kid gloves because of her tendency to go off the deep end at the drop of a hanky. I didn't remember the pill part. I had a close family member who was very dependent on pills, and given the time this movie was made, and my age when I saw it, I guess it just didn't seem like anything out of the norm, given what I saw at home..."you have a problem? there's a pill for that..."

I honestly thought Jimmy Stewart was doing the best he could, and knew how, with the woman he loved...or was tied to???

[mrsl]

.
It's strange TCM is not showing my two favorite DD movies (1.) Young at Heart, and (2.) Calamity Jane. Calamity has been playing on the Western Encore channel for a while so that one is not missed by me, but i do wonder why Young at Heart is not showing this month. To me that is one of Doris' best performances. In it she pretty much covers the route of emotions from comedy to drama. I have to go along with the crying though. At the end, when Barney is in the hospital and she's crying and telling him all will be o.k., I'm surprised he doesn't rise up from the pillow and tell her he promises to get well if she will just stop crying!!!! That kind of put me off of DD movies for a while but Calamity brought me back. I never noticed it because I admit I was intent on the story line with it's mystery and kidnapping, about the chauvinistic attitude of the husband in The Man Who Knew Too Much. You can't blame Jimmie Stewart, he was just playing a part, but it was written so that anyone else who may have played it would have given off the same vibes.

Like any actor, I have my favorites and 'don't cares' and one of DD's that I never liked even from seeing it on the big screen when I was a teen was Teacher's Pet. I always felt she and Gable were very badly matched. I can handle May/September romances, but May/December are just a little too far fetched for me. Gable was no longer the suave and debonair chap of 10 years earlier, and this was stringing it out a bit too much, just like Mogambo with Grace Kelly - - uh, uh. He and Cooper should have accepted their age with grace instead of trying those last couple of times to be the hot lovers. Coop with Audrey Hepburn and Suzy Parker. It's true that men age better than women, but even great looking guys get to the point where even diamonds can't keep them warm. The main reason I say this is for those who have seen the promo done by Doris herself, you notice she is never on camera with a recent photo? She said years ago when she left the movies, she was through with being photographed and she has kept her word, and I give her kudos for that. She has every right to do as she wants to now - she's earned it.
.

[CineMaven]

Question: Does anyone else have a hard time watching movies where Doris Day spends most of the film crying and in hysterics? You couldn't pay me to watch Midnight Lace or Julie again because of the awful spectacle of the poor woman coming apart at the seams in both movies--and I like many of the other people in both movies. It just seems voyeuristic and cruel to watch an actress go through this. Either Doris had a lot more technique than I ever knew, or she really was pushed around by that hubby of hers who picked out these roles for her.

I know what you mean Moira. It is a difficult watch to see Doris go through these emotions...but it also makes me think it's a testimony to her acting...exhibits another facet of her personality; she feels pain, fear...everything is not always so bright and sunny. But watching it does seem like watching a private moment revealed. Hmmm, actors sometimes go there. I've read that she really did breakdown during that staircase scene in "MIDNIGHT LACE." But I have to say, the hysterics don't stop me from watching either of the movies you cited.

James Stewart was really creepy in his condescending treatment of Doris' character throughout the movie. I loathed his smug attitude toward her career, her friends, and her intelligence, even while I felt that Hitch was parodying a kind of childish innocence in American women of the period. Hitchcock seemed to be toying with Anglo-American attitudes toward domesticity and women in general throughout his career in movies on this side of the pond and the other, but it is still hard for me to say how he really felt about "the fair sex."

I have to admit, I do kind of wait for the scene when she's told about her son's kidnapping. Again, on the acting tip, to watch her play hysterical and anger and woozy simultaneously is amazing (for me) to watch. Now, I can't say I'm smart enough to get a bead on the director's thoughts. But it just seems that women in general in movies are really portrayed as lesser human beings. And what you say here about the man/woman relationship in "The Man Who Knew Too Much", I REALLY find apropos in "THE THRILL OF IT ALL." I have a tremendously hard time with this film for the sexist attitude against women working. (Puny male...ego). I've seen the movie a bunch of times as a kid...but when I got a little older and realized what the movie was saying about women working, I was really appalled (my consciousness having been raised). If a woman wants to stay home and her husband fully supports her, fine...cool. If she wants to work and earn a living as well as her husband, great...fantastic. But to be considered less than a real Wife (less than a Real Woman) b'cuz she's earned money (more money) is sexist drivel...and downright looney tunes. Heck, my advice to Doris in "The Thrill Of It All" is to sock her money away in a separate secret bank account. Look, who wouldn't want to be taken care of by tall, dark & handsome 1960's cleft-chinned James Garner. [Where do I sign up?] But don't give me grief about my money.

I'll be recording "The Thrill..." and maybe try to watch it to see if my views have changed.

All in all, Doris Day is truly a treasured talent in Hollywood history. And she still makes my heart smile.

OK, ladies, both of you HIT THE SHOWERS! I'll calm Mr B. down (wonder if he's heard the bring some rye bread line???)

Oh you're going to take him the rye bread? Uh-hunh! Awwww gee Coach!! You never let us have any fun!!


THERE, THERE NOW. A DELIGHT FOR THE FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE IN US ALL . . .

[JackFavell]

I believe both Cooper and Gable shied away from those later romantic movies, but the studios had final say. Personally, I'd adore being wined and dined by either one of them at that age. Or any age.

[mrsl]

.
Hey Jack my friend:

Come over some day and lash me 50 or 60 times with a wet noodle. As happens now and then, I opened my mouth before checking my facts and by doing that little thing, I found out that both gentlemen were 57 at the times both 10 North Fredrick and Teacher's Pet were filmed. Unfortunately, to me, both men look far older and well into their 60's if not more, but we all know looks can be deceiving. However, I recall seeing Teacher's Pet at the theater in my teens and at the time Gable looked too old for the part, and having seen it lately on some obscure channel, at my age today, he still looks too old. The same reasoning goes for Coop in 10 North Fredrick, plus I recall reading or hearing that they had to film Coop in shadows for Love in the Afternoon because even the director felt he was too old. What's funny to me is that even though I'm now older than both gentlemen were when making those movies, if I were back in my 50's again, I would have no trouble parking their moccasins next to mine either.
.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Is it just me?

A British guy named Tony, who is married to a wealthy American, tries to kill his wife.

Both gorgeous blondes, one wears red lace (Dial M For Murder)...

... the other black lace. (Midlight Lace)
.
Hmmmnnn....

I just know that I enjoy both of those films. And I can't wait for more Doris tonight and Friday!

[moira finnie]

Hey, has anyone mentioned the clothes Doris wore in some of these movies? I got sucked into a few scenes in Midnight Lace, and almost fell on the floor laughing at the hats in that movie worn by DD and Myrna (Doris' flippy 'do reminded me of a blonde version of my Betsy McCall doll too.) Otherwise they looked great in those early '60s fashions.

I get a big kick out of the cockamamie outfits in the earliest Doris movies, does anyone else?

Milo Anderson's creations for Romance on the High Seas had the most surreal outfits. They made me as woozy as Oscar Levant after an all-nighter.






I also loved the bad girl clothes that Janis Paige wore (Hey! I wonder if Janis & Doris were pals since Paige showed up again in Please Don't Eat the Daisies?):

[Sue Sue Applegate]

With this hat, I just feel she should be looking for arid land so adobe bricks will help support the bell tower.
It is just not a chapeau made for cruising....

[moira finnie]

With this hat, I just feel she should be looking for arid land so adobe bricks will help support the bell tower.
It is just not a chapeau made for cruising....

I thought maybe Milo Anderson borrowed the idea for this hat from the one made by Orry Kelly for Bette Davis a few years earlier--sans fringe!


File this under: Strange Tribal Vestments of Our Ancestors--
What year do you think that women stopped wearing dead animal skins that looked like dead animal skins? I know my mother had quite the set of red foxes (with little mouths that could bite their own tails to keep them from falling off her shoulders).

[Sue Sue Applegate]

I have a set, too. When we both get to the festival, we will have to dress as "twins"! Mine are brown, though...