Pillow Talk (1959)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Michael Gordon

Writers:

Stanley Shapiro (screenplay) and
Maurice Richlin (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

7 October 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Footloose bachelor...beautiful career girl...and the world's most fascinating pastime!

Plot:

A man and woman share a telephone line and despise each other, but then he has fun by romancing her with his voice disguised.

Plot Keywords:

Texan | Telephone | Interior Decorator | Love | Millionaire

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 5 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Rock Hudson	...	Brad Allen - 'Rex Stetson'
Doris Day	...	Jan Morrow
Tony Randall	...	Jonathan Forbes
Thelma Ritter	...	Alma
Nick Adams	...	Tony Walters
Julia Meade	...	Marie
Allen Jenkins	...	Harry
Marcel Dalio	...	Pierot
Lee Patrick	...	Mrs. Walters
Mary McCarty	...	Nurse Resnick
Alex Gerry	...	Dr. Maxwell
Hayden Rorke	...	Mr. Conrad
Valerie Allen	...	Eileen
Jacqueline Beer	...	Yvette
Arlen Stuart	...	Tilda

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (original rating) | Germany:6 (re-rating) (2006) | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:Unrated | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Arwin Productions

Trivia:

In the diner scene near the end, the restaurant patrons were supposed to deck Tony Randall, who would fake a reaction to the blow and slide down "unconscious" in the booth seat. However, during filming the actor overestimated his hook and accidentally knocked out Randall for real. The shot wound up being so good that the accidental knockout is the one shown in the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Jan and Rex are in front of the fire, Rex forgets to use his accent he gets up to get the firewood; he reverts to the normal speaking voice of Brad.

Quotes:

Jan: If you'll excuse me, I better go to the powder moon. I mean room. Fix my lipstick.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mad Men: Long Weekend (#1.10)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

I Need No Atmosphere

great stuff from Doris

This hugely enjoyable romantic comedy from the late 1950s teamed Doris Day with Rock Hudson and struck gold. They'd team for three films in all, but this is the best of them.

Doris Day plays an interior decorator who finds she's sharing a telephone party line with a womanising songwriter (Hudson) - she finds him unbearable at the end of the phone, but there are definite sparks for the better when they meet for real. He goes about romancing her in the guise of a nice Southern boy and almost succeeds ...

In support are the funny Thelma Ritter and Tony Randall, perfect foils for the glamorous leads. The film zips along with a large amount of charm, certainly helped by the colour and the snappy title song. There are numerous classic scenes to add to the fun but I won't spoil yours until you've seen it. If you've never seen this, lucky you, you've got a treat to look forward to.