Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Charles Walters

Writers:

Jean Kerr (book)
Isobel Lennart (writer)

Release Date:

2 June 1960 (West Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Romance

Tagline:

The Uproarious Movie From The Big Best-Seller!

Plot:

Drama critic Larry McKay, his wife Kay, and their four sons move from their crowded Manhattan apartment to an old house in the country...

Plot Keywords:

Critic | New York | Theater | Housewife | House

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Doris Day	...	Kate Robinson Mackay
David Niven	...	Lawrence Larry Mackay
Janis Paige	...	Deborah Vaughn
Spring Byington	...	Suzie Robinson
Richard Haydn	...	Alfred North
Patsy Kelly	...	Maggie
Jack Weston	...	Joe Positano
John Harding	...	Reverend Norman McQuarry
Margaret Lindsay	...	Mona James
Carmen Phillips	...	Mary Smith
Mary Patton	...	Mrs. Hunter
Charles Herbert	...	David Mackay
Stanley Livingston	...	Gabriel MacKay
Flip Mark	...	George MacKay
Baby Gellert	...	Adam McKay

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | Australia:G | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Washington Square Park, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Euterpe

Trivia:

Beginning her feature-film career portraying Katharine Hepburn's mother in Little Women (1933), Spring Byington closed her movie years playing Doris Day's mother in this film.

Goofs:

Continuity: While Kate is talking to Alfred North in the drawing room where the coats are kept during the party, she stands next to him with her right hand on her hip in some scenes and in front of her in other scenes.

Quotes:

Alfred North: For a critic that first step is the first printed joke. It gets a laugh and a whole new world opens up. He makes another joke, and another. And then one day along comes a joke that shouldn't be made because the show he's reviewing is a good show. But, as it so happens, it's a good joke. And you know what? The joke wins.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Killing Floor (2007)

Soundtrack:

PLEASE DON'T EAT THE DAISIES

Amusing Story With Lots of Star-Powered Charm

Based on the popular book by Jean Kerr, PLEASE DON'T EAT THE DAISY is probably the best of Doris Day's 1960s comedies--and it finds her surprisingly paired with David Niven. While the two may seem an unlikely couple, they have extremely good on-screen chemistry, and the film neatly balances its story between the two stars so that neither overshadows the other.

Day plays Kate MacKay, mother of four hellions and the long suffering wife of esoteric drama critic Larry MacKay (Niven.) With her husband under siege by every actor, director, and producer in town, Kate decides to move the family to a home in the country--and in the process leaves her husband open to the temptations of Broadway star Deborah Vaughn (Janis Paige.) Before too long, Larry's swelling ego threatens their happy home.

The cast is expert, with both Day and Niven extremely enjoyable and Janis Paige memorable as the Broadway siren who attempts to lead Niven astray; the supporting roles are also expertly handled by a cast that includes Spring Byington. The script is witty with a dash of sophisticated sparkle, and unlike most of Day's later comedies manages to avoid the feel of frantic farce. A truly enjoyable outing; pure fun all the way.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer