Move Over, Darling (1963)

Director:

Michael Gordon

Writers:

Bella Spewack (1940 story "My Favorite Wife") and
Sam Spewack (1940 story "My Favorite Wife") ...

Release Date:

25 December 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

Five years to the day after his wife Ellen disappeared in the sea after a plane crash, lawyer husband Nicholas has her declared legally dead...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Island | Lawyer | Honeymoon | Hotel

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Doris Day	...	Ellen Wagstaff Arden
James Garner	...	Nicholas Arden
Polly Bergen	...	Bianca Steele
Thelma Ritter	...	Grace Arden
Fred Clark	...	Mr. Codd (hotel manager)
Don Knotts	...	Shoe clerk
Elliott Reid	...	Dr. Herman Schlick
Edgar Buchanan	...	Judge Bryson
John Astin	...	Clyde Prokey
Pat Harrington Jr.	...	District Attorney
Eddie Quillan	...	Bellboy
Max Showalter	...	Hotel desk clerk
Alvy Moore	...	Room Service Waiter
Pami Lee	...	Jenny Arden
Leslie Farrell	...	Didi Arden

Also Known As:

Something's Gotta Give (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

103 min | 99 min (FMC Library Print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills Hotel & Bungalows - 9641 Sunset Blvd., Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Arcola Pictures

Trivia:

Doris Day proved what a trouper she truly was when James Garner accidentally cracked two of her ribs (during the massage scene, when he pulls her off of Polly Bergen). Garner wasn't even aware that Day was injured until the next day, when he felt the bandage while putting his arms around her.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Ellen fumes and leaves her Monterey hotel room, she opens the door and then returns to pick up a forgotten item (jacket, purse), leaving the door ajar. However, when the camera angle changes and she's walking towards the hotel room door to leave, the door is now closed.

Quotes:

Ellen Wagstaff Arden: Oh, Grace. There was a man on that island with me.
Grace Arden: How marvelous. No wonder you look so well. But you silly girl. Why did you tell Nick?

Movie Connections:

References My Favorite Wife (1940)

Soundtrack:

Beautiful Dreamer (1862)

Another Thelma Ritter gem

This is the somewhat "infamous" film that has the distinction of being Marilyn Monroe's final film (titled "Something's Got to Give"), however she doesn't appear in any scene of it whatsoever. That's because by the time this film ended up being made, she was sadly already dead. Nevertheless Doris Day, James Garner, Polly Bergen and Don Knotts step in to replace Marilyn, Dean Martin, Cyd Charisse and Wally Cox and the results are simply hysterical.

This is a classic early 1960's "Kennedy-era" screwball comedy with jokes, gags, comic pratfalls and the like. Who out there will ever be able to forget Doris Day as the scheming "Swedish Nurse" and Thelma Ritter as the up to no good meddling mother-in-law? Move Over, Darling is a film that I like to watch at least twice a year whenever I need a good laugh.

My only wish is that Rock Hudson would have teamed up with Doris yet again to reprise their earlier success of "Pillow Talk". James Garner to me always seemed a bit wooden in the role of Nicholas Arden. Both Polly Bergen and Thelma Ritter singlehandedly steal the show.

One final note: in the original "Something's Got To Give" film that Marilyn did, there was a nude swimming pool scene. I would have liked to have seen Doris try to pull that one off, but alas, was it too "impure" for her to even think of doing in the first place?

My rating: 3 stars

(For an excellent analysis of Marilyn Monroe's final film with 20th Century Fox check out the book "Marilyn the Last Take". You won't be disappointed, trust me.)