Pillow Talk (1959)

A man and a woman who share a party line cannot stand each other, but he has fun romancing her with his voice disguised.

Director:

Michael Gordon

Writers:

Stanley Shapiro (screenplay), Maurice Richlin (screenplay)

Stars:

Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall

Won 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rock Hudson	...	Brad Allen
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. A.C. Maxwell
Hayden Rorke	...	Mr. Conrad
Valerie Allen	...	Eileen
Jacqueline Beer	...	Yvette
Arlen Stuart	...	Tilda

Storyline

In New York, the interior decorator Jan Morrow and the wolf composer Brad Allen share a party line, but Brad keeps it busy most of the time flirting with his girlfriends. They do not know each other but Jan hates Brads since she needs the telephone for her business and can not use it. Coincidently Jan's wealthy client Jonathan Forbes that woos her is the best friend of Brad and he comments with him that he feels an unrequited love for Jan, who is a gorgeous woman. When Brad meets Jan by chance in a restaurant, he poses as a naive tourist from Texas named Rex Stetson and seduces her. But Jonathan hires a private eye to find who Rex Stetson is.

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Plot Keywords:

telephone party line | telephone | split screen | womanizer | bare chested male | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

At one point in the movie, Doris Day says that Rock Hudson's character is 6 foot 6 inches tall. He was really 6 foot 4 inches tall, but adding to his height made short actors like Tony Randall and Nick Adams seem taller. They were both 5 foot 8 inches or shorter.

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Goofs

When "Rex" takes Jan for a drive, horse-drawn carriage is shown in long shot, but they sit in a Buggie.

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Quotes

Jonathan Forbes: Owww!
Brad Allen: What?
Jonathan Forbes: That chair. It just bit me.

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Crazy Credits

As Doris Day sings 'Pillow Talk' over the closing credits, the film finishes with 'the end' on two horizontal pillows' followed by 'not quite' 'not quite' 'not quite' 'not quite' stacked vertically on four pillows.

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Connections

Featured in Sex, Censorship and the Silver Screen: Look Ma, No Clothes (1996)

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Soundtracks

Pillow Talk
Words and Music by Buddy Pepper and Inez James
Performed by Doris Day (uncredited)

User Reviews

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.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

7 October 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pillow Talk

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$18,750,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arwin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastman Color)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1