Move Over, Darling (1963)

After having been lost at sea for several years, a missing wife thought long dead returns just after her husband has remarried.

Director:

Michael Gordon

Writers:

Hal Kanter (screenplay), Jack Sher (screenplay)

Stars:

Doris Day, James Garner, Polly Bergen

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Doris Day	...	Ellen Wagstaff Arden
James Garner	...	Nicholas Arden
Polly Bergen	...	Bianca Steele Arden
Thelma Ritter	...	Grace Arden
Fred Clark	...	Mr. Codd
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

Storyline

Three years into their loving marriage with two infant daughters at home in Los Angeles, Nicholas Arden and Ellen Wagstaff Arden are on a plane that goes down in the South Pacific. Although most passengers manage to survive the incident, Ellen presumably perishes when she is swept off the lifeboat she is on. Her body is not recovered. Fast forward five years. Nicky, wanting now to move on with his life, has Ellen declared legally dead. Part of that moving on includes getting remarried, this time to a young woman named Bianca Steele, who, for their honeymoon, he plans to take to the same Monterrey resort where he and Ellen spent their honeymoon. On that very same day, Ellen is dropped off in Los Angeles by the Navy, who rescued her from the South Pacific island where she was stranded for the past five years. She asked the Navy not to publicize her rescue or notify Nicky as she wanted to do so herself. Upon Ellen's arrival back home, a shocked Grace Arden, Nicky's mother, informs Ellen ...

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Plot Keywords:

stranded | slapstick comedy | presumed dead | remake | three word title | 

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Taglines:

She's married to him...he's married to her...and...it's...sheer...bedlam...from...morning...'til night!

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Ellen Arden (Doris Day) drives up to her home, the incidental music playing is 'Something's Got To Give,' which was the original version of the film's original title, when it starred Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin and Cyd Charisse, and is played here as a small acknowledgment of this (the song - title and all is actually from the film, Daddy Long Legs (1955) - also a 20th Century Fox production).

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Goofs

When Ellen wants to phone the house, the operator gives her the number. Later, Bianca gives her psychiatrist a different number.

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Quotes

Mr. Codd: I'd like to know what he thinks he's doing.
Hotel Desk Clerk: I'd like to know how he does it.

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Connections

Featured in Discovering Film: Doris Day (2015)

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Soundtracks

Twinkle Lullaby
Music and lyrics by Joe Lubin
Sung by Doris Day to her children

User Reviews

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.)

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

25 December 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

Something's Gotta Give

Filming Locations:

California Highway 1, Mugu Rock, Ventura County, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,350,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Melcher-Arcola Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min 99 min (FMC Library Print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1