The Glass Bottom Boat (1966)

After a series of misunderstandings, the head of an aerospace research laboratory begins to suspect his new girlfriend is a Russian spy.

Director:

Frank Tashlin

Writer:

Everett Freeman

Stars:

Doris Day, Rod Taylor, Arthur Godfrey

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Doris Day	...	Jennifer Nelson
Rod Taylor	...	Bruce Templeton
Arthur Godfrey	...	Axel Nordstrom
John McGiver	...	Ralph Goodwin
Paul Lynde	...	Homer Cripps
Edward Andrews	...	Gen. Wallace Bleecker
Eric Fleming	...	Edgar Hill
Dom DeLuise	...	Julius Pritter (as Dom De Luise)
Dick Martin	...	Zack Molloy
Elisabeth Fraser	...	Nina Bailey
George Tobias	...	Mr. Fenimore
Alice Pearce	...	Mrs. Fenimore
Ellen Corby	...	Anna Miller
Dee J. Thompson	...	Donna

Storyline

Jennifer Nelson and Bruce Templeton meet when Bruce reels in her mermaid suit leaving Jennifer bottomless in the waters off Catalina Island. She later discovers that Bruce is the big boss at her work (a research lab). Bruce hires Jennifer to be his biographer - only to try and win her affections. However, there's a problem. Bruce's friend General Wallace Bleeker believes that Jennifer is a Russian spy, and he has her placed under surveillance. Then, when Jennifer catches on...Watch Out!

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Plot Keywords:

espionage | spy comedy | spy | misunderstanding | suspicion | 

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Taglines:

With the craziest cast of the year!

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 June 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Spy in Lace Panties

Filming Locations:

3246 Inglewood Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$9,200,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Arwin Productions, Reame Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Doris Day's second movie with Rod Taylor, following Do Not Disturb (1965) the previous year.

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Goofs

When the Venus Project is underway, and Bruce and Jennifer are working late in a remote location, they watch a test launch from behind a protective shield. A close-up of the launch ignition is shown, then moments later when we see Jennifer behind the shield, the same launch ignition is shown as a reflection, but not reversed as the mirror image it should be.

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Quotes

Jennifer Nelson: Aaah! Aaah! Who are you? Who is he?
Bruce Templeton: Zack Malloy, my partner. He drops in every now and then to molest women.

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Connections

Spoofs Mata Hari (1931)

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Soundtracks

Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)
(uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
Performed by Doris Day and Arthur Godfrey

User Reviews

Will spying spoil Mermaid Hunter?

This film has its moments of great screwball comedy, and Tashlin seems to keep alive the finesse and sophistication of a Hawks, McCarey or LaCava. The story built around the attraction between two opposite individuals never reach the sublime heights of `Bringing up Baby' –needles to say, Taylor and Day aren't Grant and Hepburn-, and it seems that this film greatest problem is not to dare going too far in its craze, as other Tashlin's films like `Rock Hunter' or `Artists and Models' did. Probably the cause is the plot dealing with the cold war, a subject pretty much on the focus at the time. Now and them you feel that the director is doing a sort of journalism through a territory that doesn't suit him as good as Hollywood and its superficiality, for example. But Tashlin always manages to insert his comments about the decadence of American life, a circumstance that not even the fanciest of technology can hide. In his anarchic fashion, Tashlin's films counterpart Douglas Sirk's melodramas. Both are about the same, but the path chosen to express its vision are opposite.

This film has a wonderful use of color, an admirable pacing and a freshness rarely seen in the studio comedies of the time (the singing scene in the boat looks totally improvised). But if Tashlin's background as a cartoonist often contributes to his creative ability to take situations beyond the edge, and to destroy a stiff established order, very seldom this very quality can work against him. And this is what happens with all the bad guys in this film. They are a mere caricature, and one can never feel them as a serious threat. The theme demanded something more serious, and these clumsy amateurs certainly fail.

Anyway, watch the film and sing the title's tune; it'll remain with you for ages.