After hearing about this movie my whole life, I finally got to see it last night on TCM, hosted by Robert Osborn and Lauren Bacall. What a build-up! And what a let-down! Viewers and Ms. Bacall herself call this her best comedy. They are wrong. How to Marry a Millionaire is far superior in every way! Designing Woman offers a few good laughs. And Dolores Gray is brilliant indeed. But Bacall and Peck both seem stilted, phony and staged. One bright spot is the business in the restaurant, when Dolores Gray dumps ravioli on Peck's lap. This is highlighted later, when Gray offers to pour Peck tea and he jumps out of his chair in horror. The gags revolving around the punch-drunk boxer are childish and dumb. Bacall, as a fashion designer, gets to wear some terrific gowns, with the exception of a particularly heinous purple and white number during the "rehearsal vs. poker game" scene. In all, disappointing, over-rated, and mercilessly over-produced.
Review of Designing Woman
