Do Not Disturb

Despite a cute--if not exactly fresh--opening, "Do Not Disturb" immediately starts to disintegrate. Why? I think it's all in the script, which is second-rate. The movie pairs Doris Day with handsome, adept Rod Taylor, but gives them no scenes together as man and wife that make you care about their union (they're usually fighting with each other over the telephone). This is important to note because when Doris starts (innocently) dallying with a Frenchman, there's nothing at stake for her--or for her marriage. Some of Day's double-takes are funny, and the madcap finish is delightfully screwball, but there's a huge chunk of movie in between these scenes that goes absolutely flat. The plot has an American couple moving to the English countryside, and the portrayal of the Britishers is ridiculous and corny. Towards the end, as Doris is walking through a lobby full of men and women, try spotting Raquel Welch in one of her very first show business jobs. ** from ****

I am a big doris fan, but the disappointment for me started with the clutzy and mindlessly simple intro song, followed by a poor opening scene concerning learning how to calculate a taxi fee in British sterling...the movie really never does get off the ground, and just becomes an endless stringing together of one boring scene after another...the scene with the fox was amusing, and Doris's figure in the shimmering gown during the party scene was nice, but pretty much everything else left me cold and wishing I was watching pillow talk instead....worth watching, but only once, that is if you can stay awake.

Now I didn't hate Do Not Disturb, but it was nothing special really. It does have its good points though. I loved the fun title sequence, the catchy title song and the drunk scene in the middle scene. While nothing spectacular, the production values are quite nice and the music is good. And Doris Day, the talented and endearing actress/singer she is, really makes the most of what she has.

What I didn't like about Do Not Disturb so much was that Rod Taylor came across as one of Day's more blander co-stars and does resort to overacting. But I think what did hurt the film more was its thin script, predictable plotting(albeit some moderately funny scenes), elephantine pacing and sit-com-ish direction.

Overall, Do Not Disturb isn't terrible as such, but it could have been better and Day did deserve much more. 5/10 Bethany Cox

You can't ever complain about a Doris Day film, she brings a smile to the screen whenever she appears. This particular film, however, isn't quite in the league of most of her others. I'm not certain why that is, maybe it's because I find Rod Taylor very 2D or maybe it was because the plot became annoying as it got more contrived. This was obviously a film made from a play and you struggle to buy-in to the fact that this couple don't have a really serious problem if they are so swiftly prepared to believe in each other's infidelities.

The drunken Doris in Paris is almost upsetting because you just want to protect her and the modern view of the rest of the goings-on that the business convention seems to require don't sit comfortably. Doris is tremendous throughout, of course, and it's good to see the feisty side as well as the cute. I wasn't going to bother re-watching it if it came onto the telly again, but now I know you can spot Raquel Welch in the hotel lobby I might. A Doris and Raquel film.....there's a thing!

I caught this on American Movie Classics, thinking it would be a match for Doris' earlier comic work in, e.g., "Lover Come Back" and "Pillow Talk". The sparkling, fizzy, dialogue and non-stop comedic capering of those earlier films is here replaced by elephantine pacing and a leaden, unfunny script. Even Doris' valiant attempt to inject some carbonation into this flat brew falls, well, flat. The film really makes you appreciate the work of truly master comic writers such as Stanley Shapiro and Paul Henning, who made such a difference in her earlier work with Rock Hudson. And, by the way, Rod Taylor is no Rock Hudson. And - just to keep kicking while the victim is down - the phony portrayals here of English customs and character types, in conformity with the stalest and most parochial American stereotypes, is both unfunny and demeaning. A sad waste of Doris Day's talents.