Move Over, Darling

Move Over Darling with James Garner and Doris Day which is a remake of the RKO classic My Favorite Wife is probably better known for being the end result of the disaster known as Something's Gotta Give. That of course is Marilyn Monroe's legendary last film that she never finished.

Looking over the cast of the unfinished Something's Gotta Give I have to say though I don't think it would have been Monroe's greatest film, the rest of the cast was pretty good. When 20th Century Fox fired Marilyn, Dean Martin also quit and the whole film was scrapped. At that point it was just decided to redo the whole thing with an entire new cast and apparently no one survived the change.

I also imagine that a serious rewrite would have to be done in order that a role originally cast for Marilyn Monroe could fit Doris Day. Seeing Doris on the screen I can't imagine that Chuck Connors or in Marilyn's case, Tom Tryon, would have been unsuccessfully trying to catch her on a desert island for five years.

The story as originally written by Sam and Bella Spewack has James Garner going to court to get his first wife, missing for five years after a forced ocean landing, declared legally dead. He wants to marry Polly Bergen. But wouldn't you know it, a Navy submarine rescues Doris Day at just that time and when she hears about Garner's new bride, it's Doris off to spoil that honeymoon.

Polly Bergen was just great as the picture of sexual frustration on that honeymoon. Although I can certainly see Cyd Charisse in that same spot with Dean Martin.

Edgar Buchanan is great as the crusty judge who declares Doris legally dead the first time and then has all the parties and then some in court to try and untangle things. That role was supposed to go to John McGiver and certainly those two would have been different types.

It goes that way up and down the cast list, Don Knotts substituting for Wally Cox as the timid shoe salesman Doris has impersonate Chuck Connors so Garner won't be jealous. And I can't see much difference with Phil Silvers as opposed to John Astin as the smarmy insurance man.

One thing I did notice is that there was no equivalent parts in Something's Gotta Give for Fred Clark the hotel manager and Thelma Ritter as Garner's mother. My guess is that whoever was supposed to play those roles may never have got on camera because there was no way to shoot around them.

I suppose the best thing to do is not speculate, but enjoy the funny comedy that did come out of all the grief 20th Century Fox had with this film.

Certainly only Doris Day could convince you that in five years she never succumbed to Chuck Connors.

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.)

While on his honeymoon with a lusty, neurotic bride, widower James Garner discovers the hard way that first wife Doris Day is very much alive. Enjoyable bedroom-farce, a remake of Cary Grant and Irene Dunne's "My Favorite Wife", has a colorful supporting cast, cute kids, a fine score by Lionel Newman and, of course, Day herself, shining brightly while going from happy to sad to frantic to sentimental. Despite some forced bits (shouting from Garner and the tired jokes with the irritated judge), it's a happily brawling slapstick comedy. I loved the scene where Doris, dressed like a sailor, sees her two daughters for the first time in years ("Are you a lady or a man?" they ask her) or when she sings them to sleep and one of the girls recognizes the song, but overcome by memories says she doesn't like it. Doris gives Polly Bergen the massage of her life, trades dry quips with Thelma Ritter, flirts with Don Knotts, and gives Chuck Conners a series of karate moves that leaves him floored. It's a comedic tour-de-force for the actress. *** from ****

No, it's not the most hilarious movie you've ever seen. But there is something magical about Move Over, Darling. No one could ever get mad like Doris Day and boy does she shine in this movie as usual. It's a fun film that anyone can enjoy if they don't think too hard and just sit back and relax. The added bonus is seeing James Garner flashing that million dollar smile and of course, Thelma Ritter who was always a riot in any movie she was in. Doris Day lovers need to add this to their collection.

Although this glossy remake of the 1940 comedy "My Favorite Wife" did not turn into the funniest Doris Day vehicle, it does provide several highly amusing moments (Doris's posing as the Swedish nurse is priceless). There are a couple of scenes that could have done with some trimming (Day and Garner's scene in the hotel room and the opening courtroom sequence come to mind) but the film benefits from an excellent supporting cast, Thelma Ritter being the stand-out.