Pillow Talk

This hugely enjoyable romantic comedy from the late 1950s teamed Doris Day with Rock Hudson and struck gold. They'd team for three films in all, but this is the best of them.

Doris Day plays an interior decorator who finds she's sharing a telephone party line with a womanising songwriter (Hudson) - she finds him unbearable at the end of the phone, but there are definite sparks for the better when they meet for real. He goes about romancing her in the guise of a nice Southern boy and almost succeeds ...

In support are the funny Thelma Ritter and Tony Randall, perfect foils for the glamorous leads. The film zips along with a large amount of charm, certainly helped by the colour and the snappy title song. There are numerous classic scenes to add to the fun but I won't spoil yours until you've seen it. If you've never seen this, lucky you, you've got a treat to look forward to.

I have just had my first viewing of this film and grinned all thru it, not only that but I also laughed out loud on some occasions as well. So do I love this film because of the following: I have always had the most loin yearning crush on Doris Day since my snot nosed years? I simply find Tony Randall an irresistible comic joy? Rock Hudson actually brings acting substance to the table? Well all of the above helped me to enjoy this delightful sex comedy, however, it should be stressed that it has much more to offer.

I loved that Doris was showing a more sexually knowing side with the character of Jan, I really feel that the chemistry between Hudson & Day is casting gold, and boy is the story a cheeky joyous romp. Tidyily scripted and containing some visual treats {watch as Hudson towers over Randall whilst Randall picks him apart}, Pillow Talk is a film for film lovers to enjoy no matter what is the individual's preferred genre.

Looking at the history of the film I was not surprised to find that it was a massive box office success, for although the film may have been {and still seen this way now} a bit too sweet and sickly for some, it is actually a delightful wink wink nudge nudge comedy that we could do with more of in this day and age. 8/10

So there I was, in my sick-bed when this film comes on. I start to watch, having never seen it before, and to my surprise, find myself laughing...out loud.

I have never really been a fan of either Doris Day or Rock Hudson, but I did enjoy this piece of fluff. And in our modern times when comedies currently released in the cinema can hardly raise a smile, let alone a laugh, I found this a pure delight. So the sexual politics maybe a little outdated, but there were some beautifully timed comedy set-pieces: The moment Doris Day discovers the real identity of Hudson's character has one of the best use of music I have seen in a movie since the Warner Bros cartoons!

A film that I didn't think I would enjoy, but was completely bowled over by.

Favorite Movie Quote: "At least my problems can be solved in one bedroom. You couldn't solve yours in a thousand!"

With Westerns, War-Dramas, and Sci-Fi dominating the movie-fare of the 1950s, producer Ross Hunter was aptly warned that Screwball Comedy like Pillow Talk would never, ever be a success at the box-office.

Even though Screwball Comedy had long been pronounced "dead" at the end of the 1940s, Pillow Talk turned out to be one of the most successful films of the 1950s. It proved just how starved movie-audiences were for pure escapist fluff, such as it was. Pillow Talk went on to be nominated for 5 Academy Awards. It won an Oscar for "Best Screen-writing".

Pillow Talk starred Doris Day and Rock Hudson. Pairing these 2 stars together proved to be such a success that they eventually went on to make 2 other Romantic Comedies together, but neither of which turned out to be as magical as Pillow Talk.

Featuring some pretty snappy dialogue, energetic performances, lush photography, and high production values, Pillow Talk is certainly an all-round fun and very enjoyable 1950s Comedy.

One of the first (and certainly the most popular) of the early-'60s bedroom comedies--movies about sex that never use the word, relying instead on double entendres, implications and innuendo. A New York City party-line connects a single working girl--a somewhat rigid and humorless interior decorator with a shapely figure--and a bachelor songwriter and ladies' man who has one tune for every new gal. They're enemies on the phone-line only; once he gets a good look at her (or rather, her shimmying behind on the dancefloor of a nightclub), he decides to woo her using the alias of a shy Texas cowboy. In their first of three pictures together, Rock Hudson and Doris Day share fresh, happy chemistry; their love scenes are convincing--Hudson is a great kisser--and soon Day is singing "Possess Me" to herself on the car-ride with Hudson to his pal's country hideaway. Tony Randall (who also appeared with Hudson and Day in both 1961's "Lover Come Back" and 1964's "Send Me No Flowers") and Thelma Ritter are equally terrific, and the picture has a lovely, cocktail lounge-styled plastic-perkiness which is very winning. With the advent of '60s permissiveness on the screen, "Pillow Talk" (with it's winking, nudge-nudge 'naughtiness') soon looked coy and antiquated; however, it holds up nicely today. Five Oscar nominations--including Day as Best Actress (her only such nomination!)--with one win: for Stanley Shapiro and Maurice Richlin's original screenplay from an initial treatment by Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene. *** from ****