Do Not Disturb

DO NOT DISTURB has been hastily conceived as a star vehicle for the ever-frothy Doris Day, playing a wife whose love has gone out of her marriage to hard-working husband Rod Taylor. She decides to try to win his heart back by pretending to embark on a passionate affair, but things don't exactly go according to plan...

The whole film is designed to show off Day at her quick-thinking best, to show off her comedic skills as she goes from one situation to the next. I have to say that, while I like Day (in THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, for example), her performance soon started to grate on me here. The absolute pits is the scene where she gets drunk; I hate these old comedies where women get drunk and act stupid, because they're just over the top and embarrassing. There were similar moments in a lot of Audrey Hepburn movies.

Still, DO NOT DISTURB isn't too bad, and as a light-hearted comedy you can enjoy it if you don't expect too much from the premise. Taylor is a delight as the foil to Day's wit, and a supporting cast do their best with the material they're given.

Doris Day's later films were routinely criticized by critics. However, as a fan, I found many of them to be sublime. Just watching Doris was a wonder for me as a teenager. I rather enjoyed Doris in this film, trying to turn an old house into a palace for her husband, Rod Taylor. I enjoyed Hermione Baddeley as her caring landlady. For me, the whole point of this film was Doris' entrance into the no-wives party for wool distributors. When she arrives, takes off her white coat to reveal a figure-clinging, gold sequined gown, I was absolutely captivated! Of course, I'm a big Doris Day fan, and the sight of her walking down steps into the party was a special highlight for all my years of adoring Doris! It's not a bad film, I just think people expect too much of a romantic romp. Doris is superb at playing someone who has had too much to drink. Actually, she is superb at just about everything she does. That's my take on it.

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!

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 ****

Doris Day is a ray of sunshine in most of her films, and Do Not Disturb is no exception. She is perfectly cast as the neglected wife, isolated and bored in Kent, England. Day's character (Janet Harper)has a husband who is not playing his part in the marriage, and takes her for granted. What she needs is an interest which takes her outside of the marriage and the idea of the good, dutiful wife.

Day's comic timing is so masterful that it reinvigorates the otherwise tired clichéd, and stereotyped gags. Ironically Day deconstructs our stereotypical perspective of Hollywood glamour by not taking herself too seriously and as such taking a swipe at the movie star image. Very clever and well accomplished albeit in an inadvertent way.

If you are a fan of Day, then this film is a must see, but it's also great if you just want a carefree chuckle.