Do Not Disturb

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.

Doris Day was among Hollywood's few truly bankable stars during the late 1950s and early 1960s, particularly noted for her comic talents in such frothy farces as PILLOW TALK, PLEASE DON'T EAT THE DAISIES, and THAT TOUCH OF MINK. Unfortunately, as the 1960s progressed her films did not, and although her films remained popular they were seen as increasingly out of touch with the tone of the times. The situation was not helped by Day's husband-manager Martin Melcher, who developed the habit of signing Day to film projects Day herself found uninspired. Such was the case with the 1965 flyweight comedy DO NOT DISTURB.

The play seems to be a grab-bag of ideas from previous Day films, the story of a pretty but slightly klutzy wife (Day) and a neglectful husband (Rod Taylor) who find themselves at romantic cross purposes courtesy of their landlady Vanessa (Hermione Baddeley), a sexy secretary (Maura McGiveney), and a handsome antiques dealer(Sergio Fantoni.) The roles are one-dimensional, the plot turns are predictable, and the dialogue trivial. Both Day and Taylor respond by overplaying, sometimes to the point of shrillness. Even so, they do manage to inject enough life into the film to make it mildly amusing--and the supporting cast is quite charming. When all is said and done, the film is most memorable for the sight of Doris Day in a brilliantly orange evening gown as she struggles on the dance floor to shake away an olive dropped down her back.

The DVD includes several bonus features, including an account of Day's early life and career, a brief biography of Michael Romanoff (who plays a cameo in the film), and a brief biography of composer Mort Garson (who is perhaps best remembered for the song "Our Day Will Come.) It offers a nice transfer and is present in its original widescreen format. Most Doris Day fans will find it amusing, but even so most will admit that DO NOT DISTURB is hardly among the first tier of her films: not bad, but in no way memorable.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

OK, so it's not unreasonable to enter into a Doris Day romantic comedy expecting undemanding froth and a little sexiness. With that, Do Not Disturb delivers on that expectation. Day's line in this type of film caters for like minded people knowing exactly what they want from a Sunday morning time filler. The trouble is, is that where's the cut off point to say no more please? This film is arguably the one where Day fans {and I count myself among them} finally realised the formula had run its course. Yes the enjoyable fluff that was The Glass Bottom Boat would follow a year later, but that too has a familiarity, that whilst not breeding contempt, certainly felt like being stuck on a carousel.

The plot here is naturally simple, but sadly so is Richard L. Breen's screenplay {adapting from William Fairchild's play}. Thankfully Day at least manages to make the thread bare script work to a degree, and although no Rock Hudson, Rod Taylor does make for an appealing foil to Day's sexy effervescent efforts. Hermione Baddeley shines brightest out of the supporting cast and the funky opening credits are accompanied by Day's delightful rendition of the title tune. Enter with caution then, for even the hardiest of Doris Day fans must know this is but a time filler in all but name. 5/10

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 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.