Move Over, Darling

source: Move Over, Darling

Move Over, Darling (1963) The situation is hilarious--a man finally gives up his wife as dead in a plane crash in the South Pacific and remarries. Then she comes home, just hours after the ceremony. And in time to avoid the classic consummation at the ritzy hotel. Doris Day plays the lost wife returning home and her hubby is the charming James Garner. And Garner's mother--Day's mother in law--is played by the impeccable Thelma Ritter. So what could go wrong here? Nothing much really. It's colorful, plasticky, fun, goofy, and well written. Except that it's a remake of a more famous and in many ways better movie starring the snappy on-screen couple: Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. The original is called "My Favorite Wife," and I totally recommend it. It must have occurred to these newer actors that they had huge huge shoes to fill. And to make things more weird, Doris Day is basically filling in for Marilyn Monroe, who died during the filming of this same kind of plot (though this movie started the idea almost from scratch, only Ritter and some of the sets being carried over). One way to avoid comparisons is to never see the original. We all know the dangers there--who wants to only see the second or third "King Kong" or the second "The Women" and so on? But there is also the truth that Doris Day is her own commodity. She is convincingly regular, a true 50s/60s mom type for middle class America (though be sure, these are all extremely rich people here, part of the glamorizing that the audience craves). So go back to the start here--this is a well made, fast paced, silly movie in the Doris Day vein. She's the true star, though Garner does his best to be a somewhat more conventional Grant. There are a couple of scenes that will crack you up beyond the endless smaller jokes and gags. One is where Day pretends to be a Swedish masseuse and ends up "massaging" that is torturing the new wife. The other is a wonderful automatic car wash scene in a classic car with suds flying--and the top to the car goes down by mistake. Day is an amazing sport for all of this.

This movie is a remake of the superior 1940 film "My Favorite Wife" starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne as his recently un-deceased wife. Unfortunately, I'm not particularly fond of the 1940 version. Either. It's one of those screwball movies that would have wrapped up in the first 30 minutes if the male lead had a backbone and could spit out the truth (that premise holds for many Flintstones episodes too). However, "My Favorite Wife" had the benefit of screwball veterans Grant and especially Dunne, who knew how to have a fit without making the audience hate her. Even though the original took place in the late 30's/early 40's, you believed that Dunne was completely capable of taking care of herself and was having a bit of fun torturing her remarried husband even though she was still completely smitten with him. That said, "Move Over" does nothing but copy scenes from the original with a few tweaks here and there. I know that's how a remake works, but in this case, you're left with the feeling of "why bother?" The courtroom scene, while funny in the original, didn't elicit one chuckle in the remake. The added car chase was absurd and only served to reinforce the stereotype of "women drivers." I can't begin to tell you about the awful car wash scene and Doris Day's irritating shrieking. The remade final reunion lacked the feeling of anticipation or joy as in the original, but did include Day's hoarse shrieks. She was hoarse, no doubt, from all the screaming, shrieking and yelling she'd done in the previous 2 hours of the film. Day's portrayal of her character as basically helpless but with righteous indignation, screaming outbursts, stamping feet and near sobbing would have been better suited for a 2-year-old. When I was 2, if I had acted like that I would have been spanked and sent to bed without any dinner. James Garner was very bland and it wasn't clear how he could have gotten 2 women to marry him. Actually, his character was so boring that I barely remember him even though the movie ended 20 minutes ago, except when he was shouting in order to be heard above Day. The best part of this remake is watching the trampoline/diving routine put on by Chuck Connors. Or maybe it was a stunt double. Either way, it's not worth putting up with the rest of this mess. If the storyline intrigues you, do yourself a favor and rent the Grant/Dunne original. At least there won't be any shrieking.

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 * 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.)

I had never seen this movie but once I saw the cast, I new it had to be at least acceptable (it turned out to be much better than that). Each actor was skilled in either movie or television and the delivery of most of the comedic lines were as professional as can be. Doris Day, as a whole, is so underrated and rarely mentioned in discussions of fine actresses, when she should be. Whether it be good drama or good comedy, both are difficult and she fills the part extremely well. As for Garner, yes Grant has big shoes to fill but his presence is strongly felt. All of the others are just fantastic, all the way to Chuck Conners, in the roles they play. As a side note Maverick (Garner) meets the Rifleman (Conners).

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.

Caught this last night. I'm aware of the aborted Marilyn Monroe version, and recognized some parts of this from that. My big problem with this was the character development, more specifically, the 180 Nick does. He was so anxious to marry Bianca, he has Ellen declared legally dead. But when Ellen suddenly shows up out of nowhere, he can't kick Bianca to the curb fast enough! If the movie showed him conflicted, not knowing what to do, I could have gotten on board with it. Instead, Nick was such a jerk, I was hoping that he'd wind up alone! Polly Bergen was terribly miscast. She simply has a toughness that works against her trying to sell the fragile Bianca as the real victim here. Heck, she's more into her shrink than she ever was into Nick! Garner was better than I imagine Dean Martin would have been in the Monroe version, but I couldn't help but think that another actor would have been better than Garner. Don Knotts was simply creepy. I don't know if that was due to the hack, sorry, director behind the camera or a sample of Knotts's range, but his take was completely wrong. As for Doris, nobody does self-righteous indignation like Doris. In "Pillow Talk," her outbursts were perfect because they were totally justified. But here, they're just plain childish. Ellen has nothing to be cheesed about. Her getting worked up over Bianca made no sense, and the car wash episode made her look like a loon instead of an otherwise level-headed woman wanting nothing more than to return to her family. What saves this from being a total waste is Thelma Ritter as Nick's mother. I liked how she and Doris have a grown-up relationship; Ellen calls her Grace instead of Mrs. Arden, unlike Samantha on "Bewitched" who always called Darin's mother Mrs. Stephens. And Grace knows all along what's best for her boy. You go, girl!

Producers: Martin Melcher, Aaron Rosenberg. Copyright 19 December 1963 by Melcher/Arcola Productions. Released through 20th Century- Fox. New York opening at the Astor: 25 December 1963. U.S. release: December 1963. U.K. release: 8 March 1964. Sydney opening at the Regent. 9,290 feet. 103 minutes. SYNOPSIS: Successful lawyer Nicholas Arden (James Garner) goes before Judge Bryson (Edgar Buchanan) in Los Angeles with his fiancée, Bianca Steele (Polly Bergen) to: 1) petition the court to declare his former wife, Ellen Arden (Doris Day), legally dead, since she has been missing for five years following an airplane crash in the Pacific; 2) request the court to marry him to Bianca. This done, the newlyweds are happily on their way by car to their honeymoon in Monterey. Meanwhile, at the Naval base at nearby San Pedro, a submarine lands with Ellen, who has been rescued from a desert isle. NOTES: A re-make of "My Favorite Wife" (1940) starring Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Randolph Scott and Gail Patrick. The script was originally refurbished for Marilyn Monroe as "Something's Got To Give". COMMENT: A mild comedy, rather flatly directed and rather too enthusiastically played, considering the threadbare and overly familiar nature of the material. Doris Day sings two songs of equally forgettable quality. (I'm told that her son Terry Melcher helped out with the composition of the title tune). OTHER VIEWS: Feeble frolic. — New York Times. Heavy-handed and fundamentally irrelevant farce sequences are attached to an intrinsically surefire premise. — Variety. This one is just awful. Oh, Doris Day is just fine. She has a nice comedic style, mugs real good, and is right in there with the fast and slow burns and the double takes, but there's precious little else in this hokey, pretentious razz-ma-tazz. Garner is, let's not mince words, not the best farce man around... Thelma Ritter, Fred Clark and Don Knotts are wasted, but then so was our time. — Robert Salmaggi in the N.Y. Herald Tribune. A brightly colored mess. Suspense is lost because it would be inconceivable in the Hollywood scheme of things to have the country's No. 1 box office star lose her husband to Polly Bergen (who was unranked in the last exhibitor's poll)... Those with weak stomachs should leave before the scene in which Doris Day and the children admit they belong to each other. — Hollis Alpert in the Saturday Review.

This is the perfect Sunday morning movie. It is absolutely delightful with a spectacular cast that even the least devoted movie buff will recognize. The primary actors, Doris Day, James Garner, Thelma Ritter, Polly Bergen, and Don Knotts are comic masters at the very peak of their talents. Aside from Doris Day's genius, Thelma Ritter pulls off another jem as Garner's mother. Thelma Ritter is in my honest opinion, the best character actress that Hollywood has ever produced, and is allowed to perform her many talents with minimal intrusions by other actors or the movies editors. If you love Doris Day, admire great comedy movies, or just need a little entertainment, this is the perfect way to spend a couple of hours!