Starring
Doris Day, Rod Taylor, Arthur Godfrey, John McGiver, Paul Lynde, Eric
Fleming, Dick Martin, Dom DeLuise. Directed by Frank Tashlin.
(1966/110 min).
Review
by Mr. Pawsđź
I’ve
seen a lot of Doris Day movies, mostly thanks to my sister. Growing
up in the 70s, she used to love old comedies and musicals that our
local independent station – KPTV Channel 12 – would air all the
time. When they weren’t rerunning old episodes of Gilligan’s
Island, Star Trek and Perry Mason, films from the
50s and 60s filled the schedule. If it was a swingin’ sex comedy, rockin’ Elvis musical or Jerry Lewis screechfest, Rebecca was
plopped in front of the hand-me-down black & white in the bedroom
we shared. Hence, I was often subjected to those same swingin’
sex comedies, rockin' Elvis musicals and Jerry Lewis screechfests.
Then
of course, there was Doris Day, who seemed to pop-up on the tube
every Saturday afternoon. While I don’t have anything personal
against her, she always bore a striking resemblance to my
mother...the same perky smile, the same eyes, the same blonde bob
hairstyle. I don’t have anything against my mother either, but
hey...she’s Mom. Ergo, it was impossible for me to accept
Day as a sexy love interest.
Not
that Day is a strutting, simmering sexpot in The Glass Bottom
Boat, but there are a few scenes which require her to
seduce a few horny antagonists. The film is mostly a meet-cute
comedy of errors with healthy doses of cornball slapstick.
Sometimes it’s funny, other times really, really dumb, which
shouldn’t surprise anyone familiar with animator-turned-director
Frank Tashlin’s body of work. There are many set-pieces that play
like a Jerry Lewis farce (though Day is far funnier than Jerry ever
was).
The
story has Day playing Jennifer Nelson, a lonely widow who works in
public relations at NASA while moonlighting for her dad (Arthur
Godfrey) as a mermaid during boating tours. After an amusingly awkward meeting
with rocket scientist Bruce Templeton (Rod Taylor), he eventually hires her to
write his biography. Of course, they become smitten with each other,
but a string of circumstances has his colleagues suspecting she’s
actually a Russian spy. Meanwhile, real Russian spies are trying to
get-hold of Bruce’s research.
 |
| "Hey...the meds are kickin' in!" |
Again,
some of this is amusing. Other times the comedy is so broad that I
almost expected a laugh track. Still, Day is her usual sunny self and
Taylor is...well, Rod Taylor, a serviceable leading man when Hudson
or Garner are unavailable (though I still can’t see what these
handsome hunks see in someone that looks like Mom). Dom DeLuise also
has a few funny moments in an early comedic role. However,
third-billed Arthur Godfrey is hardly in the movie at all.
While
it was successful, The Glass Bottom Boat is ultimately one of
Doris Day’s lesser comedies. It isn’t bad, but relies a bit too
much on slapstick and lacks the congenial charm of, say, Pillow
Talk or Send Me No Flowers. Still, I’m certain people
like my sister Rebecca would have more nostalgic fondness for the
movie than a guy with Mom issues.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
VINTAGE
PROMOTIONAL FEATURETTES - “Catalina Island” (mostly a travelogue
of the island, with a few behind-the-scenes clips); “Every Girl’s
Dream” (a beauty queen tours MGM studios); “NASA” (features
Doris Day and contains a few bloopers and scenes from the film).
CARTOON
– “The Dot and the Line” By Chuck Jones
TRAILER
KITTY CONSENSUS:
NOT BAD. LIKE CAT CHOW.
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