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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.

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.

I really like this Doris Day flick. Doris does more slapstick in this feature than all her other movies put together. James Garner thinks Doris has been dead for 5 years. He is now on his honeymoon with new wife Polly Bergen and guess who shows up after being rescued off a deserted island? You got it. Doris hilariously ruins the honeymoon (this was when couples waited until the honeymoon to make love, YEAH RIGHT!) Anyway, Polly is quite frustrated not getting any action from James Garner. Several scenes are classics. especially when Doris poses as a Swedish Masseur and practically beats Polly to a pulp. The best scene of all is watching Doris drive a brand new 1963 Imperial Conv. into a car wash and then accidentally putting the top down.

Don Knotts makes a funny cameo as a randy shoe salesman and Edgar Buchanan (Petticoat Junction) is funny as a surly Court Judge. Thelma Ritter is always funny and she is up to par here. This movie was apparently re-worked for Doris Day after the death of Marilyn Monroe who was essentially filming the same movie when she died. Even the sets were basically the same. I guess 20th Century Fox needed the money after the Liz Taylor fiasco "Cleopatra" almost put them in bankruptcy. Overall, a very cute, sexy (for the era) funny movie. They don't make cute movies like this anymore. Too bad.

Move Over Darling with James Garner and Doris Day which is a remake of the RKO classic My Favorite Wife is probably better known for being the end result of the disaster known as Something's Gotta Give. That of course is Marilyn Monroe's legendary last film that she never finished.

Looking over the cast of the unfinished Something's Gotta Give I have to say though I don't think it would have been Monroe's greatest film, the rest of the cast was pretty good. When 20th Century Fox fired Marilyn, Dean Martin also quit and the whole film was scrapped. At that point it was just decided to redo the whole thing with an entire new cast and apparently no one survived the change.

I also imagine that a serious rewrite would have to be done in order that a role originally cast for Marilyn Monroe could fit Doris Day. Seeing Doris on the screen I can't imagine that Chuck Connors or in Marilyn's case, Tom Tryon, would have been unsuccessfully trying to catch her on a desert island for five years.

The story as originally written by Sam and Bella Spewack has James Garner going to court to get his first wife, missing for five years after a forced ocean landing, declared legally dead. He wants to marry Polly Bergen. But wouldn't you know it, a Navy submarine rescues Doris Day at just that time and when she hears about Garner's new bride, it's Doris off to spoil that honeymoon.

Polly Bergen was just great as the picture of sexual frustration on that honeymoon. Although I can certainly see Cyd Charisse in that same spot with Dean Martin.

Edgar Buchanan is great as the crusty judge who declares Doris legally dead the first time and then has all the parties and then some in court to try and untangle things. That role was supposed to go to John McGiver and certainly those two would have been different types.

It goes that way up and down the cast list, Don Knotts substituting for Wally Cox as the timid shoe salesman Doris has impersonate Chuck Connors so Garner won't be jealous. And I can't see much difference with Phil Silvers as opposed to John Astin as the smarmy insurance man.

One thing I did notice is that there was no equivalent parts in Something's Gotta Give for Fred Clark the hotel manager and Thelma Ritter as Garner's mother. My guess is that whoever was supposed to play those roles may never have got on camera because there was no way to shoot around them.

I suppose the best thing to do is not speculate, but enjoy the funny comedy that did come out of all the grief 20th Century Fox had with this film.

Certainly only Doris Day could convince you that in five years she never succumbed to Chuck Connors.

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 ****

As a big fan of Doris Day, I loved Move Over Darling. My Favourite Wife is often compared to this film, but I personally prefer this film. Move Over Darling is funny, charming and without a wasted scene. The film looks fabulous, with beautiful cinematography and fresh-looking scenery, while the soundtrack is bright and breezy. Then there is an engaging story, a witty and charming script and professional direction.

Not only that there is some fine acting in this film. I have always loved Doris Day, not only as a talented singer but as a fresh and endearing actress, and she is lovely in Move Over Darling, and James Garner as always is immensely likable. While Polly Bergen and Chuck Connors give perfect support as the other woman and the hunk marooned with Day, it is the delightful Thelma Ritter who steals the show as Day's outspoken mother-in-law.

Overall, one of my favourite Doris Day films, and a film that is warm, witty and charming. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Although this glossy remake of the 1940 comedy "My Favorite Wife" did not turn into the funniest Doris Day vehicle, it does provide several highly amusing moments (Doris's posing as the Swedish nurse is priceless). There are a couple of scenes that could have done with some trimming (Day and Garner's scene in the hotel room and the opening courtroom sequence come to mind) but the film benefits from an excellent supporting cast, Thelma Ritter being the stand-out.

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!

When James Garner died a few days ago, I suddenly had a yen to watch some of his movies. I managed to see The Americanization of Emily a couple of days ago with my mom after checking that from the library, and when Netflix delivered this one yesterday, Mom and me saw this just a couple of hours ago. Garner plays a man about to have his previous wife-Doris Day-declared dead after five years of disappearing from a sea accident so he can then marry Polly Bergen. But Day turns up rescued by Navy officers as she surprises mother-in-law Thelma Ritter and her two girls who are no longer babies. I'll stop there and just say that there are plenty of amusing supporting turns by familiar character actors like Edgar Buchanan as a judge, Fred Clark as a hotel manager, Don Knotts as a show salesman, John Astin as an insurance man, and Chuck Connors as someone who ended up on that island with Day. Day, herself, is pretty hilarious when she disguises herself as a Swedish nurse when massaging Bergen and recounting the movie My Favorite Wife of which this was a remake. The chase at the end was a bit over-the-top but what the hell! I also liked it when Garner pretended to be injured in some scenes. So on that note, I thought Move Over, Darling was a mostly fun movie to watch as did Mom. P.S. I know this was originally supposed to be a Marilyn Monroe vehicle called Something's Got to Give and having seen the scenes that were filmed for that one, it's a shame it had to be scrapped because of her personal problems that resulted in her death.

As you may know, "Move Over Darling" is a remake of the Cary Grant/Irene Dunne film "My Favorite Wife." This film copies the original almost scene-for-scene, with a few changes. I'm torn on which film is better all around, but this version fixes a few things that bothered me about the original. First of all, the reunion between the two main stars at the hotel toward the beginning is more romantic and emotional here. Also, I didn't like the ending of the original film, which felt tagged on and unsatisfying, whereas the ending to this film wrapped everything up nicely and pleasantly. This film has much better co-stars, including Don Knotts and Thelma Ritter. The only reason I do not say for sure that this film is better than the original is the fact that the original was a very funny film, which is not to say that this is unfunny, but the comedy simply doesn't measure up to the brilliance of Cary Grant. I recommend both versions, and while the original provided more laughs, this gives more emotional satisfaction, but both are enjoyable. Just don't watch them side-by-side or you may feel like you just saw the same film twice.

*** out of ****

Despite my not being around when this was released, (I am 14) James Garner is really a dish. I enjoyed this movie a lot. It was done in a way you don't see anymore. James and Doris look so cute together. I really liked the story and am hoping to see the original with Cary Grant/Irene Dunne. I especially have a place in my heart for Doris Day's 60's comedies and I rank this with the best of them. I love the car wash scene...It was so cute. And Doris's and James's jealousies at what they had been doing when they were away, (just the measures they took), just was funny. If you wanna feel good, watch this movie!!!

The final film project of Marilyn Monroe, SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE, was shelved after months of dealing with the temperamental and troublesome Monroe, 20th Century Fox fired Marilyn, the film was shelved, and Marilyn was dead a few months later. The project was later revived and revamped as a vehicle for Doris Day and the result was MOVE OVER DARLING, a predictable but watchable comedy in which Doris plays Ellen Arden, a woman who has been stranded on a deserted island for five years and is finally rescued, only to return home and find that her husband has had her declared legally dead and is preparing to marry someone else. This story is as old as the hills, dating back to the old Irene Dunne comedy MY FAVORITE WIFE, but Day is always watchable and works extremely well with James Garner, who is sexy and charismatic as Ellen's husband, Nicholas. Polly Bergen is very funny as Nicholas' new fiancée, the self-absorbed Bianca and the always reliable Thelma Ritter steals every scene she is in as Nicholas'mother. The film is tamer than the original Monroe vehicle, but the material has been perfectly revamped for Doris Day and she works hard at making the film worth watching.

Shown on BBC TV as a tribute to the late Miss Day, it's easy to see from this why the singer / actress was so popular for so long. Recycling the old Cary Grant / Irene Dunne vintage Hollywood classic "My Favourite Wife", helpfully referenced by Day's character as the wife who returns from the dead five years after going missing only to find her husband has that very day remarried. What follows is a madcap adjoining hotel room farce as James Garner flits between his two wives next door, the one desperate to consummate their wedding night, the other screaming at him to reveal her existence to her apparent successor.

From there, via a car chase where Garner fantasises about Day's now revealed five years on a tropical island with a hunky Adam, played by Chuck Connors, to her Eve, the film comes to its inevitable upbeat conclusion with everyone ending up happy ever after.

Helped by the hit title song which sets it off nicely, it actually takes about ten minutes for Doris's character to appear or should that be reappear but once she does there's no doubt who the star is. For me, if now seeming a little old and square in her part and resorting a little too often to her tried and tested mannerisms, although she's not helped either by a rather outdated wardrobe, still, when she flutters her eyebrows and casts that smile, you know she's not going to lose her man. Her best scene is when you almost see her improvise as she impersonates a Swedish au-pair in an accent which anticipates the Muppets' chef by almost twenty years.

James Garner is an able successor to Grant and Hudson as the befuddled widower / husband, Polly Bergen, while inevitably over-shadowed by the star, thankfully doesn't portray her character as a bad woman and Thelma Ritter as usual shines in support, this time as Garner's disbelieving mother.

A big box-office hit on first release, the film is easy-to-watch entertainment and a nice encapsulation of the talents of Miss Day.

R.I.P. Doris.

This movie is a remake of My Favorite Wife, starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne, which I gave a 10 to. It's been a while since I've watched it the latter though, and at first I was hard-pressed to understand why I felt I liked it better than this remake, but it soon enough came to me.

Both movies are vehicles of their leading ladies and tailored to suit their characters. Hence, with Doris Day, there is more slapstick humor and her character comes across as more "cutely" petulant. Irene Dunne is classier and she has an air of benevolence. Now I love Day but with this story, I feel that Dunne's character is more appropriate. And of course Cary Grant is more charismatic than James Garner, even if the latter is pretty hot in this movie.

What Move Over has going for it is the queen of wisecracking supporting actresses, Thelma Ritter, who is as fun here as any of her other movies. Also, without the disadvantageous comparison to My Favorite Wife, this movie is a charming enough romantic comedy in itself.

After five years lost at sea, a missing wife (Doris Day) thought long dead returns just after her husband (James Garner) remarries.

For the first half of this film, we have what amounts to more or less your typical romantic comedy of the era: a man and his wife trying to reconcile after five years, with some big obstacles in their way. Hilarity ensues, and fans of Day and Garner will love it.

Then comes a bit of a plot twist, which turns up the heat... and we get to see Don Knotts in a much-too-small role. How will things turn out when we find that the wife has more than a few secrets of her own? And is it even worth trying to make things work at that point?

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).

In what's (at least for me) a rare occurrence, this remake of the 1940 film 'My Favorite Wife" is in many ways an improvement. Not to underplay the fine performances of Cary Grant and Irene Dunne, but in this 1963 version, James Garner and Doris Day give a better interpretation of two people who never stopped loving each other, despite him believing she was dead and her thinking she might never see him again. You get more of a sense of the emotion from the Tennyson Poem it's based on than you get from the original film. (And with all the slapstick comedy going on, that's quite an accomplishment.)

I like he start to the movie, with Ellen Arden (Doris) having just been rescued by a navy submarine (she's wearing a sailor outfit) and very anxious to return home to her family, placing a call to her house and being told by the operator that there's no longer a letter exchange; time has marched on! Meanwhile, her husband Nick (James), who thinks he's been a widower for the past five years, is having her declared legally dead, so he can marry his girlfriend, Bianca (played by Polly Bergen). The deed accomplished, they're off to their nuptials, while Ellen arrives home, sees her two little girls (no longer babies) in the pool and pretends she's a friend of their "late" mother, and then causes her mother-in-law, Grace (played by the incomparable Thelma Ritter) to faint. Being told by a recovered (and somewhat stunned) Grace that Nick has just gotten married, Ellen determines to get to him before he gets Bianca into the bridal suite.

The scenes in the hotel (Nick actually took Bianca to the same one where he and Ellen spent their honeymoon, though not the same suite) are both comical and poignant, like when Nick and Bianca get in the elevator, and he catches a glimpse of Ellen in the lobby before the door closes, and later, when he discovers it really is her, and they run to each other's arms as if no time had passed. Despite having tried to move on, there's no doubt that Ellen is still the love of Nick's life and Ellen is so grateful for that. (The chemistry between Doris and James really shines through in these scenes.) Next thing you know, they're in her room, and he's carrying her to the bed, but as much as she'd love to be swept away by passion, she won't let that happen until Nick tells Bianca. And that's when the fun begins!

From here on in, it's a bunch of comic misunderstandings and chaos, as Nick thinks up crazy excuses to keep from being alone with Bianca, Ellen urges Nick to fess up, then spies on them, only to have to watch him getting tickled by an amorous Bianca, and finally Nick pretending to have injured his back, so he can't consummate his "marriage".

Back home, more zany incidents follow, with Ellen pretending to be a therapist to help Nick recover, Bianca determining that Nick's problems are psychiatric, and turning to her analyst, Dr. Schlick (Herman Reid) for help, and Nick discovering that Ellen wasn't alone on the island where she spent the past five years, as she had a male companion. Ellen talks a mild-mannered milquetoast (played by Don Knotts) into pretending to be him, but Nick finds out it was really the good looking, athletic Stephen Burkett (Chuck Connors), who intends to write a book about their island adventures and, despite being surrounded by women, makes it clear he wants Ellen.

While Ellen felt guilty for lying to Nick about the real Stephen, she's furious when she finds out he already knew, which leads to a wacky scene at a nearby carwash, that was a bit too much of a slapstick (as were other parts of the movie) but still fun.

With so much jealousy, game playing, truth evading, and other nonsense going on, a disgusted Grace decides to take matters into her own hands, and soon everyone ends up in court, with Edgar Buchanan as the judge, the same one who declared Ellen legally dead.

The movie has more familiar TV faces, as Pat Harrington, John Astin and Fred Clark also put in appearances. The girls who play Nick and Ellen's daughters are cute, and there's a touching scene where Ellen (still pretending to be their mommy's friend) sings the same song she used to sing them to sleep with, and the older girl has a vague memory and asks her to stop singing, not realizing why it hurts.

This remake has more emotional scenes than the original, and you can feel more for these characters. This is also because both Bianca and Stephen are not at all sympathetic in his version. Here, Bianca is self-centered, controlling, and obviously has a thing for Dr. Schlick, while, unlike the sincere feelings Stephen had for Ellen in the first movie, Chuck Connor's character is an obvious wolf who wants from Ellen what he couldn't manage to get on the island, though not for lack of trying. (Nick had nothing to worry about, as Ellen demonstrates how she handled Stephen and it was very effective, even giving Grace a moment of pity for him.)

I won't give away any more detail, I'll just recommend you check this movie out.

Move Over, Darling has a great title song. It is an appealing, silly and contrived goofy romantic comedy made bearable by its winsome stars.

Nicholas Arden (James Garner) declares his wife legally dead after she goes missing in a plane crash in the Pacific ocean. On the same day he marries Bianca (Polly Bergen.)

However as Nicholas is on his way to his honeymoon, his first wife Ellen (Doris Day) shows up after being rescued in a remote island by the US navy.

Nicholas's mother sends Ellen to Monterey at the hotel where he is honeymooning and win back Nicholas before he consummates his second marriage.

What Nicholas does not know yet that Ellen spent 5 years on the island with the athletic Adam (Chuck Connors.)

The film is a remake of My Favorite Wife. Day is tomboyish when she first lands on port. Garner is charming and Bergen's character hints that Nicholas would be better off with Ellen, the mother of his two children.

Move Over Darling, is a little bit too hokey and some of the comedy and acting is overdone. The courtroom scenes were the best with the grouch judge.

This time out, poor Doris is stranded on a deserted island before finally being rescued by a submarine just in time to show up at her husband's impending wedding. Sounds plausible to me! Polly Bergen is totally miscast, screeching and screaming her way through the entire movie. The same can be said for Doris' performance too. Besides being too many, how many bedroom comedies did she crank out? The car wash and chase "scene" were way too long and unfunny, with hokey 1960's sound effects that I've heard used on Saturday morning cartoons. James Garner seems to be the only saving grace to this film, never looking as dashing and suave as he does here. Made me wonder why his character would want to hang around either of the two "screaming Mimi's" in this film.