Doktor - Sie machen Witze!

Also starring with Sandra are George Hamilton, Celeste Holm, Bill Bixby, Dick Kallman, Mort Sahl & Dwayne Hickman. In this comedy, Sandra Dee is an unwed, pregnant, would-be singer. The film starts out with Dee being rushed to the hospital to have her baby. Accompanying her are three men who want to marry her. The rest of the film is a flashback dealing with Dee's rise to stardom and the pregnancy. Hamilton is Dee's stuffy boss who tries to discourage her from singing.

"Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding" is a sex comedy starring America's sweetheart, Sandra Dee. She's a talentless lady whose mother insists she'll be a singing star...but all she wants is a normal life. However, somewhere along the line she gets pregnant and a whole pack of guys are vying to marry her and care for the baby.

The big problem with this film is that it is a comedy and most of its 'laughs' consists of people yelling or behaving weirdly and loudly. In a word, the film is shrill. But, sadly, rarely is it actually funny...and I think the biggest laugh is supposed to see sweet, ever-virginal Dee playing spoiled goods. A waste of talent and a rather unfunny and loud film with little to recommend it.

By the way, if you do watch (and I don't recommend it), look for Nichelle Nichols in a tiny part as a secretary.

I grew up with these shows...Doris Day, Debbie Reynolds, Sandra Dee... And, no, they didn't earn kudos from critics. As John Wayne was to the Western, these ladies were to the romantic comedy. My wife and daughter love this movie -- not for the fact this girl got herself in 'trouble', but for the three lovable guys who want to rescue her from the shame (remember the time period) of having a baby out of wedlock. The people who are knocking this movie are probably not on Social Security and probably enjoy the trashy R rated movies or crass television shows that pass themselves off as Romantic comedies. This was a time when morality was embraced, not made fun of. If you enjoy the old fashion era, this won't disappoint.

If you are a Sandra Dee fan 1967's "Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding!" is arguably her best performance and a must have for any fan. Although the movie itself is lousy she is confident and alluring in the challenging starring role, its really a mega role as she is in every scene.

Like Debbie Watson in "The Cool Ones" (also 1967) Hollywood was trying to remake Dee into a star they could continue to take to the bank as changing tastes were taking a toll on their traditional type of material. Neither movie had much going for it in the script department and both were a couple beats behind the times even though the whole idea had been to showcase Dee and Watson in more with-in screenplays.

In the long run the failure of the two pictures probably did not make that much difference as the roles for those in this wave of actresses were getting scarce and often bizarre. Jane Fonda did "Cat Ballou" in 1965 and Barbarella in 1968. Tuesday Weld turned down Bonnie & Clyde in 1967 and did "Pretty Poison" in 1968, "I Walk the Line" in 1970, and "A Safe Place" in 1971. Decent enough parts but few and far between.

The hot players in town in the late 60's were Bob Rafelson, Bert Schneider, and Steve Blauner - BBS, who knew Hollywood needed new audiences of young people-and who were cultivating new talent and new ideas. Weld was able to crash their party even though she was not a new face. I can see them adding Dee to the cast of 1968's "Head" which could have been a game changer for her. The story was fluid enough to create a part, after all they used Annette in a spot and Dee would have offered a similar campy appeal. But as a game changer that is grasping at straws.

I rate this movie this highly because it does extremely well exactly what it sets out to do--provide a couple of hours of entertaining fluff. In the wake of the news of the death of Sandra Dee, I was asked for my favorite Sandra Dee movie, and I realized this is it! The ever-delightful Celeste Holm and the protective stage mother, George Hamilton too perfect as the snotty boss, the late Bill Bixby, for whom I'll never stop mourning, the sweet friend wanting to help out, and an enjoyable appearance by Mort Sahl, a groundbreaking comedian of the time who now is, unjustly, almost completely forgotten.

A movie that does what it sets out to do and does it well deserves praise, and this one has mine.

Today, Sandra Dee joins my "eternal mourning" list.