Doktor - Sie machen Witze!

A very pregnant Heather Halloran (Sandra Dee) is rushed to the hospital. She is accompanied by her stage mom Louise Halloran (Celeste Holm), two cops, and three guys eager to marry her; next door neighbor ladies man Dick Bender (Bill Bixby), shoe salesman Hank Judson (Dwayne Hickman), and entertainment manager Pat Murad (Dick Kallman). The movie recounts how they got there. Louise has always pushed Heather to be a star. Heather is constantly pushing away the advances of lascivious men. She gets hired as a secretary to wealthy businessman Harlan Wycliff (George Hamilton) who warns her against flirting with him.

It's a single gal sex comedy. The morality is 50's. It's trying to push the envelope by having a pregnant single girl start the movie. It's a lot of grabby guys chasing Sandra Dee and she pushes them off. It's funnier to have a flustered guy failing to get into a girl's pants than to have a girl struggling against pawing lascivious guys. The point of view makes it less funny. Heather does try to be a party girl and that's a little off brand for Sandra Dee. It's all a little off.

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.

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.

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.