Please Don't Eat the Daisies

i really like this film. unlike some other reviewers i think the chemistry between niven and day is strong - they presented like a genuine married couple. the script is versatile, witty on the one hand, but also able to shift to the more dramatic. the argument between day and niven as he reveals his desire for professional success is very well done. niven himself was laugh out loud funny on many occasions, and the portrayal of parenthoood was quite charming. the song at the school doesn't do anything for me, so i tend to fast forward past that scene. however that is a matter of personal preference: i enjoy doris day as an actress much more than as a singer. it's an amusing, easy going, light hearted film, perfect for afternoon viewing.

It took four sessions in front of the DVD player to get through watching PLEASE DON'T EAT THE DAISIES, about as bland a domestic comedy as I've ever watched. I'm a big Doris Day fan but this was the point in her career when she started making some family films that just didn't hit the mark.

The cast is certainly pleasant enough, but the theme of boys being boys is overdone after the first twenty minutes. David Niven has the patience of a saint to put up with the nonsense forced on him here. Neither he nor Doris are able to overcome the inadequacies of an uninspired script that turns out to be a hodge-podge of ideas left over from GEORGE WASHINGTON SLEPT HERE (about a house in the country) and MR. BLANDINGS BUILDS HIS DREAM HOUSE, self-explanatory.

To her credit, Day performs with natural ease throughout and even manages to toss off the vapid title song without losing her dignity. Best in support are Janis Paige as a sexy temptress who tries to lure Niven into her clutches and Richard Haydn who seems to be preparing for his subsequent role in THE SOUND OF MUSIC as a theatrical man who knows his way around a script.

None of it is very funny, even with Patsy Kelly as a housemaid. The fluffy dog, Hobo, has a genuinely funny scene or two and there's the youngest child kept in a cage who steals a couple of scenes without even trying. But all in all, this one taxes the patience of anyone who develops a bad case of deja vu, having seen it all before.

Summing up: Has the flavor of a TV situation comedy that goes on long beyond the half-hour mark. Banal best describes the weak script. The Jean Kerr book must have been mildly amusing.

A drama critic, his wife, and four sons move from sophisticated New York digs to community-centered suburbia. Naturally adjustment problems ensue.

All in all, this A-film is a disappointment. Drama critics are just not the stuff of comedies, nor does Niven get help in lightening the mood. Then too, since both stars were at career peaks, the screenplay expands their screen time with a lot of draggy exposition that doesn't help the amusement factor. And since the plight of Broadway critics is not exactly grist for popular audiences, I expect Day was added to provide the needed appeal. Trouble is she doesn't get to do her usual sparkle. It's a subdued role a dozen lesser names could have handled, and even her meager musical numbers are not exactly show stoppers. Moreover, director Walters seems unsure what to do with the bratty boys, who could have been milked for some laughs instead of too many groans. Still, the near two-hours does have its moments, especially with a cowardly canine, and Janis Paige (Deborah) whose ambitious vixen hits just the right notes. Anyhow, the chemistry never really gels and Day fans should stick with Rock who at least gets an honorable mention from the screenplay.

WOW, the comments here are nastier than an open sewer!

I get that 1950s-style family comedies are perhaps a hard sell even for modern-day classic film fans, but the hate PLEASE DON'T EAT THE DAISIES gets is staggering to me. It's hardly the funniest or greatest film of all time, but I found the central relationship between Doris Day and David Niven's characters mature and realistic. There's a decided lack of dated "father knows best" stereotyping-- everyone is flawed and real-- and there's no contrived melodrama either. It's slow, sure (when you watch old movies regularly, you expect that), but I found the movie charming and relaxing.

'Please Don't Eat the Daisies' is another Doris Day film that was seen recently as a quest to see all of her films not yet seen. After seeing it, 'Please Don't Eat the Daisies' is worth seeing, it is not quite as fresh as a daisy but sticking with it and seeing it grow is worth it.

Day has certainly done much better films, as has David Niven and Charles Walters, but Day has also done worse. 'Please Don't Eat the Daisies' at its best is delightful and doesn't try to do any more than necessary and be more than it is. Its reputation seems to be mixed to lukewarm, count me in as those who thinks it deserves better. It is certainly not without its faults.

Like in 'It Happened to Jane', and almost as badly, the children are badly cast, try far too hard to be cute and end up being so sugary cutesy it'll give one toothache and are at their worst rather obnoxious. The film does drag a little towards the end, as a result of trying to do a little too much, and a couple of scenes at this point are not placed as comfortably as they could have been.

Likewise with the otherwise pleasant songs, the title song coming off best. Once again Day sounds beautiful, musically and in an interpretative sense she's spot on and there is a lot of sincerity in her singing.

Day is a sheer delight in 'Please Don't Eat the Daisies' too. She is perky and charming with a naturally sparkling presence and deft comic timing. David Niven is debonair and urbane and the two gel so well and dazzle together. Niven is particularly good with Janis Paige however, which boast some hilarious moments. Great support from lively Janis Paige, ever scene-stealing Spring Byington and suitably stuffy Richard Haydn.

Charles Walters seems comfortable with the material, and handles it and the cast well and mostly handles the various subplots adeptly. There is a lot going on here with five subplots, the story could easily have been bloated but manages not to be and it's all done in a way that's fun and relatable.

Much of 'Please Don't Eat the Daisies' has a fast, snappy pace, only being bogged down towards the end. The script is easy to relate to, very funny in a light way and has a surprisingly sophisticated edge.

Visually it's all very colourful and stylish with exemplary use of CinemaScope, while the music has energy and nuance.

In conclusion, not perfect but a nice film that passes the time inoffensively, and is more than a just for completests film. 7/10 Bethany Cox