Do Not Disturb

DO NOT DISTURB has been hastily conceived as a star vehicle for the ever-frothy Doris Day, playing a wife whose love has gone out of her marriage to hard-working husband Rod Taylor. She decides to try to win his heart back by pretending to embark on a passionate affair, but things don't exactly go according to plan...

The whole film is designed to show off Day at her quick-thinking best, to show off her comedic skills as she goes from one situation to the next. I have to say that, while I like Day (in THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, for example), her performance soon started to grate on me here. The absolute pits is the scene where she gets drunk; I hate these old comedies where women get drunk and act stupid, because they're just over the top and embarrassing. There were similar moments in a lot of Audrey Hepburn movies.

Still, DO NOT DISTURB isn't too bad, and as a light-hearted comedy you can enjoy it if you don't expect too much from the premise. Taylor is a delight as the foil to Day's wit, and a supporting cast do their best with the material they're given.

Now I didn't hate Do Not Disturb, but it was nothing special really. It does have its good points though. I loved the fun title sequence, the catchy title song and the drunk scene in the middle scene. While nothing spectacular, the production values are quite nice and the music is good. And Doris Day, the talented and endearing actress/singer she is, really makes the most of what she has.

What I didn't like about Do Not Disturb so much was that Rod Taylor came across as one of Day's more blander co-stars and does resort to overacting. But I think what did hurt the film more was its thin script, predictable plotting(albeit some moderately funny scenes), elephantine pacing and sit-com-ish direction.

Overall, Do Not Disturb isn't terrible as such, but it could have been better and Day did deserve much more. 5/10 Bethany Cox

I am a big doris fan, but the disappointment for me started with the clutzy and mindlessly simple intro song, followed by a poor opening scene concerning learning how to calculate a taxi fee in British sterling...the movie really never does get off the ground, and just becomes an endless stringing together of one boring scene after another...the scene with the fox was amusing, and Doris's figure in the shimmering gown during the party scene was nice, but pretty much everything else left me cold and wishing I was watching pillow talk instead....worth watching, but only once, that is if you can stay awake.

OK, so it's not unreasonable to enter into a Doris Day romantic comedy expecting undemanding froth and a little sexiness. With that, Do Not Disturb delivers on that expectation. Day's line in this type of film caters for like minded people knowing exactly what they want from a Sunday morning time filler. The trouble is, is that where's the cut off point to say no more please? This film is arguably the one where Day fans {and I count myself among them} finally realised the formula had run its course. Yes the enjoyable fluff that was The Glass Bottom Boat would follow a year later, but that too has a familiarity, that whilst not breeding contempt, certainly felt like being stuck on a carousel.

The plot here is naturally simple, but sadly so is Richard L. Breen's screenplay {adapting from William Fairchild's play}. Thankfully Day at least manages to make the thread bare script work to a degree, and although no Rock Hudson, Rod Taylor does make for an appealing foil to Day's sexy effervescent efforts. Hermione Baddeley shines brightest out of the supporting cast and the funky opening credits are accompanied by Day's delightful rendition of the title tune. Enter with caution then, for even the hardiest of Doris Day fans must know this is but a time filler in all but name. 5/10

You can't ever complain about a Doris Day film, she brings a smile to the screen whenever she appears. This particular film, however, isn't quite in the league of most of her others. I'm not certain why that is, maybe it's because I find Rod Taylor very 2D or maybe it was because the plot became annoying as it got more contrived. This was obviously a film made from a play and you struggle to buy-in to the fact that this couple don't have a really serious problem if they are so swiftly prepared to believe in each other's infidelities.

The drunken Doris in Paris is almost upsetting because you just want to protect her and the modern view of the rest of the goings-on that the business convention seems to require don't sit comfortably. Doris is tremendous throughout, of course, and it's good to see the feisty side as well as the cute. I wasn't going to bother re-watching it if it came onto the telly again, but now I know you can spot Raquel Welch in the hotel lobby I might. A Doris and Raquel film.....there's a thing!