The Glass Bottom Boat

Just think that if Doris Day had not for some reason named her dog, Vladimir there might have been no plot at all for this Frank Tashlin comedy.

That might have been bad because this was the best of Doris Day's films in the late sixties as she was beginning a downward drop in her box office appeal. The Glass Bottom Boat was the second film she did with Rod Taylor as co-star and the first of two she did with Frank Tashlin as director. And this one was the best product in both associations.

Doris works in public relations at a space lab in California where scientist Rod Taylor is developing new stuff for the Defense Department and NASA. She also doubles and helps her dad Arthur Godfrey on his glass bottom boat tourist vehicle. One of the things I like best about The Glass Bottom Boat is Doris sings again on screen, once in a nice duet with Arthur Godfrey on his ever present ukulele. She also sings her most famous song, Que Sera Sera once again for a new generations of film fans.

One thing about Doris's later films, she always had excellent supporting casts and this one is loaded with some very funny people like, Edward Andrews, John McGiver, Paul Lynde, Dom DeLuise, Dick Martin, George Tobias, and Alice Pearce. They all fill roles that you would expect from them.

The Glass Bottom Boat has Rod Taylor concerned with plant security in regard to his top secret work. An overzealous security guard played by Paul Lynde overhears Doris call her dog on the phone. What she does is that in order to give the pooch some exercise during the day she calls her own number, counts the rings and then says something to the unanswered phone. It's for the dog to get exercise because he runs around like a maniac when the phone rings.

From that we deduce that Doris is a Soviet spy and the real CIA in the person of Eric Fleming is called in. This was Fleming's last big screen appearance before he was drowned on location in Peru. A very sad end to a career that might have been the equal of his Rawhide co-star, Clint Eastwood.

Seeing Paul Lynde in drag, questioning an inept spy played by Dom DeLuise is worth seeing this film alone.

I saw this film when I was ten years old, during its initial release. A typical family night out at the movies. For some reason this otherwise ephemeral event has stayed with me as a freeze frame of the more pleasant, uncomplicated memories of that era.

I bought the DVD after not seeing the film since that long ago 1966 night--incidentally, I vividly recall the huge waves of laughter from the audience during several scenes; anyone who dismisses this film as a fiasco or whatever obviously didn't experience a very happy crowd seeking some light entertainment. On seeing the DVD, I was impressed by the sharp editing (I'm an editor--believe me, the timing of various sight gags etc. are very well done), creative use of colors and consistently high level of comedic performances. The naysayers who have posted otherwise don't know from squat. Overall, a totally innocuous movie that has retained a nice reputation as a still enjoyable memento of the mid-'6os.

What a warm, wonderful actress Doris Day is, what a knockout, what a screen presence. And just think, at the age of 42 (ancient by Hollywood standards in 1966) she was playing a desirable woman lusted after by several men. Glass Bottom Boat is a very '60s comedy in look and subject matter - the space age and spies. Taylor has invented a gizmo and when there's a leak from his project team, suspicion falls on Day, who works for the company and calls someone named Vladimir several times a day. Vladimir, however, is her dog, and she's calling him so he'll run around while the phone is ringing and get some exercise.

The film is loaded with space-age gadgets. Taylor's computerized, motorized kitchen is great, complete with a floor-cleaning robot - wonder if the inventors of today's robot vacuum saw this movie. He also pilots his boat via a remote - but as he points out during a scene where the boat runs amok with Day inside, that needs further work.

There's lots of slapstick and comedy support from Dom Deluise, Dick Martin, and Paul Lynde. Lynde, by the way, looked great in drag, and has some great delivery in his scenes. Some of the scenes, especially those of Deluise, had an improv feel. The late Eric Fleming, Clint Eastwood's boss on "Rawhide," plays a CIA man. This was his last film; he drowned shortly afterwards. Rod Taylor, who, by the way, is younger than Doris Day, is effective as Day's romantic interest. Of note, radio personality Arthur Godfrey plays Day's father. There's also an appearance by Robert Vaughan as an homage to his "Man from UNCLE" character.

Frothy fun, and Doris Day is always a delight.

This picture wasn't thought to be much when it was released. Most people thought it was a silly sitcom style comedy not up to Day's earlier romantic comedies. Arthur Godfrey gave it some air play on his daytime radio show, with Day and Taylor as guests, but there wasn't much else as I remember. By this point in his career Godfrey had lost his star lustre of just ten years before and his network radio show on CBS was just about all that was left, so his appearance in a major Hollywood movie was a big deal for him.

The picture did get a Music Hall premiere run in New York, but as I say, most people just yawned.

Seen forty years later it has a lot going for it, especially compared to today's cinema "comedies": good writing, expert direction, good pacing and editing, colorful location shots of Catalina and vicinity, good playing by the leads, who look to be having fun, and really good support from that amazing cast of 60s character actors.

There is a surprising amount of frank sexuality in this picture for the time, without nudity or profanity (Doris' character is a widow so she plays her as sexually mature and sophisticated), Godfrey's character has a wife/girlfriend about whom he's absolutely crazy and shows it, often (!), and there's even a surprising gay subplot that's played for laughs of course, but not offensively so. There's even Paul Lynde in drag...priceless!

Forty years later, it still makes me laugh. You will too.

This film is classic late 50's 60's mainstream humor. I happened to be in Catalina during part of the filming, and Arthur Godfrey, always gregarious, commented, barring cameos, it was his first full film role. I don't know if correct, but it was his comment. Great Paul Linde and other comedic talent here.