Le père malgré lui

1958 was before Ross Hunter embarked Doris Day on the fabulous career she had in the '60s, in which she would become a top box office draw - in fact, THE box office drawer for years. In "The Tunnel of Love," she plays a sweet, vivacious woman who is desperate to have a baby and can't, so she and her husband, played by Richard Widmark, plan to adopt one. When the adopted baby bears a strong resemblance to Widmark, he becomes sure that the child is the result of an evening he can't remember with the investigative social worker (Gia Scala).

Based on a play, this kind of light, subtly sexual comedy became very popular on the dinner theater circuit in the '60s and '70s, joining the ranks of "Mary, Mary", "The Marriage Go Round," "Boeing Boeing," etc. It is not particularly well directed by Gene Kelly and sports the very strange casting of Richard Widmark as Day's confused husband. I can't agree with the comments here. Though an actor known for playing tough roles and cruel men, he does a credible job here mainly because he knows enough not to play for laughs. He creates a full character, that of a caring if foolish man who adores his wife but screws up occasionally. Gig Young plays the philandering husband next door. He's fine, but the character is very unlikable.

There's not really much to recommend here. I suppose at the time it was considered somewhat suggestive, but it doesn't play well today.

In the groundbreaking romantic drama, Doris Day and Richard Widmark can't have children, and not for lack of trying. Gene Kelly directs this drama that touches on some untouched topics in 1958. In the good ol' days, there was a blackout after a wedding scene and the next shot opened on a bassinet. Now, in the last years of the Hays Code, Doris and Dick openly discuss ovulation cycles, how to track them, and what to do when it's the right time. It was very scandalous at the time.

When the gorgeous couple get fed up with waiting for nature to give them a child, they decide to adopt-but how will they cope when the equally gorgeous Gia Scala enters their lives? While the second half of the movie gets a little silly, the first half is very fun to watch. Doris and Dick have great chemistry together, and it's always a treat to watch an old movie in which a married couple has realistic problems. It wasn't very often that classic movies mentioned adoption, surrogacy, and infertility, let alone made an entire movie about them. Plus, through a career playing bad guys and never getting the girl, it's nice that Richard Widmark is the hero of the story, and he starts out already having the girl!

Tunnel of Love, The (1958)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

"Comedy" about a happy couple (Richard Widmark, Doris Day) who are struggling to have a kid on their own but their attempts at adoption isn't going any better. Things take a turn for the worse when the husband thinks he might have had an affair and got that woman pregnant. This is a very strange film that never seems to know what it wants to do. I've heard that Day and her husband/manager would often try to force their way on pictures but I have no idea if that's what happened here. She pretty much plays a supporting role here but her character is so strange, as is the story and some of the casting, that you can understand why this thing didn't do too well at the box office. A lot of the reviews I read bash the casting of Widmark in a "comedy" when he's best at playing "dark gangsters" and that sort. I think that is far from the truth and I think it's the offbeat casting that actually keeps the film watchable. Widmark is certainly best known for his tough guy roles but I thought he was rather fun here simply because we don't get the chance to see him as a pushover and someone who actually has a lot of fears. The early scene with him coming home exhausted and fearing his wife and her need for sex (for the baby) was very funny and I thought Widmark played it well. Sure, it was a little forced seeing him playing such a weak person but I found it to be funny and charming. Day, on the other hand, appears to be going through the motions as she never really gets going in the picture. She doesn't come off very funny and her character at times, especially at the end, becomes quite annoying. Gia Scala is very good in her role of woman Widmark fears he has pregnant. Gig Young is also very delightful in the role of Widmark's friend who has all the kids and plenty of girlfriends on the side. The screenplay is all over the place but I found it's look at sexuality and moral issues pretty frank for 1958 and maybe this was another reason it didn't go over too well. The film isn't a classic and it's not even a good one but I think fans of Widmark will at least get some smile out of seeing him playing a character like this.

How about the actress Elisabeth Fraser who played Alice Pepper -- any fans out there? She went on the fame as the long-suffering Sgt. Hogan -- girlfriend to television's Sgt. Bilko. Has written a hilarious journal on "life on location" during the filming of the Western "The Way West" with Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, Richard Widmark, and a teenaged Sally Field.

Odd movie with the normally marvelous Widmark miscast. Ugly black and white nothing like the beautiful black and white films of the era. Fake looking sets and Gig Young running around in a silly supporting role. Too bad. Could have been so much better.