Confidences sur l'oreiller

This smart and sassy sex comedy was made in 1959 but it could just as easily have been made in 1939 and the roles played here by Doris Day and Rock Hudson could have been played by Irene Dunne and Cary Grant. Michael Gordon's direction is serviceable at best but it has a likable Oscar-winning script by Russell Rouse, Maurice Richlin, Stanley Shapiro and Clarence Greene that makes the most of it's premise of the mismatched couple who find romance in the most unlikely of farcial situations.

Day is starchy and frigid but Hudson is immensely likable and displays a real comic flair. There is a gay joke at the expense of the Hudson character and knowing what we know now we might well ask how much of an 'in-joke' this really was and just who was in on the joke. The film was a huge success and re-vitalized Day's career in non-musical roles. Tony Randall's character of the slightly effete millionaire who is in love with Day is not unlike David Hyde Pierce's Niles in "Frasier" and you can see some of the best "Frasier" scripts in some of the situations here. Influential or what?

How can you critique something you are just meant to enjoy? There will never be another combination like Doris and Rock, both giving everything to their roles. And you can tell they are having fun doing them. I especially enjoyed Rock's bit of physical comedy trying to squeeze himself into a very low sports car!

One of the first (and certainly the most popular) of the early-'60s bedroom comedies--movies about sex that never use the word, relying instead on double entendres, implications and innuendo. A New York City party-line connects a single working girl--a somewhat rigid and humorless interior decorator with a shapely figure--and a bachelor songwriter and ladies' man who has one tune for every new gal. They're enemies on the phone-line only; once he gets a good look at her (or rather, her shimmying behind on the dancefloor of a nightclub), he decides to woo her using the alias of a shy Texas cowboy. In their first of three pictures together, Rock Hudson and Doris Day share fresh, happy chemistry; their love scenes are convincing--Hudson is a great kisser--and soon Day is singing "Possess Me" to herself on the car-ride with Hudson to his pal's country hideaway. Tony Randall (who also appeared with Hudson and Day in both 1961's "Lover Come Back" and 1964's "Send Me No Flowers") and Thelma Ritter are equally terrific, and the picture has a lovely, cocktail lounge-styled plastic-perkiness which is very winning. With the advent of '60s permissiveness on the screen, "Pillow Talk" (with it's winking, nudge-nudge 'naughtiness') soon looked coy and antiquated; however, it holds up nicely today. Five Oscar nominations--including Day as Best Actress (her only such nomination!)--with one win: for Stanley Shapiro and Maurice Richlin's original screenplay from an initial treatment by Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene. *** from ****

Out of all the "Bedroom Comedies" of the 50's & 60's this is the best by far. Nothing else comes close to "Pillow Talk" with its witty script, stylish sets, and costumes and a great cast of "A" actors at their very best. Some movies wrap you up like a warm mink coat and make everything seem right in the world. 1950's New York looks fabulous, and I've always wanted to go one of those chic supper clubs decked out like Doris is here. This is one of those rare movies that make you laugh, no matter how many times you've seen it. How sad it is for some reviewers to take fault with Alma and her apparent drinking problem (only to find love herself and throw away the bottle!) or Rock's sexuality that some just can't get past. This is an elegant romp with Doris and Rock.

In New York, the interior decorator Jan Morrow (Doris Day) and the wolf composer Brad Allen (Rock Hudson) share a party line, but Brad keeps it busy most of the time flirting with his girlfriends. They do not know each other but Jan hates Brad since she needs the telephone for her business and can not use it.

Coincidently Jan's wealthy client Jonathan Forbes (Tony Randall) that woos her is the best friend of Brad and he comments with him that he feels an unrequited love for Jan, who is a gorgeous woman. When Brad meets Jan by chance in a restaurant, he poses as a naive tourist from Texas named Rex Stetson and seduces her. But Jonathan hires a private eye to find who Rex Stetson is.

"Pillow Talk" is a delightful romantic comedy that improved my Saturday afternoon. This is the first time that I watch this movie and Doris Day and Rock Hudson show a great chemistry. But Thelma Ritter steals the movie in the role of the alcoholic housemaid Alma. The gags with the nurse and the obstetrician are also hilarious. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Confidências à Meia-Noite" ("Confidences at Midnight")