Dick Sargent - Tumblr Posts
Movie number 37: That Touch of Mink (Delbert Mann, 1962). In 1959 Universal cast Doris Day opposite Rock Hudson in the risqué romcom Pillow Talk (Michael Gordon). It was a deserved huge critical and commercial success, such that Universal looked to recreate the ol’ Doris-Rock magic with other leading men, casting her alongside James Garner in The Thrill of it All (Norman Jewison, 1963) and less successfully, Cary Grant in That Touch of Mink.
Grant is once again in ageing playboy mode, attempting to woo Miss Day to the chagrin of his neurotic pal, a miscast Gig Young. The movie looks wonderful. With it’s mid-century interior stylings and its fabulous gowns - Day has countless costume changes, it is kind of the filmic equivalent of flicking through an early 60s lifestyle magazine. But really nothing else about the movie works.
At age 58 Grant was far too old for this sort of thing. As too was Miss Day who is filmed through a hazy soft lens to make her appear more youthful (in actuality this was unnecessary - at 40 Doris still looks great). Worse than this is a woefully unfunny screenplay, littered with dated , sexist ‘humour’. Doris’ career girl roles in the 60s often seemed quietly progressive; here it is anything but, as Day goes doe-eyed whenever Grant is in her sights, whilst modelling pretty outfit after pretty outfit. There is also an unforgivable wife-beating gag.
Of course a film with Doris Day and Cary Grant is not a total loss, it’s just that both have been much better in many other movies and have little chemistry together here. That Touch of Mink is worth a watch for Baseball aficionados with appearances from New York Yankees legends Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. It also has an excellent, though underused supporting cast featuring John Fiedler, 2nd Darrin Dick Sargent and best of all TV’s Gomez and occasional Batman baddie ‘The Riddler’ John Astin; as a sleazy potential suitor of Day he is easily the highlight of the movie.
If, like me, you have watched all of Doris Day’s movies at least once you will want to see this for completist purposes. If not you are best seeking out the excellent Pillow Talk, or indeed any of her 39 other movies.
THE GHOST AND MR CHICKEN (Dir: Alan Rafkin, 1966).
The Ghost and Mr Chicken is a family friendly comedy/horror from Universal Pictures, with the accent firmly on smiles rather than shocks.
Something of a throwback to haunted house comedies of an earlier age - the Bob Hope vehicle The Cat and the Canary (Elliott Nugent, 1939) springs to mind - The Ghost and Mr Chicken finds nebbish newspaper typesetter Luther Heggs spend the night in a haunted house in an attempt to further his career as as a journalist. Becoming a local celebrity, he lands himself a subpoena when property owner Mr Simmons (Philip Ober) challenges Heggs' claims of ghostly goings on in the abandoned abode.
Read the full review on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME. Link in below.
