Pillow Talk
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- For the 1970s R & B record see Sylvia
| Pillow Talk | |
|---|---|
 Pillow Talk DVD cover |
|
| Directed by | Michael Gordon |
| Produced by | Ross Hunter Martin Melcher |
| Written by | Russell Rouse Maurice Richlin Stanley Shapiro Clarence Greene |
| Starring | Doris Day Rock Hudson |
| Music by | Frank De Vol |
| Distributed by | Universal International Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 7, 1959 (USA) |
| Running time | 98 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Pillow Talk is a 1959 romantic comedy film. It features Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall, Thelma Ritter and Nick Adams. The movie was written by Russell Rouse, Maurice Richlin, Stanley Shapiro and Clarence Greene. It was directed by Michael Gordon.
It won the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay, and was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Doris Day), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Thelma Ritter), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture.
This is the first of three movies in which Day, Hudson and Randall all starred. The other two are Lover Come Back and Send Me No Flowers. Elements from the plots of these films, particularly Pillow Talk, were parodied in the 2003 comedy Down With Love, with Renée Zellweger in the Doris Day role, Ewan McGregor in the Rock Hudson, and David Hyde Pierce as the Tony Randall character.
[edit] Plot Summary
Jan Morrow (Doris Day) is a successful, content, self-reliant interior decorator who lives in New York City. She lives alone and claims to be quite happy, when questioned on that subject by her housekeeper, Alma (Thelma Ritter). Due to the state of the telephone company's development, her phone number and line are shared with another person - Brad Allen. Such "party lines" were a common feature of the American phone system as it expanded in the middle of the 20th century.
Brad (Rock Hudson) is a talented, creative Broadway composer and playboy. His phone line seems to be always occupied as he chats with one young woman after another, much to the annoyance of the very single woman with whom he shares the line. Jan even overhears him singing "original" love songs to three different women. Each one has exactly the same tune -- Brad simply replaces "Marie" with "Yvette" and so on...
Nebbishy millionaire Jonathan Forbes (Tony Randall) is not only Brad's old college buddy and current Broadway benefactor, he is Jan's client. Jonathan throws himself at her repeatedly, but to no avail.
One evening, in a nightclub, Brad finally gets a look at Jan in person. Thinking fast, imitating the drawl of his own date, he invents a new persona - Rex Stetson, wealthy rancher from Texas. Disguising his all-too-familiar voice with folksy talk, he succeeds in seducing Miss Morrow. She enjoys bragging about her new beau on the phone to that horrid man who shares her phone line, Brad.
At a weekend getaway at Jonathan's Connecticut cabin, romance is in the air until Jan stumbles upon a copy of Rex's sheet music. Sitting down at a piano, she plays the melody. Instantly recognizing the tune, she connects the dots and becomes furious. After telling off Rex/Brad, she departs with Jonathan and sobs all the way back to New York.
In an attempt to win her back, Allen hires her to redecorate his apartment. She proceeds to do so in the most gaudy, ornate, obscenely cheesy manner possible. Seeing the results, Brad storms over to Jan's apartment and carries her back to his place, claiming that it's customary to carry the bride over the threshold.
