Do Not Disturb

[Peter Flapper]

Hi there,

Just found an article on the web from Doris hairdresser from Do Not Disturb:
http://books.google.nl/books?id=-EVn3hX ... ay&f=false
Page 46-48

Its from:

P

[Jas1]

Really interesting read, thanks for posting.

[Jake Iverson]

Hi there,

Just found an article on the web from Doris hairdresser from Do Not Disturb:
http://books.google.nl/books?id=-EVn3hX ... ay&f=false
Page 46-48

Its from:

P

Interesting. I loved her hair in Don Not Disturb. One question. What is a salty dog?

[charliesbutterfly]

Well I'm going to jump in here. And let me say, after reading so many of the posts that didn't favor the movie, I feel a bit, odd-man-out.

I loved it. Thought it was a cute story. Liked Rod Taylor and Doris Day together. I found the movie amusing, and enjoyable. I guess I didn't go into the movie with any expectations other than watching the lovely Doris Day on screen. And I like it when I don't have too wait too long for her first scene.

My sentiments exactly! This is up there in my top three favorites. I think I'll go watch now...see ya!

[Toby_Martin]

Loved this movie, watched it really the first time in it's entirety on Netflix the other night, So enjoyable, and Doris looked great in that orange gown! Loved the animals in this film too.

[webmaster]

I wonder what you make of this then, Toby - and everyone else?:

The Rape of Doris Day: Okay, not quite, but still . . .
Posted by Richard Drake on Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at 3:57 AM
It was a movie I laughed uproariously at when my parents took us to see it at the base theater in the 1960s; like a lot of older films I once enjoyed, only a few have retained their ability to make me laugh. I’m not sure I even cracked a smile when we watched it a couple of months ago on one of the movie channels.

Doris Day was playing the part she might well have put a patent on - the ditzy, loving wife - and Rod Taylor was the stand-in this time for James Garner or Rock Hudson, playing her exasperated, loving husband.

We were living in England at the time, so the idea of Ms. Day’s film taking place in our current home may have been one of the draws of the movie; watching the film today, it is all too apparent that it is a studio production, with Taylor and Day no closer to England than I am at this moment - further away, probably. The same tired collection of actors Hollywood trotted out when they needed “English” or “French” actors are on full display.

Maybe I’m being too cynical. Maybe a ten year old child could still watch the movie today and laugh themselves silly. Sometimes, with age, we become just a little too full of ourselves.

But really, it isn’t all that funny.

And what is especially far from funny in the film, but which probably induced gales of laughter from both myself and everyone else around me in the base movie theater that night, was the scene in which Doris Day, dressed in a sexy outfit and trying to surprise her husband at a convention he his attending, finds herself locked in a room with a randy old goat, who chases her around the room, despite her protests that she has found herself in the wrong room, and needs to leave now, thank you very much.

The pursuit of the fleeing woman extends into the hotel hallway, much to the amusement of the men and women watching the horny old man chasing the scantily clad (for a mild 1960s Doris Day movie, I grant you) young woman, who is begging them for help.

All’s well that ends well, as they say, and Day and Taylor are reunited at the hotel, and her semi-purity is preserved. But as I watched the movie in 2013, I imagined the scene not as a comedy, but as something out of a drama, and it left a bad taste in my mouth.

With just a slight change in direction - but using the same dialogue - the scene might play out very differently indeed, as in a drama. And since Ms. Day was every bit the dramatic actress as she was a comedic one, who knows how the scene might play out - with a woman pleading for help from drunken bystanders, who merely laugh at her plight instead of coming to her aid?

It was, after all, a time and place in which young men were taught that “No means yes.”

I’ve had similar experiences when watching other films I enjoyed as a young boy. While many have not only passed the test of time, they mean even more to me on a second viewing, there are those which make me cringe, and avert my eyes."

http://www.arktimes.com/StreetJazz/arch ... -but-still

He makes a good point about the 'sex pest' chasing her around but perhaps he forgets it's a kind of farce situation? But I do agree with the 'phony England' element (as a native) - it was pure Hollywood studio and obviously Doris & Co never set foot outside of California during the making of it - ditto the 'Paris' section.

[Jas1]

In one of the books on Doris the author says Do Not Disturb was certainly envisaged as a far grander project than it became and was meant to have been filmed on location in England, France and Germany, however,as Doris was more and more prone to [naturally] wanting to stay at home- the whole thing was filmed in Hollywood.

While the clothes looked fabulous, the script let everyone down- re- that scene- yes it could be viewed as such but I have to say I found that one of the funniest scenes in an [overall] unfunny film.

[howard]

I was uncomfortable watching this film in a neighborhood theatre. I felt sorry for Doris, and thought the material was beneath her.

[Johnny]

Yesterday I listened to two songs from Do Not Disturb that I had completely forgotten about.

The first song is the title song, Do Not Disturb and the second one is Au Revoir Is Goodbye With A Smile. I enjoyed them and found them charming. They work with the film and create a good feeling.

A promotion for the film was held with doorknob cards being put in hotels all across America that read, Doris Day says Do Not Disturb. Doris was depicted snuggling a pillow.

There was also a Doris For A Day look-alike contest held in Los Angeles. Fifteen countries were represented in the contest.The winner was a 24 year old woman from Finland. She was a librarian.

[howard]

Here's Doris with the winner:

[Johnny]

Tom Santopietro reports in Considering Doris Day, about Do Not Disturb, " Right up through 1963 release, Move Over Darling, production values on her films reflected her status as Queen of Hollywood. Money was spent on clothes, settings, hair, -the works. Occasionally, money was spent on hiring a first-class writer to deliver a crisp, literate script, as happened with Teacher's Pet, and The Thrill of It All. In Do Not Disturb, however, a noticeably phony and cheap- looking English landscape appears to be as worn as is the script. It's as Doris Day's film career slid from A to Z in one fell swoop, with no stop in between. From here on it was, for the most part, all downhill into the land of scripts that reeked of sit-com mediocrity. In effect, this film which feels so tired and predictable in both situation and character, seemed to flick the switch that made people say all Doris Day films are interchangeable".

Despite this criticism, Doris always gives an enjoyable performance and makes us believe in her. Unfortunately, Doris' character has no children and no job to make the story more interesting. The film was based on a second-rate Broadway play by William Fairchild.

Santopietro reports that the film has a better than usual title song. He also says that the costumes for Hermoine Baddley are amusing.

Regardless of the criticisms, there is always an element of joy watching Doris in every film. It begs the question, who was looking out for her career? Doris deserved better. One wonders how long Doris would have stayed making films if the scripts were superior.

[Musiclover]

Bob Carroll, a longtime writer for Lucille Ball's TV series, worked on one of the several re-writes for this film. He commented that its title should have been "Do Not Distribute."

[Jas1]

That's funny Musiclover- on a positive note, Doris looked great and her fashions were fabulous in this film.

[Johnny]

Watching Do Not Disturb with friends recently it was generally agreed that the script and production values left more to be desired in comparison to Doris Day's popular and successful comedies, Pillow Talk, Lover Come Back and Move Over Darling.

A friend suggested the some criticisms seemed unfair and made these observations.


Because Doris had been the number one box office star in the world, the expectations for her films were incredibly high. The question was posed: What if Judy Holliday or Debbie Reynolds had played the role of Janet, would they have been criticized for playing a flakey or dizzy woman?

It is a fair criticism of the script to think Doris' character exercised really poor judgement in going to Paris to get a Georgian dining room set with the antique dealer who was a stranger.

The script indicates Doris' and Rod's characters have been married for five years. It is a weak plot point in trying to make the husband jealous. His jealousy and anger are not funny or appealing as portrayed by Rod Taylor.
.
There are some exceptionally good comic scenes in Do Not Disturb. Doris putting on her lipstick in the powder room imitating the "professional escort". The party scene and the chase were lively and funny.

With the exception of The Glass Bottom Boat and With Six You Get Eggroll, the criticisms of Doris' latter films were exceedingly harsh. Looking at the films today and comparing them to the vulgar, mean and gross films that are called comedies, these Doris Day films are superior in every way.

Would the criticisms have been as harsh if the world's top ten box office star had not played these roles?

[jmichael]

I don't think you can make many excuses for this film. It's a bad movie. Period.

I don't mean to be rude or insensitive when I say that either. But everything about it pales in comparison to her finest comedies, and yes, they set a high level of expectation that was difficult to meet, but I don't think the film received harsher judgement because it starred Doris Day. It would have flopped no matter who starred in it.

If you recall the radio interview that Doris did with Lucille Ball while she was filming this, she mentioned she was waiting in her dressing room while they were trying to fix the script. My hunch is she sent the writers back to the table to make this a better, funnier film. Alas, it was not meant to be.

DND is one of her worst films alongside Tunnel Of Love, Ballad of Josie and Where Were You When The Lights Went Out in my opinion.

[Jas1]

Of the poor list - my least favourite is Where were you...

[Peter Flapper]

Hi all,

Do Not disturb has it's moments... love the title song... the moment Doris uncovers her orange dress... the dance... Rod's suit covered in paint in their bedroom, the scene before the telegram arrives and than making their fight up... the make-up scene... and a few more.

Where Were You has it's moment for me when Doris arrives at the holiday house... love the scenes she has there alone... not happy, but believable. (Not keen on the razor man there...)

Even Ballad has it's moments.

Worst Doris moment(s) in her films for me, the eye thing in It's A Great Feeling... (twit-twit-twitt )

P

[Johnny]

In Alan Gelb's book, The Doris Day Scrapbook, the film Do Not Disturb is described as "a misshapen little muffin,. This was nothing note than an overblown TV sitcom and it reflected Martin Melcher's increasing exploitation of Doris. Doris has said in Doris Day: My Own Story by A.E. Hotchner, that Melcher and lawyer Jerome Rosenthal put her into a series of terrible movies in the mid-sixties so that she would earn enough to meet the payments on their investments. Doris had no say in the material that was chosen, and it later turned out, she was getting precariously close to bankruptcy, since Rosenthal's modus operandi was fraud and deceit. Do Not Disturb is a reflection of this sorry state of affairs. No longer was any attempt made to engender quality. The script was abysmal, even though it employed the talents of Ricard Been, who has produced such memorable scenarios as A Foreign Affair , Miss Tatlock's Millions, and Niagara. The director was a refugee from television: the totally insubstantial Ralph Levy, who had a previous credit, the alful Marlon Brando comedy Bedtime Story. Doris' co-star was of some help: the dependable Australian leading man Rod Taylor, very much in the Rock Hudson-James Garner mold.

[Johnny]

In David Kaufman's book on Doris Day, there is an interesting passage detailing comments from Rod Taylor accepting the male lead role in Do Not Disturb.
It reads: Macho Australian actor Rod Taylor intially turned down the part of Mike. " This is something more on the lines for Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon or Cary Grant", he told himself when he first read the script. I can't do this stuff, and I am not enamored with the chance to play opposite Doris Day.

"Male co- stars with Doris always go the same route. I thought, and I heard that she can take herself quite seriously". Taylor further explained, "As it turned out -- after I was persuaded to change my mind --Doris was one of the most womanly, interesting fun broads I have ever worked with. I couldn't wait to get up and go to the studio each morning."

[Jas1]

Doris' clothes and hair in Do Not Disturb were fabulous - script - not so! Title song- I really liked.

I cannot really say anything positive about Where were you (except the title is great and the concept).

[howard]

Didn't care for "Do No Disturb" at all. I was unhappy after seeing it - hoped it wouldn't be damaging to Doris' career!

[jmichael]

The Rosenthal beast had to be fed and Doris' film career was the sacrificial lamb.

DND marked the turning point in the third act of her twenty year film career and she never fully recovered. Yes, GBB was a hit and With Six You Get Eggroll was pleasant and profitable. But once Rosenthal's financial chicanery drained the coffers, cash flow became the deciding factor and the quality of her films suffered.

Any great film star, if they are going to go the distance, has to change with the times. What worked ten years ago won't work today. Repeating the same formula over and over doesn't cut it. You have to leverage the talent God gave you and what made audiences fall in love with you in the first place and then find roles that resonate with the times. Doris needed a great role in a great film, one that was out of the norm for her and reminded audiences she was a first rate actress who could play just about anything. Marty's surrender to Rosenthal coupled with her dependency on Marty and the trapped nature of their marriage was the death knell to her film career.

Doris could have enjoyed another ten years as a major film star had she managed to break free and find another role at the level of Ruth Etting, Jo McKenna or Jan Morrow.

Michael

[Musiclover]

Spot on with every point, Michael. If Doris hadn't been so resilient personally and able to "move on," as Terry Melcher once commented, her Animal League and Animal Foundation might not have been established. I think those are serendipitous postscripts to what was an unfortunately shortened movie career.

[Jas1]

Agree Michael and Music-lover.

[jmichael]

Spot on with every point, Michael. If Doris hadn't been so resilient personally and able to "move on," as Terry Melcher once commented, her Animal League and Animal Foundation might not have been established. I think those are serendipitous postscripts to what was an unfortunately shortened movie career.

You're so right, Judy. It all worked out in the end because she found her true calling in animal welfare. Her pioneering work saved many lives and brought her the greatest personal happiness. Thanks for adding that important point to the discussion.

Michael