Pillow Talk (1959)
- kbroer
- Jun 2, 2023
- 2 min read
Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall, Thelma Ritter
Directed by Michael Gordon
Available to stream on Amazon Prime
This month we are focusing on "Great Teamwork." We'll highlight five classic film couples whose onscreen chemistry is legendary and who were known for making several hit films together. In our first pick, Pillow Talk, interior decorator Doris Day and songwriter Rock Hudson bicker about sharing a telephone party line – and after quite a few comedic situations also involving Tony Randall and Thelma Ritter – eventually fall in love.
Why we love it: This is the classic Doris Day-Rock Hudson pairing. They are hilarious together and actually became really good friends in real life. Doris Day wears some amazing 1950's fashions and the mid-century modern decor is fantastic. The secondary characters played by Thelma Ritter and Tony Randall add immensely to the entertainment. This is just a really fun film.
Fun facts:
Audiences in the 1950’s would have been very familiar with the problems of sharing party lines, since at that time the telephone company was unable to keep up with the enormous demand for private phones. The parties who shared the line did not know each other or even necessarily live near each other. Each user had a distinctive ring, so you would listen for your own ring – 3 shorts or 2 longs, etc – while also hearing the other party’s ring, and being able to pick up the phone and eavesdrop on their conversations.
Pillow Talk was a major hit in 1959 with audiences and critics. Doris Day and Thelma Ritter were both nominated for Academy Awards; the film won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
As Rock Hudson’s first attempt at comedy, this was so successful that a critic called him “one of the best light comedians in the business.” He and Doris Day received Golden Globe’s and Photoplay magazine’s awards for most popular actors of 1959.
To read reviews of the film from the time, go to the Fan Magazine Reviews page.
Other movies by the team:
Lover Come Back, 1961
Send Me No Flowers, 1964
Featured Cocktail:
Screwdriver
Said to have originated during World War II. The story goes that American soldiers and engineers abroad used screwdrivers to stir the drink because they didn’t have spoons at hand.
Vodka’s popularity rose rapidly in American around 1950, when only 40,000 cases of vodka were imported into the US. By 1955, the number had increased to 4 million cases.
1½ oz (45 ml) vodka
Fresh squeezed orange juice to top
Pour vodka into ice filled tall glass. Top with orange juice.
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