Pillow talk. The expression conjures cozy confessions between lovers, that special intimacy that is born of whispers late at night. It’s also the name of a 1959 movie starring the inimitable Doris Day, who passed away yesterday at the age of 97. Her co-star in this romp — Rock Hudson, who was a real-world friend to real-world Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff.
Pillow Talk is a favorite “comfort film” of mine, and one I have been known to watch, happily, in the wee hours.
I actually began this post months ago (then set it aside), after enjoying Pillow Talk when insomnia held me in its grip. And this morning I cannot resist revisiting this film, if only briefly.
My “Party” Line… Natural Sleep Aids
As one who routinely doesn’t sleep very well, there are times when I need something to take my mind off my worries (and the sorrows of the world), so I turn to a “natural” elixir as a sleep aid… frequently to be found on Turner Classic Movies, and just as often, a “chick flick” like Pillow Talk.
If you don’t know the film, the premise is simple (and to today’s audiences, quaint). Doris is a decorator in Manhattan, a “career girl,” and she shares a party line with Rock Hudson, who is quite the cad. Well, we’ll call him a “ladies man.”
A party line. Yes! More than one person to a phone number and required to take turns using it!
What follows are tiffs, deceptions, and the delights of these two characters eventually falling in love. And the cherry on top of this satisfying confection — Thelma Ritter as Doris’s (frequently hungover) housekeeper.
Who Wouldn’t Take Comfort in Clark? Not Kent. Gable!
There is another movie I’d like to mention — 1958’s Teacher’s Pet, a delicious pairing of Doris Day with Clark Gable. They duke it out (then fall in love) in the context of a tug-of-war over teaching journalism in the classroom versus learning it “the hard way” in a rough-and-tumble newsroom.
Setting Hollywood of the 1950s and early 60s aside, arguably the heyday of Doris’s career (and certainly her popularity), let’s peek behind the curtains for a few minutes. There are nights when all the accumulations of our daytime dramas threaten to turn us — okay, me — into a looney tune. All the slights, strains, and stupidity of my own foibles and failings are blown out of proportion: a misunderstanding with a friend tugs at my heart, I’m struggling with what I did (or didn’t) say clearly to a client or neighbor, or I’m revisiting worries (however minor) over one of my adult kids.
Sources of disagreement, disappointment, stress… They all seem so much more commonplace these days, don’t they? And not just with the “usual players” who are active participants in our lives, but with mammoth corporate entities, with so-called customer service reps, with faceless bureaucrats at the local utility. And then there’s the soul-numbing news, which seems so much more disturbing each day. More violent. More incomprehensible. And if we’re not working and wish to be? Or we wish to be working more? Oh, the way feelings of insignificance creep in. Insistent. Insidious.
Can’t We Escape Technology’s Glow? Or Is it Glower?
And don’t get me started on the beeps and lights of chargers that are now so ubiquitous not only in our designated home offices but in our bedrooms…
No wonder we don’t sleep well at night! No wonder yours truly turns to TCM (or my own library) for Stella Dallas or Gentleman’s Agreement or anything with Cary Grant!
Then there’s Doris, dear Doris. She always makes me feel better. And yes, though the light from my tablet will not encourage sleep, I’m likely to locate one of her films if I can (any vintage in her long career will do), I’ll enjoy her classic co-stars as well (add James Stewart and Cary Grant to the list), and then I disappear into her exquisite singing voice, her impeccable sense of comic timing, her approachability and warmth, and however unreal, the lighthearted lyricism of a rom-com.
Real World Wonderment? My Personal Rx?
Now, I may not presently have a Jimmy, Cary, Rock, or Clark in my immediate universe (with whom to engage in a bit of pillow talk), but that also means I don’t have to put up with snoring, bed-hogging, or any of the other “inconveniences” that are part and parcel of a regular bed partner. I’m quite content these days to locate Doris Day on my small screen, thank you very much, and take comfort as well as pleasure in two hours of her company.
Naturally, I’m not unaware of the reality behind these “classics,” and I do not wish to see a return of the era of blatant white male privilege (we’ve still got more than enough to deal with now). But I am susceptible to the easy cadence and content of these scripts and their stars. Besides, the best Rx when you can’t sleep? Take two chick flicks, and call me in the morning!
Do check out this New York Times article on Doris Day’s best movies, though it doesn’t include Midnight Lace (another good one!) or Teacher’s Pet. You may also enjoy this tribute.
Any “older” films that you turn to when you need comfort? When you’re sleepless at 2 a.m.? Any favorite stars whose films always make you smile? Are there some you can’t bear to watch because the stereotypes are so offensive?
Image of Doris Day, screen-captured watching Pillow Talk on TCM. (Thank you, TCM.)
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I adored Doris Day… always and forever! Quaint? Very, for these times. Feel good? Yes indeed. My mother and I would watch each movie many times and yes, that meant actually going to a theatre!! I thought she was superb.
As you might guess… I quite agree with your assessment! 🙂 (I remember going with my mom as a child to the one and only “Cinema” in our little town. Always so much fun!)
So…when I moved to Europe and was getting tutored in French (because despite having had 2 years of college credits and top grades, I was worthless), my tutor informed me that the best way to learn French was to get a francophone lover to learn French “sur l’oreillier”– on the pillow. Pillow talk, you know. I went for years with the traditional class method but eventually did try out pillow talk and can attest that it works far, far better. For learning French.
To me, Doris Day is inextricably linked to the song “Que Sera, Sera,” which I thought was French but which must be something else (Spanish?) because of the pronunciation of que as “kay” rather than “kuh” and the accent on será, which wouldn’t be there in French. I loved the song for years but was far too young to have seen the movie (The Man Who Knew Too Much); when I eventually discovered the movie’s plot, I was revulsed. I do have the original sheet music, from 1956 (bought by my mom–I wasn’t born yet!!!).
I’m chuckling at what you note as the preferred method of learning a language. I quite agree, and I will say no more on that subject. Ahem.
Yes, the subject matter of “The Man Who Knew Too Much” is disturbing, but Hitchcock is such a master and Doris Day is wonderful in the film. You might enjoy the thriller, Midnight Lace, if you haven’t seen it. And I’m sure you would enjoy Teacher’s Pet, too.
Enfin… Naturally, like you, I was much too young to see any of these aforementioned films until they started showing up on television decades later. ?
You are so right about “OLD” movies being a way to comfort and ease your brain. Anything with Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Jack Lemon, Tony Curtis will do. Doris Day, Debbie Reynolds, Myrna Loy, Irene Dunn will be on my list. The Thin Man series and Ma & Pa Kettle will make me happy.
I am of the age where the daily news will take a toll on my fragile, rather depressive personality. Music, old films, reading certain books, Joyous Season by Patrick Dennis comes to mind for laugh out loud antics. I can certainly relate. I feel like evil is taking over the whole world and I am afraid for my children and grandchildren. Therapy and acupuncture are part of my regiment to stay more positive about life and not be so anxious. I am doing all I can do.
I hear you on all fronts, Vicki. Incidentally, I would be curious to know your experience of acupuncture. Someone suggested it to me very recently to help with my back pain.
You would probably find acupuncture similar to therapeutic massage, perhaps better, as I’m not sure massage has the same theories (meridians, pressure points) behind it. It looks odd but it isn’t painful. I’ve had it done for stress relief and allergy relief. The allergy relief didn’t work. The stress relief worked very well, for a couple of days. We have an elderly (and very conventional) relative who swears by it for relief of physical pain.
I’d be hard pressed to think of another woman like Doris Day. Do we even raise women like her anymore? She’s everything our mothers wanted to be: classy, funny, charming, her beauty wasn’t intimidating and she was deceptively sexy. Sleep… I’ve struggled with this elusive state since my first husband made cocaine in the basement and became addicted to his own “project.” Then I was kidnapped in Guatemala… I’ve tried hypnosis… serious weekly hypnosis sessions that didn’t work. Since then I’ve taken sleeping pills. The same amount for the last 30 years, and if I don’t mentally “gear down,” as in a nightly ritual, the pills don’t work either. I’m not the one to give advice on sleep except even with a sleeping pill, if I watch TV, am on one of my devices or am reading anything too interesting before my pill kicks in… All bets are off. xoxox, B
What an extraordinary life you have led and are leading, Brenda! So sorry that you too deal with sleep issues.
Yes, the device thing. I struggle with that.