Friday Film-Night :: Pillow Talk

Silhouette Desire author Maxine Sullivan this week has picked one of my favourite all time romances. The costumes, the characters, the acting, the dialgoue, the set-up, all simply gorgeous. I was looking for something to do today and watching this movie on DVD may just be it ;).

PILLOW TALK

I admit it. I love Doris Day.

Actually I adore her! And despite Doris being dubbed “The Eternal Virgin” she was actually ahead of her time in some of her movies, playing independent women with careers who were not on the lookout for a man to make her life complete. She’s a wonderful actress and a natural comedienne, so it goes without saying that I love her movies, especially her romantic comedies. And none more than her 1959 classic where she teams with Rock Hudson in their first movie together called “Pillow Talk”.

Jan Morrow (Doris) plays an interior decorator who shares a telephone line with womanizing songwriter Brad Allen (Rock). Brad keeps her telephone line tied up all day talking to his girlfriends, stopping Jan from using her phone for business. She complains but nothing is resolved. Then Brad sees Jan by chance and is instantly attracted. Knowing she hates Brad Allen whom thankfully she’s never seen, he pretends to be a nice country boy from Texas, called Rex Stetson. He almost succeeds in seducing her… and then she discovers who he really is.

In the supporting cast, the very funny Tony Randall plays a wimpy, lovesick millionaire who wants to marry Jan, and who also happens to be Brad’s best friend.

Thelma Ritter plays Jan’s frequently sloshed housekeeper who loves to give Jan advice on men. Both supporting characters give wonderful performances.

For a romance writer this movie is perfect. It is a fantastic example of how witty dialogue should be written, how to keep the pace racing along, how to show the sexual attraction, and how to write a plot that works, despite it being full of coincidences and contrivances.

By the way, look for Rock Hudson’s scene where he ‘pretends’ to be gay. Looking at the movie now, it’s obvious he was laughing at playing a part he knew so well. And how risqué for those times. Having read his biography, his career would have been over before it began if word had gotten out about his real life sexual preference.

As for Doris, she preferred to be a dancer, but as a teenager when the car she was in was hit by a train, she spent many months in bed with leg injuries and that’s where she learnt to sing. Her singing teacher taught her how to get that husky catch to her voice, used to perfection with the many fabulous songs in this movie.

So give yourself a treat and watch Pillow Talk. In my last movie review I gave my favourite movie, American Dreamer, 10 out of 10, but this one totally deserves a 10 as well. Enjoy!

Maxine Sullivan writes for Silhouette Desire. Her third book, “The Executive’s Vengeful Seduction” is due for release in North America in August 2007 and in October 2007 in Australia and New Zealand.

Visit her website at http://www.maxinesullivan.com/