I will freely admit that I have been guilty of denigrated the romantic comedy genre. But, that is only the case because I know how great a romantic comedy can be and see all too often where they end up. If you want to see a brilliant example of the genre, look no further than the new Blu-ray release of the 1959 classic, Pillow Talk.
Directed by Michael Gordon, Pillow Talk stars the fantastic on screen duo of Rock Hudson and Doris Day. Here, the two play strangers who are brought together by their hatred for one another as they share a "party line." It is funny and charming and they make for a perfect pair.
For those unaware of what a "party line" is, imagine sharing a phone line with a complete stranger – you pick up the phone and there is someone else talking on it, someone who doesn't live with you. It is always the same household with which you share your line and it kind of stops you from being able to use your phone as you please. Okay, that's a hard concept from some today what with people having a personal cell phone on them 24/7 from a very early age, but when there weren't enough trunk lines, it happened.
So, in any case, in the film, on the one end of this party line is Rock Hudson's Brad Allen, who is quite the womanizer; on the other end is Doris Day's Jan Morrow, an interior designer and modern single woman. They do not like each other – Brad is something of a boor and Jan is done being patient with Brad's monopolizing the line.
As happens with such films, via a contrived event or two, Brad becomes aware of who Jan is in the real world (as opposed to the disembodied phone line world), but she remains unaware of who he is. They meet, he pretends to be someone else, and their relationship progresses under false pretenses.
.jpg?t=20130517094513)
Article comments