Move Over, Darling

Because it doesn't try to imitate its great predecessor, "My Favorite Wife." And James Garner does not try to copy the impossible-to-be-copied Cary Grant. And Doris Day looks the other way from the delightful performance of Irene Dunne. THEY ARE ALL OFF TO A NEW START, ONLY FOCUSING ON WHAT'S BEFORE THEM, guided by the skilled director, Michael Gordon. The result is a very different approach to a wonderful story. And lots of laughs are to be had.For those of you who have seen neither film, the gist of the plot is that Garner's wife is believed to have died in a shipwreck five years before. One day after her being declared legally dead, and Garner remarrying (an aptly coy, slightly spoiled bratish Polly Bergen), guess who shows up? Not a new girl in town!Complications abound, and with them endless laughs. The name of the game here is slapstick: excellently and adroitly done. Day is exhuberant, and her comedic timing is at its best. Her facial expressions, especially when they are quick and unexpected, are hilarious. As for Garner, I think this film is one of his best. His flair for comedy stands out, and he is at his most engaging.Three cheers also for supporting cast members: who can imagine this film without the wry humanity of Thelma Ritter, the confused judge (with much reason) played by the ever-talented Edgar Buchanan, and Don Knotts, in one of the funniest scenes in film comedy as a timid shoe clerk waiting on his customer, Ms. Day.This is one I'll watch whenever I need a good laugh. Or just cheering up. It can't fail.Sadly, this story was in the process of being remade a second time at 20th Century Fox, with Dean Martin in the lead role, Cyd Charrise in Bergen's role, and Wally Cox in Knott's', when the other major star of the film met with an untimely death. Her name was Marilyn Monroe. It was dusted off and remade into this delightful brew a year later. Martin Melcher, Ms. Day's husband, was at the helm as producer, and, although their marriage eventually became mainly a business arrangement, he should receive great credit in forming, guiding and maintaining her career.

You can't go wrong with two movie icons like Doris Day and James Garner.

Great comedy movie and such a fun twist of a movie of marriage. Highly recommend! You cannot go wrong with these actors and actresses!! LOL!! Fun watching a clean, family movie.

I love Doris Day. Fun movie and story.

A wonderful Doris Day movie! A must have for your collection!

For what is basically just a very funny sixties comedy film, “Move Over Darling” comes with a lot of baggage. First we have to go all the way back to 1864 and Tennyson’s narrative poem, “Enoch Arden” which created the basic plot of (in the poem) a sailor returning after a ten year absence to find his wife remarried. Much is changed from the poem, including not only the gender switch but the switch from tragedy to comedy. The last name of Arden is kept as a nod to the poem.In 1940 Leo McCarey and Garson Kanin turned the material into a comedy, “My Favorite Wife”, with Cary Grant, Irene Dunne and Gail Patrick and scored a big hit. In 1962 Twentieth Century Fox began remaking it as “Something’s Got To Give” with Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin and Cyd Charisse. That, of course was famously scrapped, first due to Marilyn’s undependability and after being reinstated in the film, her death. With the sets built and financially reeling after “Cleopatra”, the studio decided to press on with a script adjusted to its new stars, Doris Day, James Garner and Polly Bergen. Only Thelma Ritter was retained from the Monroe film. In a funny scene, Day even references the Grant-Dunne film. James Garner was originally intended as the lead with Monroe by couldn’t because of “The Great Escape” and was replaced by Martin.Of course the early sixties public would have been unaware of most all of this and simply accepted it as a new Doris Day comedy with her latest leading man, James Garner, who had been in her last film, “The Thrill of It All”. They worked really well together and the result was one of the biggest films of 1963-64. Here they are Nick and Ellen Arden. Watch Garner’s funny facial expressions as he reacts to every increasingly bizarre situation; he has great timing and it was his comic expressions that convinced producer Roy Huggins to cast him as the lead in his new TV series, “Maverick”.Day, of course, had impeccable comic timing and here gets to be angry, cunning and even zany. For me, two of her funniest scenes ever are in this film. The first is as a “Swedish Nurse” who gives massages. The second is in a car chase which was filmed last in case the elements of the scene messed up her looks (showing that it is actually her in the car, not a double; that’s how professional she was). She also gets to play some realistically tender scenes with her two daughters who do not know who she is because of the five year gap. Day had a great range and always seemed authentic in her roles, a very underrated actress.Polly Bergen is in the thankless but funny role of Bianca, Garner’s intended bride, who is, naturally the wrong woman for him (In a Day movie, any other possible romantic partner is the wrong woman). She telegraphs this from the start with her jangly bracelet and self-centered ways to a wardrobe that includes coral suits with leopard lapels. Her frustration on her honeymoon is hilarious. Thelma Ritter (also in “Pillow Talk”) is Day’s no-nonsense mother-in-law who gives her good advice when needed. Don Knotts makes a brief but memorable appearance as a shoe clerk. Edgar Buchanan is very funny as a judge who seems to want to be anywhere but in the courtroom.The production is lush with the Beverly Hills Hotel standing in for the “Monterey Inn”. The Ardens’ very upscale Beverly Hills home is ready for a magazine shoot. The sets for the house were modeled after George Cuckor’s actual house (he was directing “Something’s Got To Give”). It has nice mid-century modern interiors that show what the style was usually like, not as sparse as today’s take on it. The exteriors were shot in Holmby Hills, where this would be a rather modest house and in fact it was torn down to build something larger. There’s also a nice musical score by Lionel Newman that’s jazzy during the car chase and swooning with romantic strings that seem to be about to burst into “Younger Than Springtime” during the romantic scenes.The premise of the film holds up because it puts Nick Arden in a bad legal situation involving bigamy and is not just about a romantic misunderstanding.This was one of Day’s best later comedies so be sure not to miss it.

Classic Doris Day at the best of her career. Garner is wonderful as well. Long lost wife comes back to find her husband about to marry someone else. Let the hilarity ensue!

My DVD arrived on time and in great condition!!! I appreciate the professional packaging.