You're here:
Doris Day: The TCM Spotlight Collection
Reviewer: Alyice Edrich
Movie
TCM Spotlight: Doris Day Collection
It’s a Great Feeling, Tea for Two, Starlift, April in Paris, The Tunnel Of Love,
Starring
Doris Day, Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson, Gordon MacRae, Ray Bolger, Claude Dauphin, Richard Widmark, Gig Young, Gia Scala, Gene Nelson, Patrice Wymore, Eve Arden, Billy De Wolfe, S.Z. Sakall, Virginia Mayo, Gene Nelson, Ruth Roman, and more.
The Review
As a teenager, I was introduced to Doris Day through her role as Calamity Jane and was immediately smitten with her acting abilities. I later went on to watch other films, starring Doris, and found myself captivated by her charm, her singing ability, and of course, her acting skills. While most of the films seemed to follow a certain formula, thus not allowing her to branch out and stretch her acting skills, I didn’t seem to mind. Every time I watched a Doris Day film, I walked away feeling good inside. I thought I had seen every film Doris ever acted in, until I discovered TCM Spotlight: Doris Day Collection. I couldn’t believe I missed those films, and couldn’t help but wonder how many others I had missed. Nevertheless, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy of the collection and I am so glad I did!
It’s A Great Feeling (1949)
It's A Great Feeling is about a young woman who puts off marrying the guy of her dreams to go to Hollywood, in hopes of becoming a big star. Working in the studio cafeteria, she feels close to her dream, but just can’t reach it. In one last ditch effort to make her dreams a reality, she forces one of her customers, a struggling director, to listen to her act and then agrees to play a prank on his friend in order to earn a role in his film. Through a series of events, she discovers that Hollywood isn’t for her, and she returns home to marry her sweetheart. I found Day’s constant eye batting and lip quivering quite annoying; so annoying in fact, that I couldn’t fully enjoy the show.
Tea For Two (1950)
Tea For Two is about a young millionairess, Nanette, whose only goal in life is to earn a spot in a musical based upon her talent—not her checkbook. There’s just one problem, as an old flame tries to push his way back into her life so that he could get his hands on her checkbook, her uncle mismanages her fortune and tries to hide it until circumstances improve themselves. And to do this, he tells Nanette that she can have $25,000 to invest in her ex’s film if she can just learn to say “No” for two days. Most film critics find this film a jumbled mess, but even as a young girl, I loved this film; especially the song and dance numbers!
Starlift (1951)
Starlift is a cute film about two young WWII soldiers who charm their way into the lives of three female stars, only to get the starlets entangled in a lie that hits nationwide proportions. To get themselves out of a pickle, the youngest star agrees to date one of the soldiers—who just so happens to come from her hometown—and falls in love while the other two coordinate a program that lifts the spirits of fallen soldiers and those going off to war. While Day’s appearance in this film is minimal, I found it a delightfully charming film.
April In Paris (1952)
April In Paris is about a young woman, a chorus girl, who mistakenly gets an invitation to represent the United States in Paris during the International Festival of Arts. When the guy-in-charge discovers the mistake, he rushes over to Doris’ “job” to give her the bad news—she won’t be going to Paris. But when his boss discovers the screw-up, he thinks it’s a brilliant idea and thus, off Doris goes. The plot thickens however, when she falls in love with the guy in charge—who just so happens to be engaged to his boss’ daughter—and the two secretly wed.
The Tunnel Of Love (1958)
The Tunnel Of Love is about a young married couple, the Pooles, who long to have a baby of their own, but cannot seem to get pregnant. Their chance of adoption lies in their credibility, and the character witness of their best friends and neighbors, the Frasers. There’s just one problem, the Mr. Fraser is a cheating, lying, unethical man who decides to hit on the investigator, then later convinces Mr. Poole to do the same. On the “date”, however, he takes far too many tranquilizers, in an attempt to calm his nerves, and passes out. The next morning, he awakens in a hotel room with no memory of what occurred the night before. Later, when he meets up with the investigator and finds her pregnant, he jumps to the conclusion that the baby is his. And thus the plot thickens, as he tries to come to terms with his indiscretion and the new baby the adoption agency places in their lap just nine months later—a baby, who looks an awful lot like Mr. Poole! To be quite honest, I hated this film. It just seemed strange and out of character for a “Doris Day” film. And yet, many reviewers found this to be the best film of the bunch.
The bonus features have absolutely nothing to do with Doris Day, which I found completely disappointing. However, that being said, the “vintage shorts” starring Joe McDoakers were quite entertaining and my kids got a kick out of the “classic cartoons”.
Order TCM Spotlight: Doris Day Collection Today!
Disclosure: The reviewer received a complimentary copy of the DVD to review.
Want to tell us what you think about this article?
Email Us | Tweet Us | Comment on FB
Share this page with a friend.