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.

Good movie

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.

A man's wife is lost at sea. He remarries about a year later, which coincides with the unexpected return of the first wife. She learns that her husband is going on his honeymoon and decides to crash the party. Things become tense and awkward as he tries to figure out how to manage the problem. nonstop laughs. They don't make them like this anymore. Good old-fashioned entertainment.

Perfect movie for my mom it’s her favorite great shipping time

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.

Such a great movie.

Classic Doris Day comedy with a supporting cast of the best character actors in the business in the 1960'. These include Thelma Ritter, Edgar Buchanan, John Astin, and Don Knotts. Minor stars Chuck Connors and Polly Bergin also put in great performances as a himbo and and bimbo who have attached themselves to Doris Day and James Garner, respectively. The original movie, Something's Got to Give, was supposed to star Dean Martin and Marilyn Monroe, also with a great supporting cast which included Wally Cox in the Don Knotts role. Fox has restored most of the remaining footage of the original film and this can be seen on Fox's DVD about the last days of Marilyn Monroe, available in a multidisc Marilyn Monroe set. It is very interesting to compare these two films, expecially the different styles of playing the female lead between Doris and Marilyn. Marilyn was clearly not doing well at the time of the filming, but Doris is in top form as she portrays Ellen Wagstaff Arden, the wife and mother who is presumed drown at sea but returns to discover her husband has just remarried and she turns everyone's life upside down.

Había visto una parte de esta película por televisión y en cuanto supe cómo se titulaba la compré para comprobar si toda ella era tan amena como lo que ví por TV. No me ha defraudado en absoluto, porque aunque me encanta Doris Day, el resto de los actores contribuyen a hacer de esta una comedia para todos los públicos y para cualquier hora del día. La sensación que me deja después de verla es de alegría, aunque no me imagino hoy en día las escenas del hotel con un director tan "correcto y moralista" como el de esta película intentando hacer entender al marido en qué consiste la corrección dentro del matrimonio y cuál ha de ser su comportamiento. Sencillamente adorable.

A classic in every sense of the word - a real must for Doris day fans and anybody who likes a good evening's comedy film with no bad language to worry about and so suitable for most audiences plus a cracking title song thrown in as well - brilliant! - and yes, they don't make them anymore like this sadly. So buy, sit back and enjoy Doris and company at their best. 5 Stars easy

This is a delightful movie. Period. Doris Day and James Garner have a chemistry on screen that holds the pace of a wonderful (although unlikely) plot that flows hilariously from scene to scene. Day plays Garner's wife Ellen, missing for five years and presumed dead, and her return on the day of his re-marriage to Bianca (Polly Bergen) more than rocks the boat of marital bliss! What ensues is unbridled hilarity as Garner tries to find a way to tell Bianca his wife is alive, while realizing how much he still loves Ellen. Add in the man with whom Day shared an island in the Pacific (Chuck Connors), the man Day chooses to 'portray' him (Don Knotts) when she introduces him to Garner, and you have an outrageous comedy that will have you rolling in your personal aisle! We talk these days about ensemble acting. This film is the epitome of that concept, with a marvelous supporting cast. If you love to laugh, and have a bit of the '60's in you, you have to see "Move Over Darling".

Great film

I enjoyed this movie for many years and was glad to find it.