The Thrill of It All (film)
| The Thrill of It All | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Norman Jewison |
| Screenplay by | Carl Reiner |
| Story by | Larry Gelbart Carl Reiner |
| Produced by | Ross Hunter Martin Melcher |
| Starring | Doris Day James Garner Arlene Francis |
| Cinematography | Russell Metty |
| Edited by | Milton Carruth |
| Music by | Frank De Vol |
| Color process | Eastmancolor |
| Distributed by | Universal-International |
Release date |
|
Running time | 108 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $11,779,093[1] |
The Thrill of It All is a 1963 American romantic comedy film directed by Norman Jewison and starring Doris Day and James Garner, with a supporting cast featuring Carl Reiner, Arlene Francis, Reginald Owen and ZaSu Pitts. The screenplay was written by Carl Reiner from a story by Larry Gelbart and Carl Reiner.
Reiner had originally conceived the project for Judy Holliday, who developed cancer and had to bow out of the project, according to Reiner's reminiscence during his videotaped "Archive of American Television" interview.
Plot
The story centers around suburban housewife Beverly Boyer and her husband, a successful obstetrician and devoted family man, Gerald. When Gerald advises the wife of a company executive for Happy Soap she is finally pregnant she invites the doctor and his wife to a family dinner in celebration, where they viewed their sponsored TV program to see the latest commercial hawking their product. During the dinner Beverly mentions a humorous story involving her kids using the soap. Dissatisfied with the commercial the sponsor's patriarch offers Beverly the opportunity to star in a television commercial advertising Happy Soap. After a shaky start, she gets a contract for nearly $80,000 per year (about $840,000 in 2025) to appear in weekly TV commercials.
Soon the soap company places greater and greater demands on the unlikely TV star. Gerald resents the fact that the appearances are taking up an increasing amount of her time, and that his position as breadwinner of the family is becoming threatened by Beverly's wealth. He also becomes jealous of the level of attention that Beverly's new-found stardom has brought her. Their relationship slowly deteriorates, but Gerald's patience finally snaps when the soap company gifts Beverly a swimming pool which is secretly built on the site of the family garage, and he accidentally drives and sinks his car into it later that evening. After an angry confrontation between the pair, he walks out with an ultimatum that she must choose either her career or their marriage. Gerald later returns, employing psychological warfare to make Beverly jealous by pretending that he is drinking and carousing with multiple women.
Soon after that, Beverly learns the executive's wife is about to give birth and calls Gerald to meet them all at the hospital. A comic but harrowing experience where the baby is delivered in a taxi leads to Beverly and Gerald reconciling, with Beverly giving up stardom to return to her life as a housewife and mother.
Cast
- Doris Day as Beverly Boyer
- James Garner as Dr. Gerald Boyer
- Arlene Francis as Mrs. Fraleigh
- Edward Andrews as Gardiner Fraleigh
- Reginald Owen as Old Tom Fraleigh
- ZaSu Pitts as Olivia
- Elliott Reid as Mike Palmer
- Alice Pearce as Irving's Wife
- Kym Karath as Maggie Boyer
- Brian Nash as Andy Boyer
- Lucy Landau as Mrs. Goethe
- Paul Hartman as Dr. Taylor
- Burt Mustin as the Fraleighs' butler, Sidney
- William Bramley as the angry driver
Carl Reiner, one of the two screenwriters of the film, makes brief appearances as a character actor appearing on TV in various nasty roles (World War II German Officer / Cad / Western Gunslinger).
Production
The film was announced in 1962. Hunter wanted to reunite Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald by having them play support parts.[2]
Doris Day and James Garner played the leads as a married couple in another theatrical film later that same year titled Move Over, Darling, a remake of the Irene Dunne/Cary Grant movie My Favorite Wife (1940). The Thrill of It All and Move Over, Darling were almost equally huge box office hits, with the first film released in July and the second opening on Christmas Day.
Reception
The Thrill of It All was the 16th biggest hit of the year, grossing $11,779,093 domestically.[1] It earned $6 million in US theatrical rentals.[3]
Garner wrote the film was "better than it should have been... because of Doris."[4]
See also
References
- ^ a b Box Office Information for The Thrill of It All. The Numbers. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
- ^ FILMMAKER TALKS ABOUT 5 PROJECTS: Hunter, Here in Visit, Tells of MacDonald-Eddy Plan 'Tammy Takes Over' Is Next Joanne Woodward to Star British Film Opens Today 7 Vie for Golden Laurel Albert Lamorisse Visits By HOWARD THOMPSON. New York Times 16 May 1962: 33.
- ^ "All-Time Top Grossers", Variety, 8 January 1964 p 69
- ^ Garner, James; Winokur, Jon (2011). The Garner Files: A Memoir. Simon & Schuster. p. 254.
External links
- The Thrill of It All (1963) at IMDb
- The Thrill of It All at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Thrill of It All at the TCM Movie Database (archived version)
- The Thrill of It All at Trailers from Hell