A Few Words About A few words about...™ The Glass Bottom Boat - in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Thomas T]

As I recall, when Day left Hollywood after doing her TV series, she didn't consider herself retired from acting and still read scripts and considered offers that came her way. But she didn't like the stuff she was being offered. She said it wasn't until she met with Albert Brooks and read his script of Mother which she really liked that she realized the script she had been waiting for had arrived but she had lost all interest in acting. So that chapter in her life was closed once and for all. Debbie Reynolds ended up playing the part.

 

[Matt Hough]

Mother is a delightful film as is, but wouldn't it have been a treat to see her again after all those years with such a delightful role to play! Reynolds earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance, and Doris might have won and even gone on to score another Oscar nomination (there was serious talk about Reynolds earning an Oscar bid and was one of the major entries in the snub news the day after nominations were announced).

 

[BarryR]

As I kid I saw GBB when first released--a real family night at the movies. I recall uproarious audience laughter with Dom DeLuise, and at some sight gags.

 

[JohnMor]

Watched the blu-ray last night. Gorgeous transfer, but a lot of teal.

Just kidding. There *is* teal, but in the delightful production design and the costumes by Ray Aghayan. I never noticed how many dresses in the big party sequence are shades of teal and that Ellen Corby’s teal dress actually matches the teal highlights in the kitchen. So Doris’ entrance in her bright yellow coat makes quite a splash. The entire party sequence is really marvelous.

And Doris looks great in her bright colors and her deep tan.

Equally gorgeous though is the HD transfer of The Dot and the Line. It really shines on this disc.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

One note about Day in "GBB": she looked pretty damned good!

To modern eyes, most 40-somethings in the 60s look like they're 10-15 years older. Rod Taylor was only 36 but he easily looks like a guy 20 years older than that.

Day seems younger than 44, though - a real accomplishment for that era!

 

[David Mahlan]

Another part of the reason Doris didn't get South Pacific, from what I've heard, is that R&H absolutely despised Martin Melcher, Doris' husband/manager. He inserted himself into every project on which Doris was involved, and they refused to work with him.

To hear Doris tell it, this may have been part of the reason. Jonathan Schwartz recently played an interview he did with Doris in 2010 in which he asked about South Pacific. She said she was offered the part, met with Rodgers & Hammerstein about it, that the meeting went well, and then her began "wheeling and dealing" with them. It's unclear whether Melcher asked for too much, wanted too much control, or if they weren't willing to pay Doris' established rate for a film. She indicates she had no interest or involvement in the business side of things and let her husband handle all that, though she did comment that she'd heard Mitzi Gaynor did the film for a very low price.

The interview is archived on Schwartz' site:
http://thejonathanstation.com/archive/

Scroll down to the "Saturday Show 04-06-2019". The interview with Doris begins 30 minutes into the show, with the South Pacific story starting around the 1:08.30 mark.

The full interview runs over an hour and is delightful. Doris Day fans who haven't heard it should check it out.

 

[octobercountry]

"The interview with Doris begins 30 minutes into the show, with the South Pacific story starting around the 1:08.30 mark."

Thanks so much for the link---fascinating stuff! Quite apart from the fact that he stole all her money, I think Doris' husband Marty probably did her career harm numerous times over the years. (Particularly at the end when he seemed to be getting more desperate and signed her up for all those awful pictures one after the other.) Nobody seems to have a good word to say about Martin Melcher; everything I've read about him has been negative.

 

[Robin9]

"The interview with Doris begins 30 minutes into the show, with the South Pacific story starting around the 1:08.30 mark."

Thanks so much for the link---fascinating stuff! Quite apart from the fact that he stole all her money, I think Doris' husband Marty probably did her career harm numerous times over the years. (Particularly at the end when he seemed to be getting more desperate and signed her up for all those awful pictures one after the other.) Nobody seems to have a good word to say about Martin Melcher; everything I've read about him has been negative.

Doris Day in a television interview about thirty years ago said that she had always got on very well with Frank Sinatra but that when they worked together on Young At Heart, Sinatra really did not like Marty Melcher.

 

[JohnMor]

Doris Day in a television interview about thirty years ago said that she had always got on very well with Frank Sinatra but that when they worked together on Young At Heart, Sinatra really did not like Marty Melcher.

At one point in the production, Sinatra actually had Melcher barred from the lot. I don’t know why that tickles me so much.

 

[Robin9]

At one point in the production, Sinatra actually had Melcher barred from the lot. I don’t know why that tickles me so much.

If I remember correctly, Doris mentioned that in the same interview. I wish I still had it. I recorded it onto VHS but I don't have it any more.

 

[Tom St Jones]

Surprised to hear that The Glass Bottom Boat isn't well liked. It's one of my favorites.

Same here.. It's an enjoyable, not-too demanding time-killer and, well, there are far worse ways to kill 1.5+/- hrs. Atleast here on HTF it may not be held in the highest esteem. Dunno abt the general, somewhat-more tolerant population (I don't really trust the review-aggregator sites). Anyway, I, for one, love the film.

 

[warnerbro]

I agree, this is not very good, but somehow I love it. I enjoy it over and over again.

 

[Panavision70]

Doris would have been perfect for "Hello Dolly!"

 

[MartinP.]

^^^

In 1993 when I saw the musical SUNSET BLVD. a few times, I thought Doris Day would be great in that if they made a movie version of it. She'd been out of the public eye awhile and would fit the role in ways that Gloria Swanson did when the film first appeared.

If I mentioned it back then everyone would say, maybe, but she's too old. She's 70. Cut to this year when it's planned to become a movie with Glenn Close. Who's now 72.
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In 1989 I recall that Doris Day was in talks to do a movie version of West Side Waltz. I saw the Ernest Thomson (On Golden Pond) play with Katharine Hepburn. Also that year she had agreed to appear on the Oscar telecast, but it was reported that she had cut her foot working in her garden and wouldn't be able to attend. Since there was always talk of her being reclusive, I wondered if that was true or an excuse. In any event, she didn't do West Side Waltz (it was done in 1995 as a TV film, with Shirley MacLaine) and she didn't appear on the Oscars.

 

[MartinP.]

And it's amazing that she's still with us---just think, 97 years old!

And still no honorary Oscar.

(And please don't respond to this sentiment saying AMPAS won't give her one because she doesn't want one or wouldn't go to accept it. There is no rule requirement beforehand that you show up or even want the award to be afforded the honor.)

 

[MartinP.]

As well as two specials including The Doris Mary Anne Kappelhoff Special - of which I have fond memories - which is apparently on DVD under the Doris Day Special ...

Both of the specials were released on DVD.

She was never obsessed with her career and never thrilled about living in LA.

I wonder what your source is for this statement. Because she retired to Carmel doesn't necessarily equate to "never thrilled about living in L.A." Doris is one person who has never bashed "Hollywood" or her time spent there, as some people are wont to do. I saw an interview with her where she said she absolutely loved being there and talked about how excited she was every morning to go to the studio and work on her films.

 

[MartinP.]

Day in 3-strip Technicolor - but only "Calamity Jane" is available on Blu

Romance on the High Seas (1948)
My Dream Is Yours (1949)
It's a Great Feeling (1949)
Tea for Two (1950)
Lullaby of Broadway (1951)
On Moonlight Bay (1951)
April in Paris (1952)
By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953)
Calamity Jane (1953)

I've seen most of these. Romance on the High Seas is a must, if only to hear Doris sing "It's Magic." Her voice, the lyrics, the melody...all perfect. If you ever want to feel optimism, just listen to that song.

It's a Great Feeling is a lot of fun because there are many many cameos by very famous actors (and a director). It's more entertaining if you don't know beforehand.
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Sorry, I know none of my posts have been about The Glass Bottom Boat. It's a mixed bag, IMO, but it has a lot to offer, especially in the Blu-Ray format.

 

[mark-edk]

I enjoy this movie despite its silliness, possibly because of one scene, where Doris sings the title song with her movie Dad Arthur Godfrey. There's a natural interplay between the two of them that seems improvised even if it wasn't; in any case it's my favorite part of the film.

 

[JohnMor]

I enjoy this movie despite its silliness, possibly because of one scene, where Doris sings the title song with her movie Dad Arthur Godfrey. There's a natural interplay between the two of them that seems improvised even if it wasn't; in any case it's my favorite part of the film.

Terrific scene. Definitely a highlight.

 

[octobercountry]

The very sad news of Doris Day's passing this morning makes me feel quite melancholy, though of course I had long been thinking that this day couldn't be far off, as elderly as she was (age 97). Still, this affects me probably more than any other celebrity death that I can recall. She was a big part of my life from early childhood; I've always enjoyed her music and her films...

Odd thing is, I had been thinking about Doris a lot all weekend, playing her music and remembering scenes from some of her films, etc. Only last night I spent a couple of hours on the computer, transferring some of her CDs to the hard drive and looking up the albums in her online discography, etc., as I was listening to her music. So there's an odd connection there---it isn't as if a half-forgotten famous person died, who I hadn't even realised was still alive. She was very much in my thoughts in the immediate present, and then to hear that she had died within the past few hours....

She was a fantastic talent, and I will miss her.....