Warning: This review may contain spoilers.
The premise for DO NOT DISTURB sounds like a good one for a Doris Day romp. An All-American newlywed couple in London experience trouble when he spends too much time at the office with his attractive secretary so she flirts with a Continental charmer. Through a series of merry misunderstandings and comical mishaps everything works out and the couple lives happily ever after. If DO NOT DISTURB had the smooth direction of Michael Gordon and the witty screenwriting of Stanley Shapiro(the same team who worked on Miss Day's megahit PILLOW TALK), DO NOT DISTURB would have been a classic.
Instead, DO NOT DISTURB receives direction from Ralph Levy who served primarily as a TV director of sitcoms such as I LOVE LUCY. Levy does what he can but ultimately he and the cast are let down by the script. DO NOT DISTURB starts out with a fun cartoon title sequence animated by DePatie-Freling(THE PINK PANTHER) accompanied by a memorable title tune warbled by the film's leading lady. The film reasonably amuses for the 1st act but tends to sag during the midsection when Miss Day heads off to Paris(and trouble) with Sergio Fantoni(THE PRIZE, ESTHER AND THE KING). Things do pick up when Miss Day heads off to a wool manufacturers convention at a swanky Paris hotel(the set used for it looks suspiciously like Captain von Trapp's home in THE SOUND OF MUSIC which was made by 20th Century-Fox the same year)where she pretends to be her husband's(Rod Taylor) "secretary". In the process she ends up impressing the host(Leon Askin) by becoming the life of the party. This sequence(including the band abruptly alternating between mid-1960s twisting and Viennese waltzes at the whim of the Austrian wool magnate) is the funniest and most satisfying section of the film.
DO NOT DISTURB is pleasant enough and Rod Taylor(THE BIRDS, 36 HOURS) makes a worthy leading man for Miss Day. Their chemistry is delightful. There is also terrific support from veteran character actors Hermione Baddeley(who was also in Miss Day's 1960 vehicle MIDNIGHT LACE that like DO NOT DISTURB deals with a young wife in London) and Reginald Gardiner. Also, Day fans will like the injokes where children ask her if she knows Cary Grant and Rock Hudson, in reality her 2 most famous co-stars. But it's never as fun, well-crafted, memorable or as inspired as some of her other vehicles such as MOVE OVER DARLING and TEACHER'S PET. She and Taylor would be better served by their next vehicle together, comedy veteran Frank Tashlin's classic THE GLASS BOTTOM BOAT.
Bottom line: For diehard Day fans only. Rating: 5 out of 10.
The premise for DO NOT DISTURB sounds like a good one for a Doris Day romp. An All-American newlywed couple in London experience trouble when he spends too much time at the office with his attractive secretary so she flirts with a Continental charmer. Through a series of merry misunderstandings and comical mishaps everything works out and the couple lives happily ever after. If DO NOT DISTURB had the smooth direction of Michael Gordon and the witty screenwriting of Stanley Shapiro(the same team who worked on Miss Day's megahit PILLOW TALK), DO NOT DISTURB would have been a classic.
Instead, DO NOT DISTURB receives direction from Ralph Levy who served primarily as a TV director of sitcoms such as I LOVE LUCY. Levy does what he can but ultimately he and the cast are let down by the script. DO NOT DISTURB starts out with a fun cartoon title sequence animated by DePatie-Freling(THE PINK PANTHER) accompanied by a memorable title tune warbled by the film's leading lady. The film reasonably amuses for the 1st act but tends to sag during the midsection when Miss Day heads off to Paris(and trouble) with Sergio Fantoni(THE PRIZE, ESTHER AND THE KING). Things do pick up when Miss Day heads off to a wool manufacturers convention at a swanky Paris hotel(the set used for it looks suspiciously like Captain von Trapp's home in THE SOUND OF MUSIC which was made by 20th Century-Fox the same year)where she pretends to be her husband's(Rod Taylor) "secretary". In the process she ends up impressing the host(Leon Askin) by becoming the life of the party. This sequence(including the band abruptly alternating between mid-1960s twisting and Viennese waltzes at the whim of the Austrian wool magnate) is the funniest and most satisfying section of the film.
DO NOT DISTURB is pleasant enough and Rod Taylor(THE BIRDS, 36 HOURS) makes a worthy leading man for Miss Day. Their chemistry is delightful. There is also terrific support from veteran character actors Hermione Baddeley(who was also in Miss Day's 1960 vehicle MIDNIGHT LACE that like DO NOT DISTURB deals with a young wife in London) and Reginald Gardiner. Also, Day fans will like the injokes where children ask her if she knows Cary Grant and Rock Hudson, in reality her 2 most famous co-stars. But it's never as fun, well-crafted, memorable or as inspired as some of her other vehicles such as MOVE OVER DARLING and TEACHER'S PET. She and Taylor would be better served by their next vehicle together, comedy veteran Frank Tashlin's classic THE GLASS BOTTOM BOAT.
Bottom line: For diehard Day fans only. Rating: 5 out of 10.