By 1958, Doris Day's career was on the downslide and something drastic needed to be done to revive her career. 1959'S PILLOW TALK redefined Doris' image and created an entirely new genre of the "will she or won't she" sex comedy as well as introducing one of the greatest romantic screen couplings in history...Doris Day and Rock Hudson. Day plays Jan Morrow, an interior decorator who shares her phone line with Brad Allen (Hudson) a song-writing playboy who ties up Doris' phone by singing love songs (actually the same song) over the phone to the parade of women in his life. Day's attempts to get a private phone line fail and she and Hudson begrudgingly come up with a system to share the phone which Hudson doesn't stick to. Tony Randall plays Jonathan Forbes, a rich playboy who is a client of Doris' and Rock's best friend, who is crazy about Doris but she doesn't feel the same way. One night, Brad discovers Jan at a nightclub and knowing she already hates him, pretends to be a wealthy Texan in order to romance her and this is where the fun begins. Yes, the story is dated because party lines are virtually a thing of the past but it is the linchpin upon which this story delightfully plays out. Director Michael Gordon cleverly uses split-screen images to put Doris and Rock together on screen in seemingly compromising positions, very adult for 1959 and watching Brad pretending to be cowboy Rex Stetson, trying to romance Jan while Brad tries to advise Jan over the phone about what a cad Rex is, is a lot of fun. Day lights up the screen here, in a luminous performance that earned her her first and only Oscar nomination. Hudson, previously only seen in dramatic films up to this point, turns out to be gifted farceur and interviews in his later years, always credited Doris for teaching him how to do comedy. Randall is comic perfection as Jonathan as is Thelma Ritter, who was also nominated for an Oscar for her work as Jan's housekeeper. A delight from start to finish that introduced a new movie couple that would give Fred and Ginger and Spenceer and Kate a run for their money.

In New York, the interior decorator Jan Morrow (Doris Day) and the wolf composer Brad Allen (Rock Hudson) share a party line, but Brad keeps it busy most of the time flirting with his girlfriends. They do not know each other but Jan hates Brad since she needs the telephone for her business and can not use it.

Coincidently Jan's wealthy client Jonathan Forbes (Tony Randall) that woos her is the best friend of Brad and he comments with him that he feels an unrequited love for Jan, who is a gorgeous woman. When Brad meets Jan by chance in a restaurant, he poses as a naive tourist from Texas named Rex Stetson and seduces her. But Jonathan hires a private eye to find who Rex Stetson is.

"Pillow Talk" is a delightful romantic comedy that improved my Saturday afternoon. This is the first time that I watch this movie and Doris Day and Rock Hudson show a great chemistry. But Thelma Ritter steals the movie in the role of the alcoholic housemaid Alma. The gags with the nurse and the obstetrician are also hilarious. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Confidências à Meia-Noite" ("Confidences at Midnight")

Before I saw Pillow Talk, as much as I did love Young At Heart, Move Over Darling, Love Me or Leave Me and The Thrill of It All, I thought I'd never see a Doris Day film that I loved more than Calamity Jane. Well with Pillow Talk, I found it. It is witty, charming, smart, fresh and funny, and like I said with Move Over Darling it doesn't have a single wasted scene. Also it is my personal favourite of the films Day made with Universal Studios.

I will admit when I first saw the film I did occasionally find it slow and the ending a little abrupt. Seeing it again, any flaws I had with it initially went completely, and the more I saw Pillow Talk the more I found to like and the more I liked it. The story about a telephone party line is smart and quite original. It is glossy froth, but I like glossy froth. The production values are pretty simple yet glamorous and the music is pleasant and memorable, I especially loved the title song which is really quite catchy. The screenplay is witty and funny and has charm to it too, while the film is very well directed by Michael Gordon.

Even better are the performances. Doris Day once again is fresh and endearing, and Rock Hudson also has his share of adroit humour and does it with flair. But these two are superbly supported by Tony Randall, who I think gives his best performance in this film and Thelma Ritter who also have the best material. In conclusion, a truly wonderful film, if you give it a chance I think you'll like it. 10/10 Bethany Cox