Review of The Thrill of It All (1963) by Jami L — 10 Jul 2009

I am a sucker for the old classics. The Thrill Of It All falls in that category. It's a 1963 film about a Doctor's wife. She suddenly becomes the new face of "Happy" soap and all the new found fame doesn't make her husband all too happy.

This film has a great cast. Doris Day and James Garner were wonderful and worked well together (apart from that whole 60s TV closed smashed mouth kiss). Then again, I have always been a fan of James Garner and am partial to some of his earlier work. My favorite Doris Day movie is With 6 You Get Eggroll, with Brain Keith. But, this ranks a close second. As an avid fan of the old black and white " What's My Line's" I was thrilled to see Arlene Francis in this. She was always so poised and graceful on screen. I also loved that Kym Karath played Maggie. I am a huge Sound Of Music fan. She was as adorable as Maggie, as she was playing Gretl. Even Edward Andrews, who played Sam's grandpa Baker in Sixteen Candles and Hayden Rorke, better known as Dr. Bellows from I Dream Of Jeannie can be seen in this one. Seeing if you can play " Where do I know them from?" is half the fun of watching these old classics.

Sure some of this movie was oozing with muenster, but who doesn't secretly love a bit of cheese with their movies. One Flixsterite reviewed this film as being out dated. Yes, women have come a long way from just being house wives and having babies. But if you focus on that, you are missing the point. That is why they call them classics. After all, this WAS the 60s.

If you are a fan of the classics and you haven't seen The Thrill Of It All, you should certainly check it out. It is a delightful film and good for a few laughs.