Send Me No Flowers (1964) User Reviews

Mr.&Mrs. Suburbia

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 28 April 2007]

For the last film of Rock Hudson-Doris Day-Tony Randall, Rock and Doris are already married so it's not like Rock is in hot pursuit of our all American virginal goddess. Instead they seem like a typical suburban couple of the early sixties except for one problem, Rock is an obsessive compulsive hypochondriac.

Another visit to Edward Andrews the doctor and a big misunderstanding convince Rock he's a terminal case and he starts making preparations both to meet his Maker and make sure about Doris who he leaves behind. That causes all kinds of funny situations that Rock and Doris muddle through with the fumbling help of a lot of people.

Hudson and Day did three films together and by rights they should be listed as a trio with Tony Randall because he was in all three of the films and added so much to them as Hudson's comic foil. Of course this was in the day much before he became TV's most famous fuss budget, Felix Unger. Still you can see traces of Felix in all three of Randall's roles with Rock and Doris.

Send Me No Flowers is the weakest of the three comedies I feel because the Hudson-Day team works so much better with Rock trying to grab a little nookie from Doris and getting hooked for his troubles. Still the film has some really nice moments. All three of their films were well cast with some of the best supporting players around.

My favorite in Send Me No Flowers is Paul Lynde as the cemetery director who just loves his job. He has two scenes, one with Rock buying a cemetery plot and a second with Doris where he inadvertently solves the problems Rock's hypochondria works them into.

Rock and Doris surely made one wonderful movie screen team.

Send Me No Flowers was a funny enough final film for the team of Doris Day, Rock Hudson, and Tony Randall

[tavm · 7/10 · 11 May 2021]

Different from their previous two film teamings, Doris Day and Rock Hudson are actually husband and wife throughout instead of just getting married by the end of their other ones. And third co-star from those same two movies-Tony Randall-is also married this time though we never see his wife or offspring here! Anyway, Hudson mistakenly thinks he's about to die due to some selective overhearing of his doctor when he's in the rest room and only Randall knows initially. That premise drives much of the plot with Randall, especially, getting some good laughs from his behavior from that point on. Ms. Day, herself, has some amusing moments at the beginning and some good slapstick scenes though one sequence involving an out-of-control golf cart was, perhaps, a little too much. Hudson, well, he seems even more comfortable doing comedy scenes than his previous two films with Day and Randall and partly seemed to really have a ball here, that's for sure! There's also good supporting turns from Edward Andrews as Hudson's doctor and Paul Lynde as a funeral director who seems too enthusiastic for his job! My mom and I really enjoyed this one so that's a recommendation for Send Me No Flowers.

Thanks Jed, Thanks Granny, Thanks Jethro

[aesgaard41 · 7/10 · 9 March 2001]

Admittedly, I would have never seen a Rock Hudson picture if I hadn't seen a clip from this movie of Hudson in a wheelchair rolling out his backdoor, bouncing off a mattress and rolling back into Doris Day on "The Beverly Hillbillies." Determined to see the whole of this movie based on that one funny scene, I got myself a copy of this movie and loved it ! Hudson plays a hypochondriac who mistakenly believes he is dying. Trying to set up his wife played by Doris Day for after he is gone, he sets off one horrendous fight that looks like a comic version of "War of the Roses." Tony Randall has the Danny DeVito role in this comedy that also stars Paul Lynde in one of his best roles next to Uncle Arthur on "Bewitched" and Edward Andrews, a great actor of the Sixties whose first name is almost an anagram of his last. The movie is fast, furious and enjoyable, but mildly dated for it's times. While the times may have changed, the humor basicly has stayed the same.

"Oh Boy! Smooth!"

[stryker-5 · 12 February 2000]

Another self-opinionated reviewer bites the dust. Having blithely pronounced "Lover Come Back" to be the best of the three Day-Hudson comedies without even having seen this one, I now willingly eat crow and and say I was wrong. "Send Me No Flowers" is the best. "It's a honey!"

This is a wonderful suburban world of lawns and yards, bridge games and country clubs, commuter trains and divorce rumours. George Kimball (Rock) is a malade imaginaire, and Judy (Doris)is ... well, blonde. Tony Randall is at his considerable best as the nerdy neighbour Arnold who gets entangled in the Kimballs' misunderstandings, with delicious comic consequences. Paul Lynde turns in a marvellous cameo as Mister Akins of the funeral parlour, and the annoyingly perfect Bert Power is played with breezy confidence by Clint Walker, TV's Cheyenne (the incidental music gives him a witty little cowboy theme).

"My hypochondria has finally paid off," announces George after hearing (and misconstruing) his doctor's talk of impending mortality. Arnold prepares a eulogy which mentions George's 'unfailing good humour', a phrase which could stand as the movie's subtitle. Hudson is masterly as the doom-laden George, showing how assured he can be when the material is strong. This well-crafted script is derived from a Broadway play, and its quality shines through. Doris wears a very prominent wig and, in true Doris style, keeps her bra on under her negligee.

Made in 1962 when television had clearly won the battle against the cinema, the film uses TV's ascendancy in a very knowing way in the opening gag.

Verdict - Near-faultless domestic comedy with great work by Hudson, Day, Randall and Lynde.

The best of the three Hudson/Day comedies

[mrsastor · 7/10 · 19 April 2007]

While not terribly well received here on IMDb, this is in my opinion the best of the three Hudson/Day/Randall teamings. While Pillow Talk remains fresh and sharp fifty years later (with Lover Come Back being a rather unfortunate and less enjoyable recycling of the same script), it is Send Me No Flowers that gets the most air-play of the three in our home video library.

From the superb opening theme song performed by Doris Day, we are transported into the beautiful suburbia of yesteryear. Rock Hudson's George Kimball is absolutely hilarious as the king of all hypochondriacs (if you've ever known such a person, you'll die laughing). And for 1964 it makes some rather amusing and insightful observations into the nature of medicinal advertising. Ms. Day plays wife Judy Kimball; she is a delight as always and it's perhaps the most satisfying aspect of the screenplay that at last Hudson and Day are married and thus involved in a relationship that extends beyond never-realized innuendo. Randall plays the usual right-next-door character attached to Hudson's, Arnold Nash, and again this is the best of the virtually identical characters he plays in the three movies they made together.

Being the hypochondriac that he is, Kimball misinterprets a conversation he overhears at the doctor's office and subsequently believes he is dying. Once he and his accomplice Arnold absorb the blow, they set about to find a suitable replacement husband for Judy to marry once George is gone. It's really a rather touchingly honorable intention and also generates the bulk of the misunderstandings that constitute the remainder of the film.

There are some negatives, these are things we see through our 21st century eyes and were certainly never intended to be offensive at the time. These mainly revolve around Day's character; Judy Kimball is a beautiful and intelligent woman, but is given no other pastimes in the entire course of the film other than playing golf and preparing her husband's breakfast. And despite being beautiful and intelligent, George apparently considers her to be too big of an idiot to ever possibly survive without him, and thus he must find a man to take care of her once he is gone. She has no children, no occupation, doesn't understand a mortgage, can't write a check to the gas station correctly, her greatest interest is in the impending divorce of a neighbor she doesn't even know and she apparently doesn't even know what she pays for groceries. We are clearly shown George's greatest dread as he imagines a number of scenarios in which Judy evidently has no judgment whatsoever and is easy prey to any slick con artist that should come along once she is widowed. It might also be said that this is absolutely typical of the way virtually all women are depicted in movies and television of this era.

Like all three of the Hudson/Day/Randall comedies, this one is lush and colorful, with exquisite sets and wardrobe. The supporting cast are excellent, particularly Paul Lynde as the cemetery proprietor and Edward Andrews as Kimball's exasperated physician. This film carries a warm, comfortable feel of a happier bygone era and packs lots of laughs. Highly recommended.

Extremely sweet and interesting story

[HotToastyRag · 7/10 · 5 February 2018]

The third of Doris Day's and Rock Hudson's romantic comedies together, Send Me No Flowers is often forgotten about, given the enormously successful Pillow Talk and the extremely similar follow-up Lover Come Back. However, the plot of Send Me No Flowers is by far the most creative and entertaining of the three.

Rather than a mistaken identity and a devious plot to rid Miss Day of her virtue, Doris and Rock start this movie already married. They have a lovely marriage, with the exception of his slightly annoying hypochondria. However, when Rock overhears his doctor, Edward Andrews, discussing what he thinks is his medical case, he mistakenly believes he's not long for this world. Hoping to ease his wife's potential suffering, he tries to find her a new husband! It's a delightful, sweet, interesting romantic comedy with a new take on the genre. Instead of a will-she-won't-she dilemma with sexual tension, it manages to inject tension into a happy marriage, an attempt that would normally be boring to audiences.

Rock and Doris have their usual darling chemistry together, and once again they're joined by their faithful, funny pal Tony Randall. Rock is particularly sweet in this movie, not only because he takes a break from his usual charming roles, but because he's constantly thinking of his wife's happiness at the expense of his own. There's no best order to watch the Doris and Rock movies, but definitely rent this one when you're in the mood for something cute.

Day and Hudson's Third and Last Pairing in a Freewheeling Marital Farce Stolen by Randall

[EUyeshima · 7/10 · 17 March 2008]

After directing Doris Day in 1963's still-hilarious "The Thrill of It All!", Norman Jewison showed similar comic sensibilities with this screwball 1964 marital farce complemented by a sharp screenplay by longtime veteran Julius Epstein. This one represents something of a departure in that Day and Rock Hudson, in their third and last pairing, play a married couple from the outset. As George and Judy Kimball, they are a happily married suburban couple hamstrung by his persistent hypochondria. Convinced that he is dying after a regular check-up, George spends the rest of the story preparing for what he thinks will be his imminent death, including setting up Judy with her next husband, a former suitor whom they literally run into at their country club.

Unlike the previous two films, Hudson actually dominates this movie, and he is in peak comic form with a dryly funny turn as George. With her glamour minimized in favor of her homespun likability, Day is relegated to the role of the confused wife here, though she has funny moments along the way. Randall steals practically all his scenes as devoted neighbor Arnold constantly in a drunken stupor in his premature bereavement over George's departure, and Paul Lynde has a riotous scene as an overly zealous memorial park director. This one may lack the will-she-won't-she dilemma of the first two films, 1959's "Pillow Talk" and 1961's "Lover Come Back" and is usually dismissed as a domestic comedy, but I think the set-up is genuinely clever and the laughs well-earned. The only extra on the 2005 DVD is the original theatrical trailer. For those interested in all three films, your best bet is to purchase the bargain-priced "Doris Day and Rock Hudson Comedy Collection".

Dynamite pairing, dynamite opening scene

[unbend_5440 · 9/10 · 3 July 2004]

One early morning around 1:00 AM I was seeing what was on TV and I started to watch Send Me No Flowers. I had no idea what it was, but when I saw Norman Jewison's name in the opening credits, I made a point to keep it on the channel. So then it gets to the wildly creative opening scene, with Rock Hudson in bed, looking miserable. There's a voice over asking questions about his ailments, and it comes off like a cough syrup commercial from 40 years ago. That one scene was creative enough to make me think "I don't care if the word 'flowers' is in the title, I'm going to watch this thing!" The story is funny as well. Hudson plays a hypochrondriac who thinks he's going to die. He decides to try and set his wife up with a new man in the few weeks that he believes he has left to live. I had never seen a Hudson/Day/Randall movie before. I enjoyed the chemistry between the three of them a lot more than any pairings in romantic comedies of today. It was also interesting to see an earlier movie from Norman Jewison. It has nothing in common with his later movies, but the always original Norman Jewison style still shines, even in this, a somewhat formula based movie of it's time. The dialogue was clever and the actors deliver it beautifully. My only complaint would be that occasionally the comedy gets kind of silly and sitcom-like. The rest of the movie is so smart and well written that the sillier scenes feel out of place. I since have also seen Pillow Book, but I think I prefer Send Me No Flowers. I hope one day soon I catch this on TV at 1:00 in the morning again.

looking for more edge

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 26 January 2021]

George (Rock Hudson) and Judy Kimball (Doris Day) are happily married in the suburbs. Their best friend Arnold Nash (Tony Randall) is their next door neighbor. George is a hypochondriac. A misunderstanding with his doctor leads him to believe that he has weeks to live. He sets out to create a comfortable life for his wife after his death.

I really would like the humor to be sharper and more cutting. I know that Hudson was the leading man of his day and Randall was the sidekick type during this time. I do think that George should be more neurotic and Randall can deliver that personality better. It would be casting against type but this material is calling for it. The premise is trying for something more edgy but this ends up a little bland.

Domestic comedy 101

[kenandraf · 10/10 · 9 July 2001]

Very good screenwriting here and a very good example of early sixties suburban lifestyle.Very funny and this movie is one of the best comedies of all time.The cinematography was splendid as well.Comedy fans please watch this one!

Three plots in a marriage is too much.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 15 May 2019]

The last of the Doris Day and Rock Hudson teaming is a marital farce that has Rock playing a hypochondriac cool, believing that he's dying, arranges to help wife Day find her next husband, believing she is incapable of taking care of herself. if that surely isn't enough grounds for divorce, it's Day's belief that he's cheating on her, if not with recently divorced Patricia Barry than somebody else. Next door neighbor pal Tony Randall is little to no help, not at all trying to get Hudson to see that his paranoia over his health is absurd and aiding Hudson recklessly in his attempts to win his wife back. Day's hunky former college boyfriend (Clint Walker) shows up, seemingly more than ready to become husband number two, and when the truth comes out, Hudson will have more than just a hefty medical bill to deal with.

Amusing performances by Edward Andrews as Hudson's long time doctor and Paul Lynde as a local cemetery plot salesman add a great deal of humor to this comedy that is quite sitcomish in its structure. Day gets an interesting recording of the title song over the opening credits that sounds like three different recordings overlapped together. The focus is more on Hudson here with Doris as the reactor, getting two farcial moments, first dealing with an armful of groceries from the gossipy milkman while locked out of the house and then later on a runaway golf cart getting soaked as it goes through sprinklers.

This is perhaps the most likeable Hudson was in any of the three films he was in with Doris, although his character is a bit of a fool. The script is weak in the sense that it follows the trends of lots of other marital comedies at the time and doesn't have any original ideas to present, with the audience completely aware that everything will be resolved in the nick of time and that both the well intended Randall and the macho Walker will get their comeuppance in the end.

Doris & Rock & Tony!!

[Karen L. Demmy · 10/10 · 3 November 1998]

Doris Day, Rock Hudson and Tony Randall together make up a hilarious comedy trio. Rock Hudsons character is a hypocondriac (sp?) and mistakenly believes he is dying. He shares this news with Tony Randall's character and together plan his funeral and plan for Doris Day's character's future (She is his wife in the movie). Well scene after scene is so funny. I loved everything about the movie and it is one of my top 10 films of all times. I have it taped and watch it over and over. It is fantastic for a bad mood day, it will perk you right up!

Diverting Comedy.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 5 March 2011]

If this movie had been a one-shot deal, standing by itself, instead of third in a series of fluffy domestic comedies starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson, it might have been more appreciated. After all, what is it except an unusually good example of what might be called neo-screwball comedy? Make it in black and white in 1941, put in Cary Grant and Irene Dunne, call it "My Favorite Hypochondriac", and you've got a hit on your hands.

Rock Hudson is no Cary Grant. Nobody is, although Grant was to replace Hudson in a later entry in the series. But Hudson had a modest flair for comedy. And here, in this context, his stupefaction and self pity are handled very well, an ironic contrast to his masculine frame and heroic features. Doris Day is no slouch either. She was no longer a spring chicken but she's cute, sexy, and a more accomplished performer than Hudson. Tony Randall provides excellent support for the third time, though his constant drunkenness doesn't provide his character with the inventiveness of his earlier two roles. It isn't funny to simply see a man drunk. He must do or say something funny. Paul Lynde is superb as the avaricious cemetery owner. Edward Andrews is funny for a change, instead of being slimy and underhanded. He's always grumbling about how the specialists like cardiologists are making a fortune and the allergists manage to keep bankers hours because they never deal with emergencies.

The script is quite good too. Not only is the main theme ridiculous -- a hypochondriacal husband tricked into believing he's dying and trying to hide it from his wife while fixing her up with a new husband -- but the situations are studded with gags, as in a superior TV situation comedy. Just one example: Andrews is a doctor who's spent the weekend fishing. He removes his hat and reveals a sharp line across his forehead separating his blazing red features from his pale brow. Nothing is made of it. It's just there.

The dialog is keen as well. Another example: Hudson is recording a tape to be given to his wife after his demise. The farewell address sparkles with unintended jokes and ironies. (1) "Yes, I'm dying. My hypochondria finally paid off." And (2) "When I am gone, I would like you to remarry after whatever your bridge club considers a decent interval." The movie is dated of course. All movies are dated the instant they're in the can. Nobody drives jumbo American convertibles anymore. Nobody lives in houses that might charitably be described as Modern Colonial Hideous. Milkmen don't deliver milk. Doctors don't make house calls. And nobody lives on a Universal back lot with fake houses, plastic shrubbery, and astroturf lawns. And the mores are different too. Somehow, even adultery has lost the kick it used to have. But so what? We need more successful comedies. Laughter is the best medicine, although Prozac helps too.

A mortal Pillow Talk wanna-be...there are moments, and there are moments

[secondtake · 5/10 · 17 October 2011]

Send Me No Flowers (1964)

I know a lot of us have affection for Doris Day and her regular woman spunky Mom next door approach. And Rock Hudson and his sidekick Tony Randall are first rate comic actors. Even director Norman Jewison is a solid force in 1960s and 70s Hollywood, if not one of their inventive geniuses (think "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Moonstruck"). So I understand that a lot of people have liked this movie for its lighthearted charm and the bright 1964 colors and sets.

But at its it's a rotten movie. The script is one of the worst you can imagine--simplistic in its main idea, with clumsy or even mindless dialog, and a kind of television-at-its-worst tone. This is especially distressing because Julius Epstein wrote it--he's one of the Epstein twins who did the "Casablanca" screenplay. It might be actually a simple fact that Epstein was from a different generation than the movie's characters and he didn't have a feel for the Cold War let alone this flip side to the Cold War.

Put all this another way? This ain't no "Pillow Talk."

That 1959 movie, most of you know, is the classic Doris Day/Rock Hudson comedy, and it plays well into both of their personas (and includes Randall, too). It has some really funny writing, a clever idea that lets Hudson work his acting chops a bit, and a more neurotic and annoying/lovable Day. Here you have to get into a kind of loping cornball, a series of interludes of comic anger and one-liner comebacks. It does have a fascinating aspect in the second half where Randall moves in with Hudson and there is a pre-saging (pre-staging?) of "The Odd Couple" (which Randall would later perform on television. They even are in bad together (unhappily), which you couldn't yet do in Hollywood due to the last vestiges of the Hays Code. (Hudson was gay, Randall was not, if this matters much.)

Hudson rushes into the bright, sunny kitchen and says, "When a man's wife thinks he's having an affair, how can he convince her he's not?"

Randall titters, "He can't." (This is right where there is an interesting early product placement: Rice Krispies and Maxwell House.) Randall (a lawyer) then suggests he confess he's having an affair as a way to break through the problem. Comic potential--and it gets a bit more silly than funny, but it does lead to the most interesting parts of the movie. Stick it out that far if you can.

Maybe it's wrong to expect too much from any Doris Day movie (full disclosure: I find her more annoying than lovable). It's a time in both America and in the movies where part of society wore its glibness as a kind of badge. I mean, if you see "Glass Bottomed Boat" you'll see this maybe at it's clearest. Or here, where there is so little to really think or care about, except maybe enjoying the company of the three main characters, as far as that can go. It is kind of gussied up sit-com television half hour stretched into a full 100 minutes.

Immortal classic

[ivan-22 · 15 July 2000]

The main character is dying, but not the movie! It shall live forever. This is one of five golden, grown-up comedy classics Doris Day starred in, the others being "Teacher's Pet", "Pillow Talk", "That Touch of Mink" and "Lover Come Back". Of course, Hollywood never gives an Oscar for comedy. Drama is deemed deep! Nothing is deeper than comedy. Actually, drama is often unintentional comedy.

The critics disliked the movie because the subject is grim: terminal illness, or fear thereof. But if you take that attitude, nothing at all is funny. Actually, death is just the theme around which a lot of variations about modern life are spun. This film is masterful in every respect, a real treat. Paul Lynde is priceless as the effeminate undertaker. Doris Day is a miracle. Even the theme song is a thrill. Oh, why did we stop making these clean, domestic movies dealing with practical issues and everyday life?

Hypochondriac Humor

[kenjha · 7/10 · 28 December 2010]

Believing that he has only a few weeks to live, a hypochondriac tries to find a suitable second husband for his wife in the third teaming of Hudson, Day, and Randall. Hudson is hilarious as the hypochondriac with a full medicine cabinet who, through a misunderstanding, thinks his days are numbered. Day is his understanding wife. Randall is Hudson's neighbor, who takes to drinking and writing a eulogy upon learning that his good buddy is dying. Arnold plays Hudson's doctor and Walker is the beefcake that Hudson decides should succeed him. After a funny beginning, the film loses some of its steam but manages to stay entertaining for the most part.

Harmless and predictable

[preppy-3 · 7/10 · 20 July 2003]

Hypochondriac Rock Hudson mistakenly thinks he's dying. With the help of pal Tony Randall he tries to find a suitable second husband for wife Doris Day.

It's cute and harmless and even has a very very funny moments (particularly with Paul Lynde) but ultimately this is a predictable, silly and disappointing comedy. Most of the jokes are amazingly unfunny and the actors just simply can't put them across. Randall, Day and Hudson still work fine together which helps a lot. Surprisingly Day seems very subdued in this film while Hudson is very good in his role.

All in all it's very OK--but that's about it. Still, I didn't hate watching it. I'm giving it a 7 (mostly for Lynde's 2 scenes).

Please don't eat the daisies

[jotix100 · 7/10 · 20 March 2005]

What a relief to see Doris Day playing a married woman! What a burden it must have been for her to play all those chaste and young, single women! At least she always got a hunk for her troubles in all her movies.

This comedy, directed by Norman Jewison, is not as effective as the two previous vehicles that paired Rock Hudson and Doris Day before. This is a tamed look at suburbia, circa early 1960s. Where the previous films used Manhattan as a backdrop, California was chosen to serve as the home for this couple.

George Kimball is a hypochondriac who thinks he is dying. George fails to tell it to Judy, but he tells Arnold, his next door neighbor, Arnold. George decides to put his affairs in order. In doing so, he gets into all kinds of mischief, although we know before hand how everything will end. There is a sort of homo-erotic current between Arnold, whose wife seems to have deserted this closeted individual, and George. They even get in bed, together, a total no-no in those days!

The most hilarious moment in the picture is the scene when we see Bert, played by a huge Clint Walker, attempt to get out of his sports car. Will he be able to squeeze out of it, or will they have to come with a saw to cut the door? Happily, he makes it!

In this film Ms. Day doesn't wear any of those hideous hats the studio designers thought looked good on her. Instead, we see her in different wigs. One, in particular, makes her look like a toy Yorkie, ribbon and all. Rock Hudson comes out best, because we feel for him and what he is going through. Tony Randall, as Arnold, the neighbor, spends the whole movie in a drunken state. Aside from Mr. Walker, who towers over Ms. Day, there are a two scenes with Paul Lynde that steal the show. Also Edward Andrews is seen as the friendly doctor.

It was a relief the stars decided not to make any more of these silly attempts at comedy.

My Favorite Trio is Back Again

[lpspurlock · 10/10 · 3 December 2001]

I caught this film one day and I was not disappointed at all. Rock Hudson believes that he is dying and wants to make sure his wife (played by Doris Day) will be fine after he passes away. Tony Randall plays their friend and neighbor who gets involved in the ordeal, making this film a great laughfest. The way everything carries along is great, and once again Rock and Doris make an exceptional couple. As for trio wise, I would definitely have to say that they are my favorite trio ever.. this movie along with "Pillow Talk" are my favorite older comedies!

It doesn't utilize its suburban scenario to any fresh advantage...

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 11 November 2006]

Doris Day is much preferable (and convincing) playing smart, savvy businesswomen than the ditsy housewife she is here (and the cumbersome wig she's wearing doesn't do her beauty justice). Rock Hudson, however, is very smooth as her hypochondriac husband who thinks he's dying and plans to find Doris the perfect future husband. Based on a stale play, this re-teaming of Rock and Doris (and Tony Randall, the eternal third banana) from "Pillow Talk" and "Lover Come Back" has some funny scenes but not enough wit. Day has a great silly moment in a dream sequence, and she puts a funny spin on some of her lines (like the way she asks/demands, "Dolores Yellowstone?!"). Unfortunately, director Norman Jewison seldom cuts loose; he's too confined to the script, which itself is too confined to its stage origins. **1/2 from ****

An excellent comedy starring Doris Day, Rock Hudson and the lovely Tony Randall.

[jag-66 · 10/10 · 12 October 2005]

I have this film at home, along with the other two in which all three (Randall, Hudson and Day) star in. I think this film is great, thanks to Randall's simple but really funny acting. All films these days are predictable, so its no different, but the difference is actually the fact that they just manage to be funny without obviously being so and are able to make a very funny film without using extreme measures and ridiculous comments that are used so often in our modern day films. I put this film first before 'Pillow Talk' (2nd)and 'Lover come back'(3rd). Otherwise, all of them are just really funny and refreshing!!! Where else would you find such nice, simple films?!

Rock and Doris cavort in their daffy, but fun, last comedy.

[weezeralfalfa · 7/10 · 2 March 2018]

The 3rd and last of the Hudson & Day romantic comedies, with a different writer and director. It's plot device is quite different from that of the first two: "Pillow Talk" and "Lover, Come Back", which were variations on the same plot device, in which Rock and Doris are initially unknown to each other, living in apartments. Here, they are a stable couple, living in a suburban house. Here, we miss the fun of seeing Rock, whom Doris despises, despite having never seen him, pretend to be someone else, whom Doris comes to love, until she discovers the truth. Unlike the other films, Doris is not a career woman, just a housewife, and virtually nothing is said about Rock's job. Thus, emphasis is on their home and social lives, in particular, Rock's struggle as a hypochondriac. In a sense, Rock does exhibit a dual personality: before and after mistakenly thinking he overheard his doctor imply that he likely has only a short time to live. He doesn't tell Doris, but buys a cemetery plot, not only for him, but for her and her anticipated replacement husband! Also, he goes out of his way to try to match Doris with an anticipated good man to take care of her after he is gone. Tony Randal suggests Clint Walker, who rescues Doris from a runaway golf cart. He's good looking , single, and a Texas oil baron. Doris think's it strange that Rock and Tony are pushing other men at her. Eventually, she is told that he's not expected to live more than a few weeks. Thereafter, she pitches in to pamper him, even putting him in a wheelchair. Then, she is told by his doctor that his health is fine. She gets the idea that he made up this story to divert attention from an affair. He even confesses to an affair, at the advice of Tony(who is sent to the doghouse, after the result). The remainder of the climax has Doris going back and forth whether she will leave and divorce him. You can assume that things eventually work out for the best. I liked the restoration of love scene much better than the unconvincing scenes in the first 2 R & D films....Paul Lynde makes an amusing cemetery plot salesman, and plays a critical role in changing Doris's mind about Rock. Hal March looks for lonely recent divorcees or pending divorcees, including Doris, to romance for a spell,

Great Comedy!

[sdrake · 10/10 · 6 January 2002]

I loved the Rock Hudson/Doris Day movies. My Mother and I used to watch them all the time, now that she has passed it brings me closer to her. Paul Lynde is hilarious as the undertaker! Doris Day has got to be the funniest woman of all time, her timing is impeccable. Too bad she is retired now, I would love for her to make a movie today that my kids could watch. They don't make them like they used to.

Lackluster Day-Hudson Comedy

[atlasmb · 6/10 · 27 August 2021]

This film is listed under the Comedy, Drama, and Romance genres. But there is very little drama, because comedy drives the story. There is also very little romance. Doris Day and Rock Hudson play a married couple, Judy and George. The story mostly takes place within the confines of their home, but centers on the small society group they belong to. It's a caricatured picture of middle America, where everyone gossips, everyone is seeking social status based upon compliance with group norms, and keeping up with the Joneses is the main hobby.

George, a raging hypochondriac, believes he only has weeks to live. He sets off on a plan to secure the financial well-being of Judy, though he doesn't tell her about the diagnosis. His neighbor and buddy, Arnold (Tony Randall), is enlisted in his efforts.

The film does not deserve high marks simply because it is not that funny. And each of the primary actors usually turns in better (and funnier) performances.

This is an early directorial effort of Norman Jewison, which makes it interesting. Paul Lynde is good as a cemetery plot salesman. And Clint Walker is effective as a former college sweetheart of Judy's. But there are plenty of better comedies to watch.

Like an overlong sitcom episode

[MissSimonetta · 3/10 · 5 September 2021]

I have yet to comprehend Rock Hudson's popularity with 1950s and 1960s audiences beyond beefcake appeal. In his Douglas Sirk melodramas, he's usually serviceable, but in a comedy like this, I found him stiff, a veritable charisma void. Unfortunately, he carries most of the movie. Doris Day is usually wonderful, but here she plays a shrill, ditzy housewife, annoying where Hudson is merely dull. They share no chemistry at all.

Honestly, the script might be the main culprit. It does nothing even remotely creative with its premise, only shining when a fun supporting character like Paul Lynde's cemetery plot director makes a dandy (and all too brief) appearance. Director Norman Jewison could certainly do comedy judging by later efforts like THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, but SEND ME NO FLOWERS just falls flat.