Do Not Disturb (1965 film)

Summary

Do Not Disturb is a DeLuxe Color CinemaScope (1965) romantic comedy film directed by Ralph Levy and starring Doris Day and Rod Taylor as a married American couple living in England.[3]

Do Not Disturb
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRalph Levy
George Marshall
Screenplay byRichard L. Breen
Milt Rosen
Based onSome Other Love
play
by William Fairchild
Produced byMartin Melcher
Aaron Rosenberg
StarringDoris Day
Rod Taylor
CinematographyLeon Shamroy
Edited byRobert L. Simpson
Music byLionel Newman
Alexander Courage
Distributed by20th Century-Fox
Release date
December 22, 1965 (1965-12-22)
Running time
102 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$3.89 million[1]
Box office$8,000,000[2]

Plot edit

American couple Mike and Janet Harper move to England for Mike's work with a company that deals in textiles and fashions. Mike wants to live in a flat in the heart of London, but Janet instead finds a rural estate 30 miles outside London in Kent, and Mike must commute into the city by train. For convenience, Mike often stays in a company's flat in London rather than returning to Kent, but his absence causes Janet to feel lonely and neglected.

Janet believes that Mike may be having an affair with his assistant Claire Hackett, and the Harpers' busybody landlady Vanessa Courtwright encourages Janet to play Mike's game by entering into an affair of her own, even if it is fake. However, the affair may become a reality when the suave Italian antiques dealer Paul Bellari arrives to decorate the house. Bellari whisks Janet off to Paris, where she manages to deflect his advances despite her inebriation after drinking champagne. Eventually, Paul and Janet learn that their suspicions were false and they reconcile with each other.[4]

Cast edit

Production edit

George Marshall was recruited to replace original director Ralph Levy, who contracted a viral disease during filming. This change caused the film to finish behind schedule.[5]

Reception edit

The film had admissions of 10,730 in France.[6]

According to Fox records, the film needed to earn $7,300,000 in rentals to break even and made $5,275,000, meaning it made a loss.[7]

Novelization edit

In advance of the film's release, as was the custom of the era, a paperback novelization of the film was published by Dell Books. The author was renowned crime and western novelist Marvin H. Albert, who had written other books related to films to coincide with their releases.[citation needed]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p254
  2. ^ "Do Not Disturb, Box Office Information". The Numbers. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  3. ^ "Do Not Disturb (1965) - Ralph Levy | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie. Retrieved Jul 22, 2019.
  4. ^ "Do Not Disturb (1965) - IMDb". Retrieved Jul 22, 2019 – via www.imdb.com.
  5. ^ Stephen Vagg, Rod Taylor: An Aussie in Hollywood (BearManor Media, 2010) p. 114
  6. ^ French Box office for 1966 at Box Office Story
  7. ^ Silverman, Stephen M (1988). The Fox that got away : the last days of the Zanuck dynasty at Twentieth Century-Fox. L. Stuart. p. 324.

External links edit