Spicy 1950s rom-com Pillow Talk, starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson, will screen Tuesday, June 11, at 7:30 p.m., in partnership with the Pittsburgh Classic Movie Club.
Day stars as Jan, an interior decorator, with Hudson as Brad, a composer and playboy, who share a telephone party line and a mutual dislike—until Brad sees Jan in person and hatches a plan to win her heart. The film was nominated for five Oscars and won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay.
“Pillow Talk is a funny, heartwarming film that harkens back to the premise of the original screwball comedies, specifically a hilarious battle of the sexes,” says Pittsburgh Classic Movie Club president Wendy Whittick, who will introduce the picture. “This film revitalized the careers of Hudson and Day, recasting him as a comic actor and giving her a sexier image. It was such a success that they were paired in two subsequent films.”
The film topped the U.S. box office for seven consecutive weeks, and grossed nearly $19 million, then considered a huge amount. It was named to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry in 2009, recognized for its cultural, historic and aesthetic significance.
Pillow Talk is “one of the most lively and up-to-date comedy-romances of the year,” said The New York Times in its original 1959 review. “It is really the clever witty screenplay that accounts for much of the sparkle in this film. With a CinemaScope screen to play on, (the screenwriters) and director Michael Gordon have much fun. And that fun is transmitted to the audience in an easy and generous flow of ingeniously graphic situations and nimble repartee.”
Tickets are on sale now!