Themes: Doctors and Patients, Breakups and Divorces, Romantic Betrayal
Main Cast: Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall, Paul Lynde, Hal March
Release Year: 1964
Country: US
Run Time: 100 minutes
Plot
Light and laugh-filled, Send Me No Flowers is typical Rock Hudson and Doris Day fare. George (Hudson) is a hypochondriac married to Judy (Day) in this marital comedy. When George goes to visit the doctor, he overhears two doctors talking about a diagnosis of a terminally ill patient. George believes they are talking about him and that he is doomed to die. He recruits his friend Arnold (Tony Randall) to find a new husband for Judy. Judy thinks George is covering up for an illicit affair and throws him out of the house. George locates Judy's old college flame Bert (Clint Walker), now a Texas oil millionaire. Excellent performances by Edward Andrews as Dr. Morrissey and Paul Lynde as the aggressive cemetery-plot salesman help this feature along. Although not as solid as the Day/Hudson pairing in Pillow Talk or Lover Come Back, Send Me No Flowers is still a good romantic comedy. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
Review
Exceedingly lightweight, Send Me No Flowers gets by due to its engaging cast, rather than its sometimes irritating script. Said script also has a fundamental flaw -- the most predominant example being that Doris Day and Rock Hudson are married when the story opens, thus robbing the film of the sexual tension and interplay that make the stars' earlier pairings work. Without that, there's a bit of a hole at the center of Flowers, and the screenwriters have not supplied enough wit and vitality to disguise this fact. In addition, the basic premise of the film is too "Hollywood" and is supported by plot turns that are much too predictable and clichéd. Although Norman Jewison directs lightly and sprightly, the limits of the screenplay still place a big burden on the cast. Fortunately, Hudson and Day are in top form, displaying the same chemistry that was such a big asset on previous outings and going through the mechanics of the plot with a commitment that makes the clichéd seem almost fresh. As usual, Tony Randall steals the show with his impeccable timing and delivery, and there's also able assist from Paul Lynde and Edward Andrews. In the end, Flowers is no bed of roses, but the stars make it an appealing little springtime bouquet. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
When he experiences chest pains, hopeless hypochondriac George checks into the hospital for a checkup and overhears his doctor discussing the diagnosis of a terminally ill patient with an associate. Assuming he is the one scheduled to die, he asks his friend Arnold to help him find a new husband for his wife Judy so he'll know she won't be alone once he's gone. He locates Judy's old college beau Bert, now a Texas oil baron. Meanwhile, Judy mistakes her husband's machinations for an attempt to cover up an extramarital affair and throws him out of the house.
In his review in the New York Times, Bosley Crowther called it "a beautiful farce situation" and added, "Julius Epstein has written it . . . with nimble inventiveness and style. And Norman Jewison has directed so that it stays within bounds of good taste, is never cruel or insensitive, and makes something good of every gag." [2]
Variety felt "[it] doesn't carry the same voltage, either in laughs or originality, as Doris Day and Rock Hudson's two previous entries." [3]
Time Out London calls it "probably the best of the Doris Day/Rock Hudson vehicles . . . nicely set in a pastel-coloured suburban dreamworld, but the ineradicable blandness gets you down in the end." [4]
Channel 4 says, "it would be churlish to complain that it is a little bland, fairly predictable and has an unsurprising happy ending. There's enough humour in the ensuing misunderstandings and enough skill in the playing and direction to stifle not just criticism but even the odd yawn." [5]
