The Delights of Doris Day in That Touch of Mink (1962)

written for The Fourth Doris Day Blogathon. ♥

Well, here we go, it's time for The Fourth Doris Day Blogathon! If you are at all interested in reading other blog posts about Doris Day, then please do click on the blogathon links. There will be a ton of excellent content shared over the next couple of days.

I'm ashamed to admit that I've only seen a handful of her films, pretty much all of them from the 1960s, and I know almost nothing about her life other than she appeared absolutely charming. She has a warm, bubbly, spunky persona that always makes me smile, and she lives up to that reputation in That Touch of Mink, the film I chose to discuss for this fun blogathon.

Why That Touch of Mink, you might ask? Well, it costars Cary Grant for one thing despite what I will say about him later on, and it's a 1960s romantic comedy for another, and I LOVE the 1960s romantic comedies! There's a certain something about them that always entertain me. I think it's because they flirt with the dangerous side of romance more than the 40s and 50s (note that I did NOT mention the 30s since the 30s tended to get away with a LOT). But on the whole 1960s romances are more open about some previously taboo topics, and in my own quirky way, I love them. I could go on for days about Bob Hope comedies from the 1960s, but seeing as this is a Doris Day Blogathon, I'll refrain. 

Go to my Classic Hollywood page to find all my Classic Hollywood reviews!

Now, you may notice that I deliberately chose a different poster than the one usually associated with That Touch of Mink. This was purposeful because check out her eyes . . . rather like a frightened horse! 

And why should she be frightened you might ask? Well, we'll get into that in a minute.

But first, a summarization of That Touch of Mink told in screencaps.

Our heroine's tale opens with a drive-by splashing. Yes, you heard correctly. Sweet, innocent, jobless Cathy Timberlake is headed for a job interview in the rain when a car drives to close to her by the curb and splashes muddy water all over her. 

Who is the man being chauffeured in said car? None other than Cary Grant himself going under the dubious name of Philip Shayne. 

Guilt-ridden over the water assault, Mr. Shayne sends his assistant Roger, played by Gig Young, to apologize. Now, Roger is an interesting sort. He hates his job and resents being successful. He feels like he sold out for money when he left his teaching career to work for Mr. Shayne, so he's in therapy trying to work up enough courage to return to teaching. In other words, he's a bit pathetic, and in his own way, really tries to undermine Philip Shayne a lot. 

So he gets Cathy all in a hyper lather about how she's been mistreated, marches her over to Mr. Shayne's office to give him a piece of her mind, only to find her melting into a puddle of goo at the sight of him because, well, he's Cary Grant. Get a load of the stars in her eyes!

Cathy's instant attraction is mutual. Philip gets her dress cleaned at his expense, invites her into a board meeting for her opinion, takes her on his company's personal jet to a United Nations meeting where he speaks most profoundly before the entire company, and finishes off by having dinner in a swanky Italian restaurant in yet another state. I'm exhausted just thinking about it!

Calling her roommate Connie, played by Audrey Meadows, Cathy gets an earful about this guy being nothing but a "Beasley with a bedroom."

We would like to think Connie's premonition is wrong and that Philip Shayne has honorable intentions.

Later, while showing her his yet-to-be-finished swanky apartment, Philip invites Cathy to take a trip to Bermuda, Paris, and Monte Carlo with him and then go on a trip around the world. It's a dream come true for this innocent girl who can hardly believe her luck that such a wealthy, desirable man would propose marriage to her within such a short time of meeting her!

At least she has the sense to get clarification before agreeing.

"May I just ask one question? Did you just ask me to marry you?"

"No."

There's nothing quite like a healthy dose of cold water to bring a girl to her senses. At least he was honest and apologizes if it felt like he was misleading her. Actually, he wasn't misleading her. He gave a pretty straight-forward "No" as his answer and you have to respect that. Sort of? Maybe?

Of course, then she asks him what he would advise her to do, which is like asking a wolf which lamb he wants to eat, but instead of voting in his favor, he quite decently disqualifies himself from offering advice and says it must be her decision. I love that!

Roommate Connie reiterates that "a pincher is a pincher" when Cathy tries to excuse Philip's invitation. You can see her point, even if it is Cary Grant.

The following day, Philip decides that "to take a girl that to Bermuda is a desecration of everything the minutemen fought for," meaning her purity and sweet nature, so he determines not to take her.

Unfortunately, in her first major fit of rebellion, Cathy decides to go!

Hence the poster and this picture of her "deer caught in the headlights" look because she finds herself unmarried in a hotel room with Philip Shayne!

I could go further into the actual plot, but let's stop here just in case some of you haven't actually watched That Touch of Mink. I would hate to spoil it for anyone! Just know that it turns out alright after a lot of silly drama and misunderstandings.

Let's talk about Doris Day as Cathy Timberlake.

She is absolutely charming in this foolhardy role. And I will call Cathy foolhardy. I've never been one to condone loose morals, so I found myself on the side of her roommate, Connie, how gave her very good advice, but much like Alice in Wonderland, Cathy didn't follow it. Fortunately for the character, the angels were on her side and before the film is over, she emerges newly married. Oops, let a little spoiler slip there, but it's a romantic comedy from the 1960s so what else would be the end result?!

Doris doesn't sing as Cathy Timberlake, which I thought was unusual. It's just a straight-up romantic comedy that doesn't try to masquerade as a musical.

HOWEVER, one of the funniest moments I've ever seen is her drunk scene! She's so nervous at one point in the story that she drinks an entire bottle of . . . something. I never did catch the label. But she is absolutely HILARIOUS when Cary Grant walks in and finds her drunk on the bed with the bottle on her toe!

Doris: "Do you like the way I walk?"

Cary: "Poetry in motion."

Doris: "I learned when I was a baby, been walking for years."

It's absolutely genius. I forgot her gift for comedic timing until I rewatched this scene!

And I have to mention Cary Grant as Philip Shayne.

Okay, so, I love Cary Grant.

But it's easy to forget that he plays a lot of his characters in the 1960s deadpan, at least until you watch him again. It's typical Cary Grant, but I'm always reminded how much I wish he would just react a little bit more! I've never really fully formulated that thought until now, but it's true. That's probably why I love him in his earlier film. It's hard to beat Arsenic and Old Lace or Bringing Up Baby. 

So, to be honest, I'm not sure he was the best fit for That Touch of Mink. Which is fine, really, because that happened all the time to actors, but I feel like maybe the flow would have been better if Doris had a different leading man. She was brilliant, but Cary Grant was, well, Cary Grant . . . in the 1960s. Oh well.

Let's not forget John Astin.

Am I the only one who finds this man intolerably creepy? I wasn't raised watching The Addams Family so I was never familiar with Gomez Addams until recently. And he's creepy! 

So as soon as John Astin showed up near the beginning, I knew he was going to be a creep, and he is, to the utmost degree! He slinks around, delivering sly innuendo to a highly offended Ms. Timberlake.

Oooh, he made me so mad! Which I suppose was the entire purpose of his role, actually, since his skeeziness is ultimately the reason why Philip realizes he actually cares more about Cathy than just a one-time trip around the world.

What really makes That Touch of Mink work?

It's Doris Day, hands down.

She's a delight to watch and I was rooting for her character's happiness throughout the entire film.

I've watched this movie multiple times and will undoubtedly watch it again if for no other reason than the genius of Miss Doris Day.

Remember, I love comments, and before you go, make sure to head over to the main page of The Fourth Doris Day Blogathon! 🖤