Lively and Sweet, Doris Day Is

Doris Day is alive, turning ninety on April 3.

She was part of Hollywood's Golden Era, when the romantic comedy genre produced the likes of Errol Flynn and Myrna Loy. They turned these flicks into box-office hits, but it was the screenwriters (back then) that made them memorable. Here were some unforgettable lines:

"The things we like best are either illegal, immoral or fattening."

- Terry McKay ("Love Affair" by Leo McCarey)

"Well I really wouldn't care to scratch your surface, Mr. Kralik, because I know exactly what I'd find. Instead of a heart, a hand-bag. Instead of a soul, a suitcase. And instead of an intellect, a cigarette lighter...which doesn't work."

- Miss Novak ("The Shop Around the Corner" by Ernst Lubitsch)

"Democracy can be a wickedly unfair thing, Sabrina. Nobody poor was ever called democratic for marrying somebody rich."

- Thomas Fairchild ("Sabrina" by Billy Wilder)

Doris Day and Rock Hudson brought the romantic comedy genre to a higher level with their three collaborations, namely "Pillow Talk" (1959), "Lover Come Back" (1961), and "Send Me No Flowers" (1964). The first was a critical and commercial success, the screenplay instantly turned this film into a classic. (Stanley Shapiro and Maurice Richlin won an Academy Award for their writing.) Jan Morrow (Day) was an interior decorator, successful and self-reliant. She was contented being alone, believing to be happy. But Alma, her drunken housekeeper, questioned her about that. Fate had other plans too, as a party line conveniently brought Jan to Brad Allen (Hudson), a talented (Broadway) composer. They despised each other, at first, until Brad saw Jan. It wasn't hard to figure out what was next.

Day was renowned as a singer during her heyday; she sung "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)", introduced in Alfred Hitchcock's "The Man Who Knew Too Much". (Day starred along James Stewart.) But her pairing with Hudson was her big-screen achievement, where she received an Academy Award nomination (for Best Actress) for her portrayal of Jan Morrow. Kudos to the screenwriters.

Here are some memorable lines from the movie:

[Trying to convince Alma she loves living alone]

Jan: Well, what am I missing?

Alma: If you have to ask, you're missing it!

-----o-----o-----o-----o-----

Jonathan Forbes: Brad, she is the sweetest, she is the loveliest, she is the most talented woman I have ever met.

Brad Allen: That's what you said when you married that stripper.

Jonathan Forbes: She wasn't a stripper. She was an exotic dancer...with trained doves.

-----o-----o-----o-----o-----

Jan: Officer, arrest this man - he's taking me up to his apartment!

Police Officer: Well, I can't say that I blame him, miss.

"Pillow Talk" also earned Oscar nominations for Thelma Ritter (for her hilarious portrayal of Alma), Richard H. Riedel, Russell A. Gausman, and Ruby R. Levitt (for their set decoration), and Frank De Vol (for his musical composition). Make no mistake that it's a topnotch romantic comedy that viewers can't resist:

"You give me a real warm feeling," Brad softly spoke to Jan. "like a potbellied stove on a frosty morning."

Doris Day was unable to hold him off.