Awesome Movie

A Disappointing Continuation

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

(Flash Review)Basic premise is a journalism professor asks a high power newspaper editor to speak at her class. He writes a very rude reply in addition to saying no as it would be a waste of his time. The editor's boss later commands him to go to the class. Now embarrassed by his letter that the teacher read to the whole class, he claims to be a student to hide his shame. He finds the teacher very attractive and begins to hit on her with charm and writing intelligence. He continues to attend class posing as a student. As this progresses, will he come clean about his true identity and if he does, how will the teacher react? Several amusing moments throughout, good acting, smart dialog and nice crisp black and white film stock turn this into a fun little film. Also has some unique perspectives as the 50's began to change into the 60's.

If you ask me - This badly dated, 1958, "adult" Comedy/Romance (whose story was, pretty much, just a one-note-joke about identity deception) was so insultingly predictable that, before long, I just couldn't find myself staying in the least bit interested in following its story's contrivances (that were meant to generate laughs) very closely, at all.Besides Teacher's Pet being way too long (at 120 minutes), I also found its 2, big-name stars, Doris Day (Hollywood's oldest virgin) and Clark Gable (pushing 60 years old) were both grossly miscast for their parts. To me, these 2 seriously lacked the essential chemistry needed to keep the floundering momentum of their trite, little on-screen romance going farther than beyond that of just a fizzle and a yawn.I mean, even that platinum-blond bombshell, Mamie Van Doren (yet another Marilyn Monroe clone), as nightclub performer, Peggy DeFore, doing her "The Girl Who Invented Rock'n'Roll" number, couldn't bring the likes of this decidedly "low-on-laughs" comedy to life.

Teacher's Pet is not absolutely perfect, but I enjoyed it very much. It is overlong, the gender politics I feel have dated and while it is excellent on the whole the script unravels a bit at the end. Still, it looks nice, is very well directed, has good music, a witty script and scenarios and great performances not only from Clark Gable and the lovely Doris Day as they play their parts with obvious boisterous enthusiasm but Gig Young as well as Day's other beau. I also loved the story, it was well written and rarely lagged or felt lame. In conclusion, while flawed, Teacher's Pet is a on the whole delightful comedy that is worth seeing for the leads. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Clark Gable was the man! He easily pulls off this romantic comedy that is about more than romance, and actually has very important things to say about life. While co-star Doris Day was the future and Gable was running out the string as an actor, he still dominates this film and demonstrates his awesome chops as an actor, not just as a pretty face.Gable plays a hard-bitten newspaper editor, James Gannon, who learned the business by doing it, without any formal education. He is old school, and while defensive, still proud and confident of his abilities. Day is a professor who thinks that Gannon especially and the rest of his kind are badly in need of an education, and she lets the newspaper know her feelings.So, Gable goes down to Day's journalism class at his editor's command, takes a sudden shine to her, and enrolls without revealing his identity. The rest of the film revolves around Gannon's pursuit of Day, who is involved with an accomplished psychology teacher played by Gig Young, and their attempts to teach each other some lessons. There are many humorous incidents along the way, most flowing from Gannon's manly competition with Young - who doesn't fight back at all, and in fact winds up helping him - for Day's favors. If Gable has the Rock Hudson role, Young plays the Tony Randall sidekick. Mamie van Doren has a stunning supporting role, little more than a cameo, as Gannon's singer girlfriend whom Day memorably mimics outrageously later at her apartment.But the competition between the Gable and Young characters is just a sideshow. That wouldn't be a fair fight in any event, Gable's virility even at his advanced age is undeniable. The real fight is between Day's and Gable's ideas about journalism. Gable constantly surprises Day with the quality of his work, and Gable starts questioning everything he does because many of her ideas make a lot of sense. Can you teach an old dog new tricks? Apparently so. And have some fun along the way, too.An enjoyable romp that is made infinitely better because of the very serious message underlying the film. Question everything, and learn from that process! Nothing wrong with that. And Gable and Day make an amazingly cute couple, Day actually managing to look sexy now and then and not just perky as usual.