← Back to Reviews
in
Teacher's Pet
Clark Gable, Doris Day, and Gig Young make a fun romantic triangle in a 1958 comedy called Teacher's Pet, that takes a little too long to get where it's going, but the stars make the journey a smooth one.
Gable plays Jim Gannon, a veteran newspaper editor who receives an invitation to speak at a night journalism class taught by one Erica Stone (Day). Gannon, a strict believer in experience over education, turns down Erica's invitation in the form of a very rude letter. Gannon's boss gets word of the letter and insists that Gannon go to her class and apologize and once he gets a look at Erica, he decides to pretend to be a student in the class. Throw in a psychologist and author named Hugo Pine (Young) who is dating Erica and you have the cinematic staple known as the romantic triangle.
The Oscar-nominated screenplay by Fay and Michael Kanin not only sets up a classic triangle but provides an effectIve debate regarding experience over education where journalism is concerned and I liked that the debate concludes that both are equally important. There's a subplot involving a young boy (Nick Adams) who quit school to come work for Gannon and how his mother wants him to quit the paper and come back to school.
I was also impressed with the fact that Jim and Erica both learn something during the course of the story and are not the same people they are at the beginning of the movie. And the real irony of it is that a lot of what they learn and concede comes from Hugo Pine, who actually sees what's happening between Jim and Erica before they do and aids them in seeing it too instead of squaring off against Jim.
Gable offers a razor sharp performance as Gannon, a performance where some of his funniest moments have nothing to do with dialogue. The first meeting between Gannon and Hugo Pine is hysterical, the way he just stares bullets at the guy. I also loved the fact that he thought he could tame Erica with a kiss, which, to his surprise, he couldn't do. Day is delightful as the no-nonsense Erica and Gig Young actually received a supporting actor Oscar nomination for his slick turn as Hugo Pine. Mamie Van Doren and Charles Lane shine in supporting roles and if you don't blink, you'll catch the future Marian Cunningham from Happy Days, Marian Ross and the future Gladys Kravitz from Bewitched, Sandra Gould, in tiny roles. The film also opens with a terrific title song, that was a monster hit for Doris. It's a little on the long side, but it's a lot of fun.
Clark Gable, Doris Day, and Gig Young make a fun romantic triangle in a 1958 comedy called Teacher's Pet, that takes a little too long to get where it's going, but the stars make the journey a smooth one.
Gable plays Jim Gannon, a veteran newspaper editor who receives an invitation to speak at a night journalism class taught by one Erica Stone (Day). Gannon, a strict believer in experience over education, turns down Erica's invitation in the form of a very rude letter. Gannon's boss gets word of the letter and insists that Gannon go to her class and apologize and once he gets a look at Erica, he decides to pretend to be a student in the class. Throw in a psychologist and author named Hugo Pine (Young) who is dating Erica and you have the cinematic staple known as the romantic triangle.
The Oscar-nominated screenplay by Fay and Michael Kanin not only sets up a classic triangle but provides an effectIve debate regarding experience over education where journalism is concerned and I liked that the debate concludes that both are equally important. There's a subplot involving a young boy (Nick Adams) who quit school to come work for Gannon and how his mother wants him to quit the paper and come back to school.
I was also impressed with the fact that Jim and Erica both learn something during the course of the story and are not the same people they are at the beginning of the movie. And the real irony of it is that a lot of what they learn and concede comes from Hugo Pine, who actually sees what's happening between Jim and Erica before they do and aids them in seeing it too instead of squaring off against Jim.
Gable offers a razor sharp performance as Gannon, a performance where some of his funniest moments have nothing to do with dialogue. The first meeting between Gannon and Hugo Pine is hysterical, the way he just stares bullets at the guy. I also loved the fact that he thought he could tame Erica with a kiss, which, to his surprise, he couldn't do. Day is delightful as the no-nonsense Erica and Gig Young actually received a supporting actor Oscar nomination for his slick turn as Hugo Pine. Mamie Van Doren and Charles Lane shine in supporting roles and if you don't blink, you'll catch the future Marian Cunningham from Happy Days, Marian Ross and the future Gladys Kravitz from Bewitched, Sandra Gould, in tiny roles. The film also opens with a terrific title song, that was a monster hit for Doris. It's a little on the long side, but it's a lot of fun.