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| Teacher's Pet - 1958 |
Coming up next we have 1958's "Teacher's Pet", a story about a tried and true newspaperman who takes a modern journalism college course. Initially, taken as a joke, the class teaches the man more than he ever thought he could learn.
The film's cast includes Doris Day, Clark Gable, Gig Young, Mamie Van Doren, Nick Adams, Marion Ross, Charles Lane, and Jack Albertson.
Newspaperman Jim Gannon is an editor for a big city newspaper. One day he receives an invitation to address a college journalism class. Jim sends a scathing reply to the professor and forgoes the honor. However, his boss tells him that he needs to go.
Jim goes to the class and sees a very pretty instructor, Ms. Erica Stone. Before he has the chance to introduce himself, he finds himself sitting in the class as she reads his letter out loud.
He winces as he hears the remarks he's made in the letter. He also gets very annoyed when she makes fun him after she's read it. He begins to get an idea.
Jim decides to show Ms. Stone a thing or two about journalism and enrolls in the class as "Jim Gallagher". When he corrects her teaching, she begins to get annoyed with him.
Erica gives him an assignment and says he can have the weekend to finish it. Thinking she's given him much more than he can handle, Erica smirks as she watches Jim head to the back of the class to begin work.
Needless to say, she's completely shocked when Jim hands in the assignment five minutes later. She reads it aloud to the class and proclaims that it is the best assignment she's ever had in one of her classes.
Erica's attitude towards Jim changes considerably, and she looks on him as her star pupil.
Jim begins to develop feelings for Erica, and he has her checked out at the newspaper office. He finds out she's dating a psychologist named Dr. Hugo Pine, who has written a great many books. Jim thinks he must be some old man who has nothing to do but write. However, when he sees Pine's picture on the back of one of his books, he's caught by surprise.
After going to see Erica to see if she has any intention of giving up Pine, Jim concedes defeat and decides to give up. He kisses Erica goodbye. She's angry, shocked, and then flustered. After he leaves, she staggers to sit in a chair and has to cool herself off by fanning herself with some papers.
Jim decides to follow Erica and Pine to dinner one night. He brings along a date of his own. Jim mentions to his date that Pine is a psychologist, and she asks what a psychologist is. "A guy who gives all kinds of advice about things he knows nothing about," is Jim's reply.
When his date goes off to perform (she's a singer at the nightclub they are at), Jim joins Erica and Stone at their table, where he tries to match wits with the eminent psychologist.
At the end of the night, Jim and Erica end up having a good laugh at Pine's expense.
They end up beginning a romantic relationship, something Erica definitely didn't expect.
Things come to a screeching halt one day when Erica finds out that "Jim Gallagher" is in fact the Jim Gannon who wrote her the insulting letter she read out to her class. Disappointed, she ends the relationship.
Have no fear. With the assistance of Hugo Pine, Jim and Erica come to see each other's point of view and begin their relationship anew.
Cast rundown:
Doris Day............................Erica Stone
Clark Gable.........................Jim Gannon
Gig Young...........................Dr. Hugo Pine
Mamie Van Doren.................Peggy DeFore
Nick Adams.........................Barney Kovac
Marion Ross........................Katy Fuller
Charles Lane.......................Roy
Jack Albertson.....................Guide
And that's it for Teacher's Pet. Cary Grant and James Stewart turned down the role of Jim Gannon as they both felt they were too old for the part. The movie was filmed in black and white to disguise Clark Gable's age and weight. There was a twenty-one-year age difference between Gable and Doris Day. Gable's wife, Kay Williams, used to visit the set and regularly brought treats such as homemade popcorn, boxes of chocolate, and fresh pretzels. This film was nominated for the American Film Institute's list of the Top 100 Funniest American Movies.
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