Sixty years ago today, the film That Touch of Mink had it’s New York City premiere. It’s got Cary Grant, Doris Day, and a very beautiful 1961 Citroën DS 19 Décapotable Usine. If you are at all fascinated with Automat Cafes, you should watch this movie.
Title: That Touch of Mink
Directed by: Delbert Mann
Produced by: Robert Arthur, Martin Melcher, and Stanley Shapiro
Written by: Stanley Shapiro and Nate Monaster
Starring: Cary Grant, Doris Day, Gig Young, Audrey Meadows
Music by: George Duning
Cinematography: Russell Metty
Edited by: Ted J. Kent
Color process: Eastmancolor
Production Companies: Granley Company, Arwin Productions, and Nob Hill Productions
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release date: June 14, 1962 (New York City), June 19, 1962 (United States)
Running time: 99 minutes
Country: United States
Language: English
Box office: $17.6 million
Golden Globe for Best Comedy Picture
Golden Laurel for Top Comedy
Laurel Award Top Female Comedy Performance – Doris Day
Laurel Award Top Male Comedy Performance – Cary Grant
Laurel Award Top Male Supporting Performance – Gig Young
Cathy Timberlake, an unemployed New York City career woman, goes to the unemployment office to collect her check. There she is subjected to the unwanted advances of Beasley, the clerk she deals with who only wants to bed Cathy. She meets Philip Shayne after his Rolls Royce splashes her dress with mud while she is on her way to a job interview. Philip sees her outside and wants to make up for what happened.
Philip proposes a romantic affair, while Cathy is holding out for marriage. Watching from the sidelines are Philip’s financial manager, Roger, who sees a therapist, because he feels guilty about helping his boss with his numerous conquests, and Cathy’s roommate, Connie Emerson, who knows what Philip is seeking. In a minor subplot, Roger discusses the events as they occur to his therapist Dr. Gruber, who is not in the room when Cathy is mentioned. As a result, his therapist believes that Roger is considering a homosexual relationship with Philip.
Philip wines and dines Cathy. He takes her to see the New York Yankees play baseball. They watch from the Yankees dugout (he owns part of the team). Cathy’s complaints about the umpire while seated alongside Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Yogi Berra (playing themselves) cause umpire Art Passarella to throw all of them out of the game.
Philip’s conscience weighs on him, so he withdraws an invitation to Bermuda, which only serves to make Cathy, indignant about the assumption that she wouldn’t go, agree to. While in Bermuda, anxiety-ridden over the evening’s sexual implications, Cathy comes down with a nervous rash, much to her embarrassment and his frustration.
The Bermuda trip is repeated, but this time Cathy drinks to soothe her nerves and ends up drunk. While intoxicated, Cathy falls off the balcony onto an awning below. She is then carried in her pajamas through the crowded hotel lobby.
At the urging of Roger and Connie, who are convinced that Philip is in love with her, Cathy goes on a date with Beasley, whom she dislikes, to make Philip jealous. Her plan succeeds and she and Philip get married. On their honeymoon, he breaks out in a nervous rash himself. The film ends with Cathy and Philip months later, walking with their baby and Roger through a park. The two leave Roger alone with the baby for a few moments, during which time Dr. Gruber approaches him to ask how things are going with Philip. In response Roger joyously displays the baby, causing another misunderstanding with his therapist.
Waldina 