Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960)

Director:

Charles Walters

Writers:

Jean Kerr (book)
Isobel Lennart (writer)

Release Date:

2 June 1960 (West Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

The Uproarious Movie From The Big Best-Seller!

Plot:

Drama critic Larry McKay, his wife Kay, and their four sons move from their crowded Manhattan apartment to an old house in the country...

Plot Keywords:

Critic | Moving | Infidelity | Starting Over | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Doris Day	...	Kate Robinson Mackay
David Niven	...	Lawrence Larry Mackay
Janis Paige	...	Deborah Vaughn
Spring Byington	...	Suzie Robinson
Richard Haydn	...	Alfred North
Patsy Kelly	...	Maggie
Jack Weston	...	Joe Positano
John Harding	...	Reverend Norman McQuarry
Margaret Lindsay	...	Mona James
Carmen Phillips	...	Mary Smith
Mary Patton	...	Mrs. Hunter
Charles Herbert	...	David Mackay
Stanley Livingston	...	Gabriel MacKay
Flip Mark	...	George MacKay
Baby Gellert	...	Adam McKay
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dan Bergin	...	Man hit with Water Balloon (uncredited)
Madge Blake	...	Mrs. Kilkinny (uncredited)
Gail Bonney	...	Miss Bonney (uncredited)
John Brennan	...	Young Man (uncredited)
Jhean Burton	...	Actress (uncredited)
Kathryn Card	...	Miss Yule, the Principal (uncredited)
Jack Chefe	...	Headwaiter at Sardi's (uncredited)
Richard Collier	...	Fabric Salesman (uncredited)
Joseph Cronin	...	Pianist (uncredited)
Frank Delfino	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Burt Douglas	...	Young Man (uncredited)
Amy Douglass	...	Martha (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Lady in Elevator (uncredited)
Donald Foster	...	Justin Withers (uncredited)
Milton Frome	...	Gus, the Room Service Waiter (uncredited)
Marianne Gaba	...	Young Girl (uncredited)
Stuart Holmes	...	Mona's Baldy Party Guest (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Marina Koshetz	...	Jane March (uncredited)
Peter Leeds	...	Secretary to Larry Mackay (uncredited)
Len Lesser	...	Waiter at Sardi's (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Man at Sardi's / Man in Elevator (uncredited)
Benny Rubin	...	Pete (uncredited)
Charles Seel	...	Upholstery Man (uncredited)
Guy Stockwell	...	Young Man (uncredited)
Lomax Study	...	Elevator Operator (uncredited)
Hal Taggart	...	Man in Elevator (uncredited)
Irene Tedrow	...	Mrs. Greenfield (uncredited)
Harry Tenbrook	...	Elevator Extra (uncredited)
Geraldine Wall	...	Dr. Sprouk (uncredited)
Ira L. Westley	...	Bass player (uncredited)
Nancy A. Westley	...	Guitar player (uncredited)
Frank Wilcox	...	TV Interviewer (uncredited)
Anatol Winogradoff	...	Professor (uncredited)
Wilson Wood	...	Photographer (uncredited)

Directed by
Charles Walters

Writing credits
Jean Kerr		(book)
Isobel Lennart		(writer)

Produced by
Martin Melcher	....	associate producer
Joe Pasternak	....	producer

Original Music by
David Rose

Cinematography by
Robert J. Bronner		(director of photography) (as Robert Bronner)

Film Editing by
John McSweeney Jr.

Art Direction by
George W. Davis
Hans Peters

Set Decoration by
Henry Grace
Jerry Wunderlich

Costume Design by
Morton Haack

Makeup Department
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair stylist
William Tuttle	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Al Jennings	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Franklin Milton	....	recording supervisor
Van Allen James	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Charles K. Hagedon	....	color consultant

Other crew
Irving Aaronson	....	assistant to producer

Production Companies

• Euterpe
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1960) (USA) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1965) (USA) (TV) (original airing) (pan/scan)
• Warner Home Video (1996) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | Australia:G | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Washington Square Park, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Euterpe

Trivia:

Beginning her feature-film career portraying Katharine Hepburn's mother in Little Women (1933), Spring Byington closed her movie years playing Doris Day's mother in this film.

Quotes:

Alfred North: For a critic that first step is the first printed joke. It gets a laugh and a whole new world opens up. He makes another joke, and another. And then one day along comes a joke that shouldn't be made because the show he's reviewing is a good show. But, as it so happens, it's a good joke. And you know what? The joke wins.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Killing Floor (2007)

Soundtrack:

PLEASE DON'T EAT THE DAISIES

Amusing Story With Lots of Star-Powered Charm

Based on the popular book by Jean Kerr, PLEASE DON'T EAT THE DAISY is probably the best of Doris Day's 1960s comedies--and it finds her surprisingly paired with David Niven. While the two may seem an unlikely couple, they have extremely good on-screen chemistry, and the film neatly balances its story between the two stars so that neither overshadows the other.

Day plays Kate MacKay, mother of four hellions and the long suffering wife of esoteric drama critic Larry MacKay (Niven.) With her husband under siege by every actor, director, and producer in town, Kate decides to move the family to a home in the country--and in the process leaves her husband open to the temptations of Broadway star Deborah Vaughn (Janis Paige.) Before too long, Larry's swelling ego threatens their happy home.

The cast is expert, with both Day and Niven extremely enjoyable and Janis Paige memorable as the Broadway siren who attempts to lead Niven astray; the supporting roles are also expertly handled by a cast that includes Spring Byington. The script is witty with a dash of sophisticated sparkle, and unlike most of Day's later comedies manages to avoid the feel of frantic farce. A truly enjoyable outing; pure fun all the way.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer