The Brass Bottle: A Comfort Comedy with a Genie and a Future Jeannie

Burl Ives as a genie in The Brass Bottle.

The 1960s may have been the last decade where the "comfort comedy" reigned supreme at the box office. That may have to do, in large part, with the number of comedic actors working at the time. Veteran stars like Doris Day, Cary Grant, James Stewart, and Bob Hope were still producing family-friendly comedies. There were also younger stars like Jerry Lewis, Dean Jones, and Frankie & Annette. 

Another member of the latter group was Tony Randall, who graduated from supporting player in the Doris Day-Rock Hudson comedies to headline his own modest funny films. One of his better efforts was The Brass Bottle (1964), an amusing precursor to television's more successful series I Dream of Jeannie.

Randall plays struggling architect Harold Ventimore, who purchases a large antique brass bottle as a gift for his future father-in-law (Edward Andrews). When he discovers his in-laws have a similar-looking lamp already, Harold keeps the brass bottle for himself. That turns out to be fortuitous (sort of) when a genie named Fakrash (Burl Ives) emerges from the artifact.

Tony Randall as Harold.

Finally released after several thousand years of imprisonment, Fakrash is eager to please his new "master." Things go well initially, especially when the genie intervenes so Harold is awarded a huge contract to design a housing development. However, Fakrash's other efforts aren't as successful: Harold's fiancée (Barbara Eden) and her family walk out of a dinner where Harold's "slaves" serve eye of lamb; Fakrash's stock market  profits attract the attention of the federal government; and a beautiful, scantily-dressed princess arrives in Harold's house just as his fiancée drops by. 

At this point in his career, Tony Randall had mastered the perpetually distressed persona that would make him a TV star as Felix Unger in The Odd Couple. It works well in The Brass Bottle--it's just a shame that the script doesn't take greater advantage of Randall's comedic skills. He essentially plays the straight man to Burl Ives' charming, mischievous genie. On the other hand, Ives has a grand time as Fakrash and is the principal reason to see The Brass Bottle. At times, one wonders if the genie really has Harold's best interests at heart or rather Fakrash is just having fun. When he goes to calm down Harold's agitated father-in-law, Fakrash ends up transforming the man into an ass.

Barbara Eden as Jeannie & in The Brass Bottle.

Barbara Eden has little to do as Harold's fiancée, but her presence in The Brass Bottle led to her most famous role. In her autobiography, Jeannie Out of the Bottle: A Memoir, Barbara Eden wrote: "The movie would prove to be a good-luck charm for me: Sidney Sheldon saw it, it sparked the germ of I Dream of Jeanne, and he remembered my performance in it." The first episode of I Dream of Jeannie debuted on NBC the year following the release of The Brass Bottle.

Doris and Rock Engage in Pillow Talk

Doris Day as Jan.

Interior designer Jan Morrow shares a party line with composer Brad Allen--and that's a problem. You see, Brad (Rock Hudson) is a lothario who uses the telephone to woo his admirers. When Jan (Doris Day) complains to the telephone company, it sends a female representative, who immediately succumbs to the handsome Brad's charms.

Brad is equally frustrated with Jan until he sees the pretty professional at a nightclub. Knowing that she would never give him the time of day, Brad invents a new persona: a naive Texan named Rex Stetson, who is visiting New York City. Sparks fly between Jan and "Rex." She believes she may have found the perfect gentleman. Brad thinks he can make Jan one of his conquests within five days (at most).

Rock Hudson as Brad.

Made in 1959, Pillow Talk is a smart, well-written comedy that benefits from brilliant casting. It was the first of three films made with Doris Day and Rock Hudson. The two were already big stars, but their on-screen chemistry is far greater than the sum of its parts. Hudson, who had made over a dozen dramas during the previous five years, was not known for his comedic skills. However, his funny side blossoms alongside Doris Day. That works to her advantage because she doesn't have to carry the comedy all by herself, as she did in later films with Rod Taylor (The Glass Bottom Boat) and Richard Harris (Caprice).

Brad goes drinking with Alma.

It helps, of course, to have Tony Randall and Thelma Ritter in the supporting cast. The typically delightful Ritter actually has a small role, but it includes a wonderful scene in which Brad unwisely tries to get her drunk. Randall has a field day as a quirky millionaire pursuing Jan while trying to mount a Broadway musical with his good friend Brad. He also gets many of the best one-liners. Upon learning that Brad has been rejected by Jan, he quips: "The great Brad Allen, chopped down to size, floating down the river with the rest of us logs."

Director Michael Gordon injects Pillow Talk with a playful sense of humor. He uses split screens periodically throughout the film to show Jan and Brad talking on the party line. The technique is especially effective in the opening scene in which we see Jan, Brad, and one of Brad's girlfriends all at different locations talking on the phone. In a later split scene, Jan and "Rex" seem to touch feet romantically as they talk on the phone. However, an even more effective technique is allowing the audience to hear the thoughts of Jan and Brad as voiceovers (check out the clip at the end of this review).

Interestingly, Michael Gordon specialized in serious dramas early in his career (e.g., An Act of Murder, Cyrano de Bergerac). His career was interrupted when he was blacklisted in the early 1950s. Pillow Talk (1959) was his first feature film in eight years. He directed Doris Day again in Move Over, Darling (1963). He was the grandfather of actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3rd Rock from the Sun, 500 Days of Summer).

Pillow Talk earned five Oscar nominations, with its writers winning the award for Best Screenplay. Doris Day was nominated for Best Actress and Thelma Ritter for Best Supporting Actress. Doris, Rock Hudson, and Tony Randall reteamed for two more comedies: Lover Come Back (1961) and Send Me No Flowers (1964). The best of their three films is the sparkling classic Lover Come Back. But if it's their #1 film, then Pillow Talk is #1a!