The Glass Bottom Boat (1966)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Frank Tashlin

Writer:

Everett Freeman (written by)

Release Date:

9 June 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Is this the girl next door?

Plot:

Jennifer Nelson and Bruce Templeton meet when Bruce reels in her mermaid suit leaving Jennifer bottomless in the waters of Catalina Island...

Plot Keywords:

Mermaid | Spy | Boat | Robot | Reference To Open Sesame Incantation

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Doris Day	...	Jennifer Nelson
Rod Taylor	...	Bruce Templeton
Arthur Godfrey	...	Axel Nordstrom
John McGiver	...	Ralph Goodwin
Paul Lynde	...	Homer Cripps
Edward Andrews	...	Gen. Wallace Bleecker
Eric Fleming	...	Edgar Hill
Dom DeLuise	...	Julius Pritter
Elisabeth Fraser	...	Nina Bailey
Dick Martin	...	Zack Molloy
George Tobias	...	Norman Fenimore
Alice Pearce	...	Mabel Fenimore
Ellen Corby	...	Anna Miller
Dee J. Thompson	...	Donna

Also Known As:

The Spy in Lace Panties

Runtime:

Germany:110 min | USA:110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Avalon, Santa Catalina Island, Channel Islands, California, USA

Company:

Euterpe

Trivia:

The boat that was used in the film sank two miles off the coast of Zuma Beach in Los Angeles on 11 June 2006. "The Phoenix" was traveling from Newport Beach to San Francisco Bay where it was going to be used as a Cajun restaurant. The cause of the sinking was due to a two-by-six inch crack in the glass hull. All crew members were rescued.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the two scenes where the runaway boat crashes into the beach, the cars around the boat seem to rearrange themselves from shot to shot. A closer look at which car ends up where, reveals, apparently, the wide shot intended for the first scene was mistakenly edited into the second one and vice versa.

Quotes:

Jennifer Nelson: Mata Hari stops at nothing. Nothing comes between Mata Hari and what she wants.

Movie Connections:

References "The Late Late Show" (1962)

Soundtrack:

THE GLASS BOTTOM BOAT

frothy '60s comedy

What a warm, wonderful actress Doris Day is, what a knockout, what a screen presence. And just think, at the age of 42 (ancient by Hollywood standards in 1966) she was playing a desirable woman lusted after by several men. Glass Bottom Boat is a very '60s comedy in look and subject matter - the space age and spies. Taylor has invented a gizmo and when there's a leak from his project team, suspicion falls on Day, who works for the company and calls someone named Vladimir several times a day. Vladimir, however, is her dog, and she's calling him so he'll run around while the phone is ringing and get some exercise.

The film is loaded with space-age gadgets. Taylor's computerized, motorized kitchen is great, complete with a floor-cleaning robot - wonder if the inventors of today's robot vacuum saw this movie. He also pilots his boat via a remote - but as he points out during a scene where the boat runs amok with Day inside, that needs further work.

There's lots of slapstick and comedy support from Dom Deluise, Dick Martin, and Paul Lynde. Lynde, by the way, looked great in drag, and has some great delivery in his scenes. Some of the scenes, especially those of Deluise, had an improv feel. The late Eric Fleming, Clint Eastwood's boss on "Rawhide," plays a CIA man. This was his last film; he drowned shortly afterwards. Rod Taylor, who, by the way, is younger than Doris Day, is effective as Day's romantic interest. Of note, radio personality Arthur Godfrey plays Day's father. There's also an appearance by Robert Vaughan as an homage to his "Man from UNCLE" character.

Frothy fun, and Doris Day is always a delight.