Clark Gable and Doris Day star in Teacher’s Pet, a romcom about a hard-headed reporter who believes that experience is the greatest teacher of all, and a journalism teacher who thinks there are rules that people can learn to make them into journalists. Sparks fly as the ideologies of the two characters conflict and their simmering attraction comes to the fore.
First off, it’s in black and white, which I know may put some people off. I thought it was a very charming film that moved along at quite a brisk pace. Clark Gable was effortlessly charming and managed to inject a lot of depth into his role. Doris Day was every bit his equal and the two of them had some great chemistry together. I liked how their views on life challenged one another and how they actually respected each other’s opinions and tried to learn from each other. There was also some stuff going on about the virtues of honesty in the business and what compromises have to be made in order to become profitable, so there’s a fair bit of meat here as well.
It’s classed as a romcom but it’s more of a light-hearted drama than a comedy. That being said there are some genuinely funny moments, especially around the hour mark in the bar, where Gable shows he’s equally adept at handling the comedic side of things as well as the dramatic. There’s a supporting role for Gig Young and he plays off both Gable and Day really well, almost stealing the show from them.
It’s a fairly routine film and but everything clicks and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The script was sharp, the acting was good and overall it was pretty entertaining.
Tagged: clark gable, doris day, gig young, movie reviews, teacher's pet