TCM Spotlight: Doris Day Collection (It's a Great Feeling / Tea for Two / April in Paris / The Tunnel of Love / Starlift)

TCM Spotlight: Doris Day Collection (It's a Great Feeling / Tea for Two / April in Paris / The Tunnel of Love / Starlift)

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The ever-charming star of postwar Hollywood gets another DVD boxed set, TCM Spotlight: Doris Day Collection, showcasing the early part of her career. Four of the films were made between 1949 and 1952, when Doris was being promoted as America’s newest sweetheart. It’s a Great Feeling is a playful Hollywood satire based on a story by future Billy Wilder collaborator I.A.L. Diamond. Doris plays a small-town girl from Gurkey’s Corners, Wisconsin, who meets Jack Carson, the self-important actor (playing himself) suddenly given a chance to direct because no one else will work with him. This is revealed in a funny sequence with real-life directors Raoul Walsh, Michael Curtiz, and King Vidor turning him down. The film is full of banter between Carson and Dennis Morgan (also playing himself) and sprinkled with cameos from Gary Cooper, Joan Crawford, Ronald Reagan, Jane Wyman, Edward G. Robinson, and a surprise finale worth keeping secret. Tea for Two pairs Day with Gordon MacRae, another frequent co-star, in a very loose take on the Broadway hit No, No, Nanette. The movie features a stellar lineup of songs, including Gershwin tunes and the classic “Tea for Two” from the stage version. A clunky plot device, reminiscent of Jim Carrey’s Yes Man, slows the non-musical bits, though Eve Arden and Billy De Wolfe keep things lively. It’s also a great showcase for dancer Gene Nelson, an underrated talent in a major role. Starlift, long unavailable, takes the Hollywood Canteen approach, packing in stars performing for the troops. Day appears only in the early scenes as herself, singing “‘S Wonderful” and adding her signature charm, while the film squeezes in appearances by Ruth Roman, Gary Cooper (amusingly talk-singing “Look Out, Stranger”), and more.