The Glass Bottom Boat

( 9 )

Overview

It may come as a revelation to those who regard The Glass Bottom Boat as a second-rate Frank Tashlin movie that it comes to life when seen in its proper aspect ratio, letterboxed to 2.35:1, as on this DVD. When all else fails -- plot, script, casting, direction -- Tashlin's stylized visuals comprise most of what value there is to this movie. The Glass Bottom Boat is filled with bright colors and relevant objects in almost every shot, and there's little point in watching this movie, which has relatively little ...
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More About This Product

Overview

It may come as a revelation to those who regard The Glass Bottom Boat as a second-rate Frank Tashlin movie that it comes to life when seen in its proper aspect ratio, letterboxed to 2.35:1, as on this DVD. When all else fails -- plot, script, casting, direction -- Tashlin's stylized visuals comprise most of what value there is to this movie. The Glass Bottom Boat is filled with bright colors and relevant objects in almost every shot, and there's little point in watching this movie, which has relatively little sustained or inspired humor, without those compositions intact. (There's one shot and scene, at 99 minutes into the movie, that manages to parody the James Bond movies as well as the opening credits of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. -- the star of which, Robert Vaughn, shows up in a cameo appearance at 85 minutes in -- that cannot work without the 2.35:1 aspect ratio.) The plot is incredibly thin, a satire of the Cold War and a comedy of errors mashed together around the premise of Doris Day as a tour-guide at a facility of the American space program who has a dog named Vladimir, whom she "calls" by phone every day from work so that the ringing gets him to run around and exercise -- this fact sets off a chain of misunderstandings that gets her accused of being a Soviet spy. There's not much more to the movie, though it does give some comic performers -- including Paul Lynde, John McGiver, Edward Andrews, and most notably, Dom DeLuise and Dick Martin (who, between them, steal almost every shot they're in) -- a chance to engage in various comedic antics, and has some funny sight gags scattered throughout. There is also an appearance by Alice Pearce and George Tobias, the nosy neighbor couple from Bewitched, playing a nosy neighbor couple here named Mabel and Norman (and could that be a nod to comic actress Mabel Normand, Day's distant comedic screen predecessor?). The 32 chapters are probably too generous for this 110 minutes of comic fluff, but that's better than not having enough chapters. The disc also contains a brace of bonus materials, starting with "Every Girl's Dream," a black-and-white documentary about Nancy Bernard, the newly crowned 1966 "Maid of Cotton," and her visit to the MGM lot in Culver City. The short seems more concerned with what Bernard is wearing than the sets she's walking through; the connection for the DVD is her wearing of a dress designed for The Glass Bottom Boat, and observing the wardrobe test footage of Doris Day and Rod Taylor. "NASA" is a short, this time in color, in which Day plugs the facilities of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as represented in the movie. In an unintentionally grim moment, Day talks about the Saturn booster and the Apollo capsule getting only "one" take, and how the astronauts' lives depend upon them, all of this a year before the Apollo 1 fire that killed astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee. "Catalina Island," narrated by movie co-star Arthur Godfrey, intercuts a travelogue with shots of the island's tourist centers and scenes from the film. The Oscar-winning cartoon The Dot and the Line, subtitled "A Romance in Lower Mathematics," makes up for the blandness of the rest of the supplement; directed and produced by Chuck Jones and narrated by Robert Morley, it's as charming and lively as the rest of the supplement is stupefyingly dull and predictable. The trailer, which is in Panavision, makes The Glass Bottom Boat seem even sillier than it is. And it should be noted that around the time of this movie's release, at a point when she was getting involved in even more dubious film projects, Day turned down a role that could have completely transformed her career, the part of Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate.
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Special Features

Closed Caption; Three vintage featurettes: "Catalina Island," "Every Girl's Dream," "NASA"; Oscar-winning cartoon The Dot and the Line; Theatrical trailer
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Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler
Spy spoofs were a fad in the 1960s, so it was probably inevitable that top box-office draw Doris Day would eventually find herself starring in one. Fortunately, The Glass Bottom Boat is less concerned with spy movie conventions than with allowing Day and her co-stars the chance to engage in a great deal of slapstick while coming to terms with the twists and turns of the film's romantic plot. Boat is about as featherweight as a film can get, but as long as viewers are in the mood for something light, silly, and insubstantial, they're probably going to be entertained by this piece of fluff. Certainly Day is appealing and very much in her element; she knows this isn't exactly Hamlet, but she treats it with the right level of seriousness to make it all work. Rod Taylor isn't quite loose enough for the proceedings, but he works well with Day, and the supporting cast is very much in the right spirit, led by an incredibly game Paul Lynde, an amusingly oafish Dom DeLuise, and the always-dependable Alice Pearce. Director Frank Tashlin has filled the screen with his favorite bright colors and gets to give rein to his penchant for machine-oriented gags. Tashlin's cartoony approach gets to be a bit much occasionally, but it's fun to see a director enjoying himself as much as Tashlin. A brainless little bubble, The Glass Bottom Boat floats along quite enjoyably, if aimlessly.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 4/26/2005
  • UPC: 012569519220
  • Original Release: 1966

    • Rating:

  • Source: Warner Home Video
  • Region Code: 1
  • Presentation: Wide Screen / Subtitled / Dubbed
  • Time: 1:50:00
  • Format: DVD
  • Sales rank: 327

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
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
Dom DeLuise Julius Pratter
Elisabeth Fraser Nina Bailey
Dick Martin Zack Molly
George Tobias Mr. Fenimore
Alice Pearce Mrs. Fenimore
Ellen Corby Anna Miller
Dee J. Thompson Donna
Eric Fleming Edgar Hill
Robert Vaughn Napoleon Solo
Technical Credits
Frank Tashlin Director
Ray Aghayan Costumes/Costume Designer
Edward C. Carfagno Art Director
George W. Davis Art Director
Frank De Vol Score Composer
Everett Freeman Producer, Screenwriter
Henry W. Grace Set Decoration/Design
Hugh Hunt Set Decoration/Design
J. McMillan Johnson Special Effects
Harry Maret Makeup
John McSweeney Jr. Editor
Martin Melcher Producer
Leon Shamroy Cinematographer
Carroll L. Shepphird Special Effects
William J. Tuttle Makeup
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Scene Index

Side #1 --
1. Hooking a Mermaid [2:54]
2. Credits [2:19]
3. Special Interests [3:54]
4. Shoeless Kook [4:56]
5. You Ain't No Guppy [4:15]
6. Playing Favorites [4:11]
7. Readying the Rocket [3:24]
8. Stepping Into Things [6:19]
9. Kitchen Gadgets... [5:03]
10. ...Run Amuck [2:32]
11. Bum Steering [4:43]
12. The Glass Bottom Boat [2:54]
13. Invitation [1:30]
14. Soft As the Starlight [2:57]
15. Dossier on a Spy [3:46]
16. Visions of Mata Hari [4:01]
17. Fine Public Relations Job [2:05]
18. Who Is Vladimir? [3:38]
19. Surveillance [3:50]
20. Hors D'Oeuvre in Motion [2:12]
21. Nonmixers [3:04]
22. Phoney/Phony Business [2:02]
23. Her Spy Network [2:22]
24. No Man's Land [4:09]
25. May I Have This Dance? [2:29]
26. Satin Does Slip [3:59]
27. The Real Spy Strikes [2:19]
28. Messes and Mix-Ups [2:32]
29. Double Trouble [4:22]
30. Chasing Jenny [4:03]
31. Full-Throttle Lovers [5:05]
32. Cast List [1:24]
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Menu

Side #1 --
   Play Movie
   Scene Selections
   Special Features
      Every Girl's Dream
      NASA
      Catalina Island
      The Dot and the Line
      Theatrical Trailer
   Languages
      Spoken Languages: English
      Spoken Languages: Français
      Subtitles: English
      Subtitles: Français
      Subtitles: Español
      Subtitles: Off
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 9 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(7)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(1)

2 Star

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1 Star

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Sort by: Showing all of 9 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 4, 2004

    A great classic movie - fun for the whole family

    I can't believe the negative reviews for this movie and other classic family comedies that the 'Movie Book Review' people write on Barnes website. They must be 'LAUGH-A-PHOBIC'. This movie is such fun for the whole family, clean and innocent. Much better than the non-funny garbage being produced these days. The writers of old had a sense of humor, and could use slap stick to make you fall out of your chairs laughing. I wish the TV stations would air more clean and wholesome fun like this movie, than the empty humorless sitcoms that are 'politically correct' but boring being thrown at us nightly. Sit back and have a good laugh at this one. Paul Lynde and Dick Martin from 'Laugh-in' are super as is Dom De Luise. A true classic, can't wait for the DVD my video is worn out !!

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted March 22, 2004

    waiting for DVD

    great movie, love the classics

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 5, 2003

    Fantastic

    I only wish that it came in DVD so it would last longer than the VHS.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted November 15, 2008

    No text was provided for this review.

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    Posted October 12, 2010

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 5, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 20, 2012

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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 28, 2009

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    Posted September 28, 2010

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Sort by: Showing all of 9 Customer Reviews