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Romantic comedic blondes are a common sight in the Hollywood Film industry. Some names that come to mind are Reese Witherspoon, Meg Ryan, Goldie Hawn, Carole Lombard, and Jean Harlow. Without a doubt, all of them are well-known and talented actors in the subgenre of comedy. Nonetheless, maybe no one is more associated with the genre than Doris Day. She arguably had the best comedy career of any actress ever, and was the lead in romcoms including It Happened To Jane (1959) and With Six You Get Eggroll (1968).
I grew up watching Rock Hudson and Doris Day in rom-coms. Their chemistry was amazing and I can never get tired of re-watching them. Then, I found out about Doris Day’s single performance with one of my favorite actors Cary Grant in That Touch of Mink. After that came the film The Glass Bottom Boat in which Day starred with Rod Taylor. I loved that movie and even wrote a review for it at last year’s Doris Day Blogathon.
I slowly made my way through Doris Day’s films, but recently I stumbled upon a movie that had completely slipped past me, ‘It Happened To Jane’. How is this movie not more popular? It’s a romantic comedy starring Doris Day and a young Jack Lemmon, and for some strange reason, I’ve never seen it anywhere. This movie is marvelous, truly, and even rounds up my favorite Doris Day films.
In the film, Doris Day plays Jane Osgood, a young widow with two children trying to run a lobster farming and shipping business. Unfortunately, her business’s very first major order is ruined because of the E&P Railroad company and their ineptitude and incompetence. Fortunately, she has a good friend who happens to be an attorney named George Denham. He assists her in filing a lawsuit against the railroad company, which Jane soon realizes is a quarrel against Harry Foster Malone, the miserly head of the E&P. As Jane and George as trying to sue the company, they keep running into problem after problem, Jane is seemingly not getting any gents to see her as more than a business partner while George is attempting to get his childhood friend to see him as more than just a buddy.
This film has a couple of things I adore and greatly appreciate. The first is definitely the performances by the main leads. In this case, Day plays her typical rom-com character, but this time in a rural setting instead of New York. Jane is adored by her small Maine community and is also very sweet. Yet, beneath that All-American girl exterior, there is a backbone of steel. Her inspiring, albeit ill-advised, fearlessness and determination in the face of impossible odds is truly impressive. The way she interacts with the children seems so real and believable. Though I admire her fashionable wardrobes in her other films, in this case, it can be a bit distracting. Thankfully that is not the case here, so I was able to focus more on the character.
This film is what first made me appreciate Jack Lemmon’s acting skills. Now that I’ve viewed it for the first time, I have immersed myself in many more of his movies, and now I genuinely feel that he is unorthodoxly talented. At first sight, he almost seems out of place with Day’s character Jane, who appears significantly older than her friend George, who is what people fancy a milquetoast to be. He allows a domineering Jane to walk all over him. However, his transition into a charming alpha male when the town turns its back on Jane is pure bliss. And his speech on democracy and civic duties during the town hall speech? Don’t even get me started. It is unnervingly beautiful.
Like all of us, Ernie Kovacs has a villainous side that he is willing to showcase and let me tell you, he loves playing the role of Malone. He does it excellently, slowly denying Jane every single claim she makes against his railroad, and doing so without caring for a single consequence. In other words, he’s a cruel businessman. I can’t discuss what happens towards the end of the movie without spoiling it, but I will say this much each decision he makes at the end serves some purpose. It lets him reclaim slivers of humanity and keeps him from transforming into a laughable joke of a character. While I did enjoy Operation Mad Ball, the other Jack Lemmon Appreciation Film I watched Jack Lemmon’s performance in it Kovacs’ performance comments on a bigger sentiment he does an incredible job at playing the villain.
I didn’t grow up in the Northeast, but I do appreciate small-town America. That why the film intrigues me and its because of the vintage vibes. The setting gives an essence of children playing freely outside. Neighbors act as a family, helping out in a crisis or giving a little challenge every now and then. Life is a bit slower; people are expected to be involved and there is deep love for the country. You would think the film is about patriotism, yet in fact, it is not. The theme is somehow put in the film without giving the audience too much focus on it. It Happened to Jane is a piece of art, it is lovely in its own sense. I feel like the theme is unique, its refreshing, and combined with the astonishing cinematography of a New England summer, makes me a little sentimental.
It Happened to Jane has quite rightly earned its place among my favorite Doris Day comedies. Although it was not commercially successful when it was released, it does showcase Day’s comedic skills which were previously neglected. Not to mention it also shows Lemmon’s skill in character change. And I would argue it set the stage for Day’s remarkable romantic comedy career during the 1960’s. I’m only sad about the fact that Day and Lemmon were not cast together again.
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