''Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding!'' is a 1967 American

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Peter Tewksbury Henry Peter Tewksbury (March 21, 1923 – February 20, 2003) was an American film and television director. Biography Born in Cleveland, he attended Dartmouth College but left to serve as a U.S. Army captain in the Pacific during World War ...

and starring

Sandra Dee Sandra Dee (born Alexandra Zuck; April 23, 1942 – February 20, 2005) was an American actress. Dee began her career as a child model, working first in commercials and then film in her teenage years. Best known for her portrayal of ingénues ...

, George Hamilton and

Celeste Holm Celeste Holm (April 29, 1917 – July 15, 2012) was an American actress. Holm won an Academy Award for her performance in Elia Kazan's '' Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947), and was nominated for her roles in '' Come to the Stable'' (1949) and ''A ...

Plot

Heather Halloran, pursued by three men who want to marry her, is about to give birth. The events that led to her pregnancy are recalled. Her mother wants Heather to be a singing star but she works as a secretary for the rich Harlan Wycliff. She falls in love with Wycliff, but he wants her to abandon her budding career as a singer.

Cast

as Heather Halloran * George Hamilton as Harlan W. Wycliff *

as Louise Halloran *

Bill Bixby Wilfred Bailey Everett Bixby III (January 22, 1934 – November 21, 1993) was an American actor and television director. His career spanned more than three decades, including appearances on stage, in films, and on television series. He is known ...

as Dick Bender *

Dwayne Hickman Dwayne Bernard Hickman (May 18, 1934 – January 9, 2022) was an American actor and television executive, producer and director, who worked as an executive at CBS and had also briefly recorded as a vocalist. Hickman portrayed Chuck MacDonald, B ...

as Hank Judson *

Dick Kallman Dick Kallman (July 7, 1933 – February 22, 1980) was an American actor. Early life Kallman was born in Brooklyn in New York City, into wealth. His father, Alvan Kallman, a former barnstorming pilot, was owner of the Savoy-Plaza Hotel in New ...

as Pat Murad *

Mort Sahl Morton Lyon Sahl (May 11, 1927 – October 26, 2021) was a Canadian-born American comedian, actor, and social Satire, satirist, considered the first modern comedian. He pioneered a style of social satire that pokes fun at political and current e ...

as Dan Ruskin

Production

The film is based on the 1965 debut novel ''Three for the Wedding'' by writer Patte Wheat Mahan, which the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' called "a highly entertaining and amusing book." Trident Productions, a company established by director

Delbert Mann Delbert Martin Mann Jr. (January 30, 1920 – November 11, 2007) was an American television and film director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film '' Marty'' (1955), adapted from a 1953 teleplay which he had also directed. ...

, producer Douglas Laurence and writer

Dale Wasserman Dale Wasserman (November 2, 1914 – December 21, 2008) was an American playwright, perhaps best known for his 1965 book, ''Man of La Mancha''. Early life Dale Wasserman was born in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, the child of Russian Jewish immigr ...

, bought the film rights. Mahan agreed to write the screenplay and

Charles Walters Charles Powell Walters (November 17, 1911 – August 13, 1982) was an American Cinema of the United States, Hollywood director and choreographer most noted for his work in MGM musicals and comedies from the 1940s to the 1960s. Early years Char ...

was originally slated to direct. The film was originally entitled ''Three for the Wedding'', then ''This Way Out, Please'' before its final title of ''Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding!''.

selected the role of Heather instead of a part in a film shooting in London with

Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career has spanned over six decades, and he has received an Academy Award and three Golden Globe Awards. He also received the Irving G. Thalberg Memor ...

. This was Dee's first film after leaving Universal Studios, where she had been under exclusive contract for ten years. She hoped the role would assist in her transition to more mature screen roles. George Hamilton was in a highly publicized romance at the time with Lynda Bird, daughter of president

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

. ''Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding!'' marked Celeste Holm's first film since ''

Bachelor Flat ''Bachelor Flat'' is a 1962 American DeLuxe Color comedy film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring Tuesday Weld, Richard Beymer, Terry-Thomas, and Celeste Holm. Filmed in CinemaScope in Malibu, California, the film is a revised version of Tas ...

'' (1961). She said: "It's kind of an Italian comedy set in Glendale. Like most Italian comedies, it's based on a tragic truth. When the film opens, a young girl is unmarried and pregnant."

Reception

After the film was previewed, MGM commissioned Phillip Shuken to write a sequel to star Hamilton and Dee, but the sequel did not materialize.

References

External links

* * *
Film information
at Sandra Dee Fans * {{Peter Tewksbury 1967 films 1967 romantic comedy films American pregnancy films American romantic comedy films Films about singers Films based on American novels Films directed by Peter Tewksbury Films scored by Kenyon Hopkins Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films English-language romantic comedy films