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

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

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 US Army captain in the Pacific during WWII. Follow ...

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 ingénue ...

, George Hamilton and

Celeste Holm Celeste Holm (April 29, 1917 – July 15, 2012) was an American stage, film and television 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 th ...

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) professionally known as Bill Bixby, was an American actor, director, producer, and frequent game-show panellist. Bixby's career spanned more than three decades, includi ...

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, Bo ...

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 Y ...

as Pat Murad

Production

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

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' 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 of the same name which h ...

, producer Douglas Laurence and writer

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

, 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 Hollywood director and choreographer most noted for his work in MGM musicals and comedies from the 1940s to the 1960s. Early years Charles Walters was born in Pasad ...

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, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...

. This was Dee's first film after leaving Universal Studios, where she 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 Lynda Bird Johnson Robb (born March 19, 1944) is the elder daughter of the 36th U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson. She served as chairwoman of the Board of Reading is Fundamental, the nation's largest childr ...

, daughter of president

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

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

Bachelor Flat ''Bachelor Flat'' is a 1962 DeLuxe Color comedy film starring Terry-Thomas, Tuesday Weld, Richard Beymer, and Celeste Holm. Filmed in CinemaScope in Malibu, California, the film is a revised version of director Frank Tashlin's own ''Susan Slept H ...

'' (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

*
''Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding!''
at TCM * *
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