The Tunnel of Love (1958)

The acting in this movie is really good.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

I'm going to skip the movie's plot details, most of you have already read the other reviews and/or seen the movie and know what it's about. What many of have also done is to see/take the movie completely out of context. For this you can be forgiven, unless you (a) grew up in the 1950s and/or (b) know who Peter De Vries was and/or (c) read his novel THE TUNNEL OF LOVE. De Vries was a successful writer of satire, on the staff of The New Yorker for some time, and wrote lots of satirical novels, including this one, first published in 1954, sharply poking fun at sophisticated sexual and social mores. The novel is set in Westport, Connecticut, where De Vries lived, and its depiction of sexual double standards, social life, euphemisms, booze, etc., is typical of the time period. A stage version was produced in 1957, and presumably to "water it down" a little for theater audiences, the ending was changed, which basically ruined the story. A year later the Doris Day/Richard Widmark movie version came out, using the play's watered-down feel-good ending and destroying the novel's biting satire. So if you regard this movie out of the context of its novel and its time period, you might be confused or disappointed.

While DORIS DAY has made a few lame movies in her 20 year movie career, this may not be the lamest, but it certainly comes close. Based on a stage play, and it shows, this stupid comedy makes no sense what so ever. The characters are card board cut outs, especially Gig Young's character. He is terrible in this role and the role itself is horrific. A skirt chaser, a heavy drinker, an unloving father and husband and a pill popper to boot. What a disaster of a man. The writers should be ashamed of themselves. The Gia Scala character makes no sense at all. The actress committed suicide a few years after this fiasco. She must have seen the film. As for Doris, she is regulated to a stupid supporting role. She isn't even in 70% of the run time. Mr. Young has more footage than she. And what she does toward the end makes for a very mixed-up character, which she doesn't display earlier. And poor Richard Widmark. He tries, oh he does, but to no avail. Too bad, because he's in every minute of this movie. Based on what I had to say maybe this IS the lamest film Miss Day has appeared in. Another grip is that the Gig Young/Elizabeth Frazer couple have four kids. They are NEVER seen. Liz has a baby during the film and no one takes care of it? Both men are in a scene at the Widmark/Day residence and the women are out bike riding. Where are the kids and baby? During the party, where are the kids? In the party scene given for Widmark/Day, no one talks to them nor do they talk to anyone but Young and Frazer, just like no one is around. Both couples have twin beds yet. OK, this was made in the 50's, but still....And the direction by Gene Kelly....THERE IS NONE... One of many stupid lines....HE: Let's get to the party. SHE: We don't want to be the first ones there...They are looking out the window and see the party in progress with DOZENS OF PEOPLE!! How inane is that? See this one at your own risk. Poor Doris!! .

I really liked this film as long as I didn't pay that much attention to the booze and tranquilizers. Sure, this is 1957-58, but wasn't that Westport house fabulous!!! It seems that everyone was moving to Westport at the time. Think Lucy and Desi from I Love Lucy and the Lucy Desi Comedy Hour.I just saw this movie last night by the way of TiVo. It was adult in nature and showed that Richard Widmark could do comedy. His performance is a real gem. It shows him as an overworked husband who with Doris as his wife are trying to have a baby. So they adopt, and everyone says that the kid looks a lot like Richard. At the end, Doris is pregnant, everyone is happy, which is a fitting ending to this war between marrieds and how two people can have problems not trusting the other partner. Sure explains life today.

1958 was before Ross Hunter embarked Doris Day on the fabulous career she had in the '60s, in which she would become a top box office draw - in fact, THE box office drawer for years. In "The Tunnel of Love," she plays a sweet, vivacious woman who is desperate to have a baby and can't, so she and her husband, played by Richard Widmark, plan to adopt one. When the adopted baby bears a strong resemblance to Widmark, he becomes sure that the child is the result of an evening he can't remember with the investigative social worker (Gia Scala).Based on a play, this kind of light, subtly sexual comedy became very popular on the dinner theater circuit in the '60s and '70s, joining the ranks of "Mary, Mary", "The Marriage Go Round," "Boeing Boeing," etc. It is not particularly well directed by Gene Kelly and sports the very strange casting of Richard Widmark as Day's confused husband. I can't agree with the comments here. Though an actor known for playing tough roles and cruel men, he does a credible job here mainly because he knows enough not to play for laughs. He creates a full character, that of a caring if foolish man who adores his wife but screws up occasionally. Gig Young plays the philandering husband next door. He's fine, but the character is very unlikable.There's not really much to recommend here. I suppose at the time it was considered somewhat suggestive, but it doesn't play well today.