Is this Doris Day's best movie? Probably not, but it's one of her funniest pictures from this era--more so than any of her successful "bedroom comedies" of the decade. Fashionably advertised as a spy comedy--it's really not (there's some spy stuff late in the film)--it features our Doris as a kooky widow with a menagerie of pets who spends her nights at school (some of her classes are ballet and map-making!) and her days as an aerospace tour guide. On the weekends, she dons a mermaid's tail and swims beneath her father's vessel. Doris is very down-to-the-earth here, never too-cute. I loved the warmly feminine feel she gives to the song "Soft As The Starlight", and the lovely look on her face after Rod Taylor kisses her for the first time. The slapstick is raucous and noisy, yet there's a big laugh when Paul Lynde follows Doris into the powder room dressed in drag, or when Doris makes a date with two different men for a romantic evening, and the men are the ones who end up (innocently) in bed together (Dick Martin says to Edward Andrews, "Do you wanna meet early and pick out the furniture?"). An exceptional '60s bauble: plush, breezy, essentially brainless, but one that makes for a great couple of hours. ***1/2 from ****

I love Doris Day films and have seen nearly all of them. However, despite enjoying her in many movies, I simply couldn't make myself finish THE GLASS BOTTOM BOAT because it was horribly written and ignored the things that made her other comedies worth seeing. Instead of likeable characters in silly situations, here it comes off almost like a Three Stooges film merged with a Doris Day flick merged with a kooky sitcom! Pratfalls galore, slapstick, goofy sound effects and low-brow humor abound and you see none of the brilliance of her good comedies (such as PILLOW TALK and BY THE LIGHT OF THE SILVERY MOON) in this annoying film. It was so unlike her other films in tone that about 2/3 of the way through it, I simply turned it off...it was that bad. Painfully unfunny and all wrong for the wonderful actress. Combining this with a strange plot involving NASA and Soviet spies and you can see why this was among her last films. Painfully unfunny from start to finish.

'The Glass Bottom Boat' was seen as part of my completest quest for the films of Doris Day. Most of her films have been seen already, a few many times and among my favourites, but being a fan there was the want to see the ones not already viewed.

Of these first time viewings, 'The Glass Bottom Boat' is one of the better ones. Not quite one of her best ('Calamity Jane' and 'Pillow Talk' are especially great),but a long way from being one of her worst, even as a fan will admit that not every single film of hers is good let alone great (both early in her career and later),and actually one of her better later (meaning her 60s output) films. Also the better of the two Day and director Frank Tashlin collaborations, the other being the critical and commercial failure 'Caprice'.

Sure the story is silly, but the film knows it and one is just too caught up in the non-stop entertainment to care. There maybe could have been more of the romance between Day and Rod Taylor, there certainly is some, it has the right amount of sweetness and Taylor has charm as a leading man if not quite enjoying himself as much as the rest of the cast, but it is a little under-utilised and occasionally gets lost amidst everything else.

However, 'The Glass Bottom Boat's' production values are great, one of Day's best looking films to me. The locations and fashions are fabulously lavish and it is beautifully photographed with gorgeous use of colour, bright, bold and rich. There is some fine music too, energetically quirky while also lush. The title song is unforgettable, the little snippet of "Que Serra" is even better used than in 'The Man Who Knew Too Much' and "Soft as a Starlight" is lovely. They suit Day's beautiful voice perfectly, and Day's musical understanding and sincerity shines through all.

It's an exceptionally funny film too, which is something not always found in later films with Day. Very slapstick-heavy which is delivered with tons of energy and like the supporting cast in particular were having a ball, but also with some intriguing social satire, some ahead of the time use of technology (would do anything for a kitchen like that, despite being more than content with the kitchen in my flat, but the kitchen is just too cool). The title sequence is super.

Story goes at a bright and breezy pace, 'The Glass Bottom Boat' is a never dull film, and has charm and fun aplenty, the silliness and slightness of it is pretty much forgiven. Tashlin's experience as a cartoonist comes through loud and clear with the delivery of the humour and he keeps things thick and fast with the gags and zany dialogue being packed into the film without feeling too much. The ending section is a riot, as is Paul Lynde in drag (goodness doesn't he look good in it) and Dick Martin and Edward Andrews in bed is quite a sight (don't worry it's more innocent than it sounds).

Day perky and luminous, has deftly witty comic timing, sincerity and just charms everybody every time she's on screen in front of the camera and to the viewer watching. Satire comes easily to her. Taylor is charming if a little underused, while Lynde, Martin and Andrews are hilarious scene-stealers. Dom DeLuise provides some inspired seemingly improvisational comedy. A cameo from Robert Vaughn is also fun.

Overall, extremely entertaining film with so much to recommend. One of Day's better later efforts if not quite one of her best overall. 8/10 Bethany Cox