My Favourite Rock Hudson Movies
Happy Birthday Rock Hudson!
It's this handsome man's 95th birthday today, and to celebrate, I'm looking at his face—I mean, my top five favourite Rock Hudson movies. Let's dive in!
Pillow Talk (1959)
via Love Letters to Old Hollywood
I can't even begin to describe how much I love this movie, the first Rock Hudson/Doris Day pairing. The premise, that they share a party line, hate each other, and he tricks her into thinking he's a naive Texan, is fun; the acting is superb; the set design and costumes are fantastic... plus, it's Rock Hudson at his dreamiest.
I have, many times—and probably will, many more times—put this movie in my DVD player and replayed it multiple times to play in the background while I'm writing (I'm a freelancer in my other life) and it always cheers me up.
Man's Favorite Sport? (1964)
via tumblr (source unknown)
There's so much to love about Man's Favorite Sport? It's nonsensical, screwball fun from start to finish; featuring Rock as a fishing expert who can't actually fish and Paula Prentiss as the sports lodge coordinator who teaches him how in time to win a fishing competition. This was directed by Howard Hawks and is a pseudo remake of his 1938 screwball classic Bringing Up Baby (you can see some recycled gags and hear some very familiar lines). I love it!
All That Heaven Allows (1955)
I say it every time I watch it: if my family tried to talk me out of marrying Rock Hudson—for any reason, but especially for the dumb reason of him being too young for me—my response would be "Watch me walk away, watch me walk away right up this aisle where Rock Hudson is waiting for me."
In all seriousness though, this is a dreamy Douglas Sirk film and he knew what he was doing in terms of creating a classic. Tenderly acted by Jane Wyman and Rock (re-teaming from Magnificent Obsession a year earlier, which is also a great Douglas Sirk film), make sure you watch this one!
Send Me No Flowers (1964)
via tumblr (source unknown)
The final film in the Doris Day/Rock Hudson trilogy, Send Me No Flowers is a slapstick that follows the hypochondriac Rock convinced he's dying and doing everything he can to tie up the loose ends before his supposed end. There are moments of fun, camp and laughter, but I also love the glimpse into the home life of a mid-century family. I love their house!
Strange Bedfellows (1965)
This is another slightly wild comedy, with Rock playing a straight-laced American and Gina Lollobrigida playing a bohemian Italian who married on an impulse seven years before the movie began, quickly decided to divorce, and now, seven years later just as the divorce is about to be finalized, begin to rekindle their romance. It's not highbrow in the slightest, but it's fun, and I love it.
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What are your favourite Rock Hudson movies?
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