Send Me No Flowers
The Kimballs are an upper-middle class couple living in an upper-middle class suburban neighborhood. Their tastefully decorated two-story home with manicured lawn and backyard patio sits on a quiet street. Their cleaned and pressed garments are delivered to the back door, and their eggs, dairy products, and the neighborhood gossip are delivered to the front door. George (Rock Hudson) and Judy (Doris Day) live comfortable lives.
George takes the train to work in the city and enjoys a drink and conversation with his best friend and neighbor, Arnold (Tony Randall), on the way home in the evenings. Judy, whose bright orange bathroom towels match her lounging pajamas and the bow in her hair, spends time playing bridge and golfing with her friends. On the weekends the Kimballs enjoy dinner and dancing at the nearby country club.
Produced during the mid-1960s before the women’s liberation movement, Send Me No Flowers portrays the housewife as the little woman who is fragile, easily influenced by unscrupulous characters, and someone who must be cared for by a more intelligent and sensible husband. Her days are filled with amusing conundrums, gossip, and congenial recreation with friends. Little does this husband know how ingenious, observant, and strong willed his wife can be.
Unbeknown to George, Judy fills his sleeping pill capsules with sugar. George is a hypochondriac. Reruns of television’s medicine advertisements invade George‘s dreams. Lately, he has been worrying about his cholesterol. Still, life runs along smoothly, that is until George feels a pain in his chest.
The morning begins as usual with George taking his temperature while bathing in a hot, steamy shower. Judy collects the milk and newspapers from the front porch, while the milkman fills her in on the Bullards upcoming divorce. Then Judy gets herself into a pickle when the front door closes on her robe.
At breakfast George tells Judy that he has an appointment with Dr. Morrissey (Edward Andrews) for a checkup, even though he had a complete physical two weeks earlier. At the doctor’s office, George overhears Dr. Morrissey‘s telephone conversation with a heart specialist. George assumes the doctors are discussing his test results and, consequently, believes he has a damaged heart and only a few more weeks to live.
George doesn’t want to burden Judy with the news of his impending demise. Instead, on the way home he tells Arnold the sad news. Together they decide that Judy will need someone to take care of her and that George must find a replacement for himself. George, the take-charge husband, visits the local cemetery to purchase a plot for his final resting place. While talking to Mr. Aikens (Paul Lynde), he decides to buy three plots, one for himself, one for Judy, and one for the new husband.
As luck would have it, the next day Judy is rescued from a runaway golf cart by none other than her old college sweetheart, Bert (Clint Walker). Arnold suggests that Bert would be a perfect second husband for Judy, and George reluctantly agrees. Judy wonders why George keeps pushing her onto Bert all afternoon and evening, but jumps to the wrong conclusion when she sees George in the cloak room in a compromising position with Linda Bullard (Patricia Berry).
George learns that he is as capable as Judy of getting himself into a conundrum and that in a crisis, Judy can be a pillar of strength. He learns to rely less on his friend’s counsel and more on his wife’s good sense and resourcefulness. Judy learns to make a stand against George’s daffy behavior. More importantly, she learns to trust him, no matter how preposterous his schemes.
Fortunately for this couple, once Judy is apprised of all the facts and the extent of George’s devotion, she finds a way to bring harmony back to their relationship. The Kimballs are on their way to becoming a liberated couple.
Send Me No Flowers, an entertaining farce, completes the series of three comedies starring Rock Hudson and Doris Day. The front porch scene at the beginning of the movie has Judy shedding her robe after a clumsy mishap and sneaking around to the back of the house while trying to remain unobserved. One of film industry’s funniest scenes, it is a must see for all classic movie fans.