[Film Review] Teacher’s Pet (1958)
A sparkling cocktail of workplace rom-com tropes and somehow self-congratulatory intellectual sparring, George Seaton’s TEACHER’S PET elevates a battle-of-wills premise into a considerably poignant, laugh-out-loud meditation on ego, education, and unexpected romance, only if he could’ve switched the cast choice of the second fiddler psychologist Dr. Hugo Pine (Young) and the pompous newspaper editor James Gannon (Gable).
Gable, once the epitome of rugged magnetism, seems terribly miscast as Gannon. At 57, his swagger feels forced, his chemistry with Doris Day’s Erica Stone, a night school journalism instructor, as brittle as yellowed newsprint (no enough silver screen magic can take years off his furrowed face). Day, while effervescent and sensitive as ever, is shackled to a role demanding little beyond her standard plucky ingénue routine. Their dynamism - contrived clash between “old-school machismo” and “modern woman” idealism - lacks the spark of genuine friction or attraction. Scenes meant to simmer with romantic tension instead play like a weary uncle humoring his niece’s college thesis (it not helped by Gable’s habitual forcefulness of kissing her at the drop a hat, which, to today’s eyes, is rather repulsive). The script’s insistence that these two are equals in a “war of the sexes” rings hollow, not least because Gable’s character spends half the film mansplaining his way into irrelevance.
The screenplay, co-written by Seaton, drowns its few witty barbs in ponderous monologues about “the truth” and “the soul of journalism.” What could have been a snappy critique of media sensationalism instead devolves into a self-important lecture, punctuated by romantic beats that feel as organic as a filler paragraph. The third act’s abrupt pivot to heartfelt resolution - complete with Gable’s abrupt about-face on his misogynistic ideals - is less a triumph of character growth than a surrender to lazy convention.
That said, whenever Gig Young, as Erica’s bosom friend (who is misconceived by Gannon as her suitor), pops up, he injects a dash of camp and goofiness into the lukewarm proceedings, delivering punchlines with a droll precision that underscores the script’s satire of ivory-tower elitism, ahough his performance - a mix of smarmy grins and theatrical exasperation - feels imported from a broader, livelier comedy. While Young deservedly nabbed an Oscar nod for his capacity as a bankable comedian, the role is less a character than a plot device, existing solely to triangulate the central non-romance.
On the plus side, Seaton and screenwriters Fay and Michael Kanin infuse the story with biting yet affectionate commentary on gender roles and professional pride, themes resonant in 1950s America. The brisk pacing and snappy exchanges highlight Seaton’s confidence in his actors and material, avoiding slapstick in favor of cerebral humor that respects the audience’s intelligence, but also betrays the ossified concept of its time when studio heads believed mediocrity could be gussied up with big names and bigger speeches.
referential entries: Seaton's MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET (1947, 7.9/10); Michael Gordon’s PILLOW TALK (1959, 8.0/10); Delbert Mann’s THAT TOUCH OF MINK (1962, 6.6/10); Charles Walters’ PLEASE DON’T EAT THE DAISIES (1960, 5.2/10).
Title: Teacher’s Pet
Year: 1958
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Country: USA
Language: English
Director: George Seaton
Screenwriters: Fay Kanin, Michael Kanin
Music: Roy Webb
Cinematography: Haskell B. Boggs
Editor: Alma Macrorie
Cast:
Clark Gable
Doris Day
Gig Young
Nick Adams
Vivian Nathan
Mamie Van Doren
Peter Baldwin
Charles Lane
Florenz Ames
Marion Ross
Jack Albertson
Rating: 6.7/10
