# Doris Day filmography
The filmography of [Doris Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/doris-day) comprises the theatrical feature films in which the American actress and singer appeared between 1948 and 1968. Her official website lists 39 films, beginning with *Romance on the High Seas* and ending with *With Six You Get Eggroll*[1](https://www.dorisday.com/work/filmography), while the American Film Institute Catalog records 54 titles for her under the categories cast, history, and song[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/40605). Over two decades she moved from Warner Bros. musicals to dramatic roles and then to the romantic comedies that made her Hollywood's leading female box-office attraction in the early 1960s[3](https://www.dorisday.com/about).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Span | 39 theatrical features from 1948 to 1968 on her official filmography[1](https://www.dorisday.com/work/filmography) |
| Debut | *Romance on the High Seas* (1948), directed by Michael Curtiz for Warner Bros.[1](https://www.dorisday.com/work/filmography) • [4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/93517/doris-day-profile-doris-day) |
| Final film | *With Six You Get Eggroll* (1968)[1](https://www.dorisday.com/work/filmography) • [4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/93517/doris-day-profile-doris-day) |
| Oscar nomination | Best Actress for *Pillow Talk* at the 32nd Academy Awards, honoring films of 1959[5](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1960) |
| Box-office standing | Top Box-Office Female Star for four straight years in the early 1960s; among the Top 10 box-office stars in 1951–1952 and 1959–1966, ten years total but not consecutively[3](https://www.dorisday.com/about) • [14](https://www.dorisday.com/about?vm=r) • [15](https://emanuellevy.com/profile/movie-stars-most-durable-stars-by-year/) |
| Oscar-winning songs from her films | "Secret Love" from *Calamity Jane* (1953) and "Que Sera, Sera" from *The Man Who Knew Too Much* (1956)[6](https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/doris-day-5-great-moments) • [3](https://www.dorisday.com/about) |
## Warner Bros. years, 1948–1954
Day came to film from big-band singing. After songwriter [Jule Styne](https://www.edgepedia.org/jule-styne) heard her sing at a Hollywood party, he arranged a screen test, and director [Michael Curtiz](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-curtiz) cast her in *Romance on the High Seas* (1948), then placed her under a personal contract for further films at Warner Brothers[3](https://www.dorisday.com/about). The studio lined up a series of musical vehicles for the new star: she teamed with [Jack Carson](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-carson) in *It's a Great Feeling* (1949) and *My Dream Is Yours* (1949), and with Gordon MacRae in *Tea for Two* (1950), *On Moonlight Bay* (1951), and *By the Light of the Silvery Moon* (1953)[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/93517/doris-day-profile-doris-day).
**Dramatic roles appeared early.** Day proved her dramatic mettle in *Young Man with a Horn* (1950), playing a singer involved with a troubled musician played by [Kirk Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/kirk-douglas), and in the dark *Storm Warning* (1950)[3](https://www.dorisday.com/about) • [7](https://www.biography.com/actors/doris-day). Her high point at Warner Bros. was the musical Western *Calamity Jane* (1953), in which she played the buckskin-clad sharpshooter and sang "Secret Love," which won the Oscar for Best Original Song[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/93517/doris-day-profile-doris-day) • [6](https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/doris-day-5-great-moments). She later named it her favorite of all her films[6](https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/doris-day-5-great-moments).
Her contract with the studio expired with *Young at Heart* (1954), which marked her only screen teaming with [Frank Sinatra](https://www.edgepedia.org/frank-sinatra)[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/93517/doris-day-profile-doris-day).
## Freelance years and dramatic peak, 1955–1957
After her agent and husband Marty Melcher decided not to renew the Warner Bros. contract, Day worked as a freelance actress and her range of roles increased[3](https://www.dorisday.com/about). Her first vehicle as a free agent was *Love Me or Leave Me* (1955), MGM's film biography of 1920s singer [Ruth Etting](https://www.edgepedia.org/ruth-etting), co-starring [James Cagney](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-cagney) as Etting's husband and benefactor; it was hailed as a triumph for both her singing and acting[3](https://www.dorisday.com/about) • [8](https://www.tcm.com/articles/020931/star-of-the-month-doris-day).
In 1956 she starred in [Alfred Hitchcock](https://www.edgepedia.org/alfred-hitchcock)'s *The Man Who Knew Too Much*, opposite [James Stewart](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-stewart), with location work in Morocco and London. Her recording of "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" was used as a plot device in the film and won the Oscar for Best Song, later becoming her signature number[3](https://www.dorisday.com/about). The same year brought the thriller *Julie*, in which her character realizes her husband, played by [Louis Jourdan](https://www.edgepedia.org/louis-jourdan), is a dangerous psychopath[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/93517/doris-day-profile-doris-day). She returned to Warner Bros. for the film version of the Broadway hit *The Pajama Game* (1957), playing a feisty union shop steward in a pajama factory[3](https://www.dorisday.com/about).
## Romantic comedies and the box-office peak, 1959–1968
Day's box-office power had slipped somewhat in the late 1950s when *Pillow Talk* (1959), a sex comedy co-starring Rock Hudson for Universal, returned her to the top[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/93517/doris-day-profile-doris-day). This part earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress along with a Golden Globe nomination, and launched a string of polished romantic comedies[3](https://www.dorisday.com/about) • [16](https://goldenglobes.com/film/pillow-talk/). At the 32nd Academy Awards, held April 4, 1960, she was nominated alongside [Audrey Hepburn](https://www.edgepedia.org/audrey-hepburn), Katharine Hepburn, and [Elizabeth Taylor](https://www.edgepedia.org/elizabeth-taylor), while her *Pillow Talk* co-star [Thelma Ritter](https://www.edgepedia.org/thelma-ritter) was nominated for Supporting Actress[5](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1960).
The chemistry with Hudson produced two more films, *Lover Come Back* (1961) and *Send Me No Flowers* (1964)[3](https://www.dorisday.com/about). She also worked with other major leads: [Clark Gable](https://www.edgepedia.org/clark-gable) in *Teacher's Pet* (1958), Cary Grant in *That Touch of Mink* (1962), David Niven in *Please Don't Eat the Daisies* (1960), and James Garner in *The Thrill of It All* (1963) and *Move Over Darling* (1963)[3](https://www.dorisday.com/about). The dramatic *Midnight Lace* (1960), opposite Rex Harrison, was an emotionally draining role, and the musical *Jumbo* (1962) gave her a Rodgers & Hart score in a circus story that proved too old-fashioned to make an impression that year[3](https://www.dorisday.com/about).
**Peak and decline.** Day was voted Top Box-Office Female Star for four straight years during the early 1960s and was among the Top 10 in 1951–1952 and 1959–1966, ten years in total rather than consecutively; her site incorrectly describes ten consecutive years as never matched, even though John Wayne appeared in the Top Ten for 25 years total, in 1949–1957 and 1959–1974[3](https://www.dorisday.com/about) • [15](https://emanuellevy.com/profile/movie-stars-most-durable-stars-by-year/) • [14](https://www.dorisday.com/about?vm=r). By mid-decade her appeal had slipped as audiences turned to more explicit sex and darker themes, but Melcher continued to star her in light fare such as *The Glass Bottom Boat* (1966)[3](https://www.dorisday.com/about). Her last three films all appeared in 1968: *The Ballad of Josie*, *Where Were You When the Lights Went Out*, and *With Six You Get Eggroll*, a comedy about a mixed family co-starring Brian Keith[1](https://www.dorisday.com/work/filmography) • [4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/93517/doris-day-profile-doris-day). She then moved to television with *The Doris Day Show*, a commitment her husband had made without her knowledge, and effectively retired from acting in the mid-1970s[9](https://time.com/5588257/doris-day-remembrance/) • [10](https://time.com/3754741/doris-day-rare-early-photos-of-a-showbiz-superstar/).
## Songs within the films
Nearly every Day film issued some kind of hit tune, and her music career and film career reinforced each other; seven of her 10 albums released between 1949 and 1955 charted in the top five[11](https://www.tcm.com/articles/featured-actors/60209/doris-day). The musicals of her Warner Bros. years helped sell records such as "It's Magic" and "Secret Love"[3](https://www.dorisday.com/about). Even after she stopped making musicals, she sang the title song or performed a song or two in each film[12](https://www.tcm.com/articles/021585/doris-day-100th-birthday-tribute).
## Counting the films
The size of the filmography depends on the counting method. The official site's list of 39 titles covers her starring theatrical features from 1948 to 1968[1](https://www.dorisday.com/work/filmography). The AFI Catalog records 54 titles for Doris Day across cast, history, and song credits[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/40605), and a separate AFI record for a different Doris Day lists 10 cast titles from 1939 to 1943, a namesake unrelated to the star[13](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/199443). Sources also disagree on her birth date: a TCM profile gives April 3, 1924[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/93517/doris-day-profile-doris-day), while another TCM article gives April 3, 1922[11](https://www.tcm.com/articles/featured-actors/60209/doris-day).
## References
1. [Filmography, Doris Day (official site)](https://www.dorisday.com/work/filmography)
2. [Doris Day, AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/40605)
3. [About Doris, Doris Day (official site)](https://www.dorisday.com/about)
4. [Doris Day Profile by Roger Fristoe, TCM](https://www.tcm.com/articles/93517/doris-day-profile-doris-day)
5. [The 32nd Academy Awards, 1960, Oscars.org](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1960)
6. [Doris Day: 5 great moments, BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/doris-day-5-great-moments)
7. [Doris Day, Biography.com](https://www.biography.com/actors/doris-day)
8. [Star of the Month: Doris Day, TCM](https://www.tcm.com/articles/020931/star-of-the-month-doris-day)
9. [Don't Let Doris Day's Carbonated Charm Obscure Her Phenomenal Talent, Time](https://time.com/5588257/doris-day-remembrance/)
10. [Doris Day: Rare Early Photos of a Showbiz Superstar, Time](https://time.com/3754741/doris-day-rare-early-photos-of-a-showbiz-superstar/)
11. [Doris Day, Featured Actors, TCM](https://www.tcm.com/articles/featured-actors/60209/doris-day)
12. [Doris Day: 100th Birthday Tribute, TCM](https://www.tcm.com/articles/021585/doris-day-100th-birthday-tribute)
13. [Doris Day (namesake), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/199443)
14. [About Doris - Doris Day](https://www.dorisday.com/about?vm=r)
15. [Movie Stars: Durable Stars (by year)](https://emanuellevy.com/profile/movie-stars-most-durable-stars-by-year/)
16. [Pillow Talk - Golden Globes](https://goldenglobes.com/film/pillow-talk/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Awards and screen reference › Individual filmographies › Western and East Asian filmographies*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license