# Send Me No Flowers
**Send Me No Flowers** is a 1964 American comedy directed by [Norman Jewison](https://www.edgepedia.org/norman-jewison), starring [Rock Hudson](https://www.edgepedia.org/rock-hudson) as a hypochondriac who believes he is dying and sets out to find a replacement husband for his wife, played by [Doris Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/doris-day). It was the third and final film to team Hudson, Day, and Tony Randall for Universal Pictures, following *Pillow Talk* (1959) and *Lover Come Back* (1961).[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/22841)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | Opened 14 October 1964 in Los Angeles theaters and drive-ins; 12 November 1964 at Radio City Music Hall, New York City[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22841-SEND-MENOFLOWERS?cp=1&pos=4&sid=0af36b7f-2088-476c-86e8-f0136562f749&sr=0.116361976) |
| Source | Screenplay by Julius J. Epstein, based on the play by Norman Barasch and Carroll Moore, which debuted 5 December 1960 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on Broadway[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/22841) |
| Principal cast | Rock Hudson (George Kimball), Doris Day (Judy Kimball), Tony Randall (Arnold Nash), Clint Walker (Bert), Paul Lynde (Mr. Akins), Edward Andrews (Dr. Morrissey)[3](https://torontofilmsociety.com/film-notes/send-me-no-flowers-1964-2/) |
| Key crew | Producer Harry Keller; executive producer Martin Melcher; cinematography (Technicolor) Daniel Fapp; music De Vol; editor J. Terry Williams[3](https://torontofilmsociety.com/film-notes/send-me-no-flowers-1964-2/) |
| Runtime | 100 minutes; not rated[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Send-Me-No-Flowers) |
| Box office | $9,129,247 domestic gross[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Send-Me-No-Flowers) |
| Critical scores | 60% Tomatometer (15 reviews); 74% Popcornmeter from more than 5,000 audience ratings[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/send_me_no_flowers) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
George Kimball (Rock Hudson), a middle-aged hypochondriac, eavesdrops on his doctors as they discuss another patient and leaves a hospital visit believing he is terminally ill.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/send_me_no_flowers) Assuming he will soon die, he enlists his friend Arnold Nash ([Tony Randall](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-randall)) to help find a new husband for his wife Judy (Doris Day), and they settle on Bert ([Clint Walker](https://www.edgepedia.org/clint-walker)), a successful businessman.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/send_me_no_flowers) George's odd behavior leads Judy to suspect he is covering up an affair.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/send_me_no_flowers)
The misunderstanding-driven plot marked a change from the team's earlier films. In *Pillow Talk* and *Lover Come Back*, Hudson played a sexy charmer maneuvering the prim Day toward marriage; in this film the two stars begin as a happily married suburban couple, and the comedy turns on mistaken beliefs rather than mistaken identities.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/30022/send-me-no-flowers)
## From stage play to screen
Norman Barasch and Carroll Moore's stage play *Send Me No Flowers* opened on 5 December 1960 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on Broadway and ran until 7 January 1961; despite the short Broadway run, it succeeded at playhouses around the country, and in May 1963 producer Harry Keller acquired the screen rights.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/22841) Keller and screenwriter [Julius J. Epstein](https://www.edgepedia.org/julius-j-epstein) prepared by viewing a performance of the play at the Drury Lane Theatre in Chicago, and Norman Jewison left his post as executive producer of *The Judy Garland Show* to direct.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22841-SEND-MENOFLOWERS?cp=1&pos=4&sid=0af36b7f-2088-476c-86e8-f0136562f749&sr=0.116361976)
**Production delays.** [Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography), scheduled to begin 19 December 1963, was stalled when Doris Day fell ill with influenza and was hospitalized in Glendale; filming started 23 December 1963 and was completed in early March 1964.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22841-SEND-MENOFLOWERS?cp=1&pos=4&sid=0af36b7f-2088-476c-86e8-f0136562f749&sr=0.116361976) A role once discussed for [James Arness](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-arness) went to Clint Walker, and when Daniel Fapp withdrew as director of photography because of a painful sinus infection, Clifford Stine replaced him.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22841-SEND-MENOFLOWERS?cp=1&pos=4&sid=0af36b7f-2088-476c-86e8-f0136562f749&sr=0.116361976) A dream sequence featuring Day in a black wig tested poorly, and Jewison conceded it would likely be cut; a clip from the film was also integrated into an episode of *The Beverly Hillbillies* to promote the release.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22841-SEND-MENOFLOWERS?cp=1&pos=4&sid=0af36b7f-2088-476c-86e8-f0136562f749&sr=0.116361976)
The film was a Martin Melcher Production for Universal, with [Martin Melcher](https://www.edgepedia.org/martin-melcher), Day's husband, as executive producer.[3](https://torontofilmsociety.com/film-notes/send-me-no-flowers-1964-2/) The title song was written by [Hal David](https://www.edgepedia.org/hal-david) and [Burt Bacharach](https://www.edgepedia.org/burt-bacharach).[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22841-SEND-MENOFLOWERS?cp=1&pos=4&sid=0af36b7f-2088-476c-86e8-f0136562f749&sr=0.116361976)
## The Day–Hudson–Randall teaming
Doris Day and Rock Hudson co-starred in only three films, but they are remembered as a screen team on the order of [William Powell](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-powell) and [Myrna Loy](https://www.edgepedia.org/myrna-loy) or [Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers](https://www.edgepedia.org/fred-astaire-and-ginger-rogers); Day, for once, had a partner who carried as much box-office clout as she did.[3](https://torontofilmsociety.com/film-notes/send-me-no-flowers-1964-2/) The first of their comedies, *Pillow Talk* (1959), earned five Academy Award nominations, including Best Actress for Day, and won for Best Screenplay; it made Day the number-one box-office draw with Hudson at number two, and *Lover Come Back* (1961) matched its critical approval and surpassed it commercially.[3](https://torontofilmsociety.com/film-notes/send-me-no-flowers-1964-2/) Tony Randall appeared in all three as the bemused friend.[3](https://torontofilmsociety.com/film-notes/send-me-no-flowers-1964-2/)
*Send Me No Flowers* was the last teaming. For the next twenty years Day and Hudson looked for another project, at one point discussing a television movie, but nothing came of it. Hudson explained that they could not find a story with the same sexual innuendos that had made the earlier comedies work, in terms valid for modern audiences.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/30022/send-me-no-flowers) The two did appear together once more: Hudson's last public appearance before his AIDS diagnosis was revealed was as a guest on Day's cable show.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/30022/send-me-no-flowers)
## Reception
The film did well at the box office despite a lukewarm critical response.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/30022/send-me-no-flowers) Variety wrote that it "doesn't carry the same voltage, either in laughs or originality" as the two previous Day–Hudson entries.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/send_me_no_flowers) [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide) called it "the last and weakest Hudson-Day pairing," while Tom Milne of Time Out judged it "probably the best of the Doris Day/Rock Hudson vehicles," and Matt Brunson gave it 2.5 out of 4, citing "another of Rock's rock-solid comedic turns."[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/send_me_no_flowers) On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds 60 percent on the Tomatometer from 15 reviews and 74 percent on the audience Popcornmeter.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/send_me_no_flowers)
## References
1. [Send Me No Flowers (1964), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/22841)
2. [Send Me No Flowers (1964), AFI Catalog, history and credits](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22841-SEND-MENOFLOWERS?cp=1&pos=4&sid=0af36b7f-2088-476c-86e8-f0136562f749&sr=0.116361976)
3. [Send Me No Flowers (1964), Toronto Film Society film notes](https://torontofilmsociety.com/film-notes/send-me-no-flowers-1964-2/)
4. [Send Me No Flowers (1964), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Send-Me-No-Flowers)
5. [Send Me No Flowers, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/send_me_no_flowers)
6. [Send Me No Flowers, Turner Classic Movies article by Margarita Landazuri](https://www.tcm.com/articles/30022/send-me-no-flowers)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of the 1960s*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license