# The Thrill of It All (1963 film)
**The Thrill of It All** is a 1963 American comedy film directed by [Norman Jewison](https://www.edgepedia.org/norman-jewison), starring [Doris Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/doris-day) as a housewife who becomes a television advertising spokeswoman and [James Garner](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-garner) as her physician husband. It was produced by Ross Hunter and Martin Melcher for Universal Pictures and opened on 1 August 1963 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/19381-THE-THRILL-OF-IT-ALL)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 1 August 1963, Radio City Music Hall, New York; Los Angeles premiere 6 August 1963 at the Westwood Village Theater[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/19381-THE-THRILL-OF-IT-ALL) |
| Running time / genre | 108 minutes; comedy[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/19381-THE-THRILL-OF-IT-ALL) |
| Director / writers | Norman Jewison; screenplay by Carl Reiner, story by Reiner and Larry Gelbart[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/19381-THE-THRILL-OF-IT-ALL) |
| Producers | Ross Hunter and Martin Melcher (a Ross Hunter–Martin Melcher Production); distributed by Universal Pictures[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/19381-THE-THRILL-OF-IT-ALL) |
| Principal cast | Doris Day (Beverly Boyer), James Garner (Dr. Gerald Boyer), Arlene Francis, Edward Andrews, Reginald Owen, ZaSu Pitts[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/19381-THE-THRILL-OF-IT-ALL) |
| Budget and gross | $2.5 million production cost; $11,779,093 domestic box office[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/19381-THE-THRILL-OF-IT-ALL) • [2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Thrill-of-it-All-The) |
| Technical format | Eastman Color with Westrex sound, replacing the Technicolor originally planned[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/19381-THE-THRILLOFITALL) |
| Critical standing | 89% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 9 reviews; 72% audience score[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_thrill_of_it_all) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Beverly Boyer is a contented housewife married to Gerald Boyer, a successful obstetrician-gynecologist, with two small children. At a dinner party she praises her favorite product, Happy Soap, and the company's owner, impressed by her enthusiasm, hires her to deliver soap commercials on his television show. Her honesty and sincerity win praise from viewers and critics, and she signs an $80,000 contract, becoming a public celebrity whose work keeps her away from home.[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/19381-THE-THRILLOFITALL)
Gerald resents his wife's newfound fame and plots to foil her career to keep her at home. The conflict peaks when he accidentally drives his car into a swimming pool installed in his backyard that afternoon and kicks cartons of Happy Soap into the water, leaving the house surrounded by soapsuds by morning. After consulting a psychiatrist, he pretends to be too busy for home life himself; Beverly becomes so frantic she forgets the name of the soap she advertises. The couple reconciles in the back seat of the Fraleighs' Rolls-Royce, where Gerald delivers Evelyn Fraleigh's baby during a traffic jam, and Beverly decides to quit her job and return to her role as wife and mother.[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/19381-THE-THRILLOFITALL)
## Production
The project began as an East Coast venture. In August 1961 the *New York Times* reported that producer Ross Hunter intended to shift his activities to New York City, with production slated to begin in January 1962 in Manhattan and suburban [Connecticut](https://www.edgepedia.org/connecticut). The film was to mark television writer [Carl Reiner](https://www.edgepedia.org/carl-reiner)'s first produced feature screenplay. Reiner developed the idea with his friend and fellow television writer [Larry Gelbart](https://www.edgepedia.org/larry-gelbart); after meeting Hunter at a party and describing the story, Reiner won the producer's backing, and since Gelbart could not collaborate because of other obligations, Reiner wrote the script alone.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/19381-THE-THRILL-OF-IT-ALL)
**Casting and schedule.** A March 1962 *Daily Variety* brief announced Doris Day as the star; she had recently appeared in Hunter's *Pillow Talk* (1959) and *Midnight Lace* (1960) and in several pictures produced by her husband [Martin Melcher](https://www.edgepedia.org/martin-melcher), who joined Hunter as producer. Although a production chart listed a start date of 8 October 1962, principal photography on the $2.5 million picture was scheduled to begin 2 October 1962 in New York City. Hunter later recalled that the role of Gardiner Fraleigh was first offered to [Walter Matthau](https://www.edgepedia.org/walter-matthau), but when the actor asked for $100,000 the offer was rescinded and [Edward Andrews](https://www.edgepedia.org/edward-andrews) was cast.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/19381-THE-THRILL-OF-IT-ALL)
**Move west.** Regardless of the original plan, production moved to California in November 1962, with most filming at Revue Studios, the television facility on the [Universal Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/universal-pictures) back lot in Universal City; one night shoot took place on the nearby Warner Bros. lot. The *New York Times* reported a lighthearted atmosphere on set. Chief prop man Salvator Martino described the difficulty of designing "Happy," the fictional soap: because soap companies held copyrights on particular soap shapes, colors, and thicknesses, every prop design had to pass inspection by Universal's legal team, and shoppers at a supermarket location had to be told the soap was not for sale.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/19381-THE-THRILL-OF-IT-ALL)
The production chart had specified [Technicolor](https://www.edgepedia.org/technicolor), but the finished film used the improved Eastman Color system instead.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/19381-THE-THRILL-OF-IT-ALL) Russell Metty was the cinematographer, Alexander Golitzen and [Robert Boyle](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-boyle) the art directors, Milton Carruth the editor, and Jean Louis designed Day's gowns; the title song, "The Thrill of It All," has words by Frederick Herbert and music by Arnold Schwarzwald.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/19381-THE-THRILL-OF-IT-ALL)
## Release and reception
The film opened 1 August 1963 at [Radio City Music Hall](https://www.edgepedia.org/radio-city-music-hall), with the Los Angeles premiere following on 6 August at the Westwood Village Theater. Critics praised the high production values and noted that Reiner's witty observations and sharp dialogue elevated what was otherwise a fairly "sudsy" comedy; the *Los Angeles Times* review identified Reiner's three brief cameo appearances, in which he plays a German officer, a cad, and a cowboy.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/19381-THE-THRILL-OF-IT-ALL) • [5](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/the-thrill-of-it-all/umc.cmc.3ac8w515gxl9cp3spqpj9zliu) The *New York Times* critic Bosley Crowther wrote that he did not want to give the impression the film was great, only that it was "loaded with good, clean American laughs."[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_thrill_of_it_all) Variety singled out the design and engineering of cumulative sight-gag situations as what the film does best.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_thrill_of_it_all)
Commercially, the film earned $11,779,093 at the domestic box office against its $2.5 million cost, after a wide release on July 17, 1963.[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Thrill-of-it-All-The) • [1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/19381-THE-THRILL-OF-IT-ALL)
## Place in Day's and Jewison's careers
The film belongs to the cycle of early 1960s sex comedies that made Doris Day the reigning box office star from 1959 to 1963, a persona combining conventional feminine virtue with increasingly progressive attitudes toward female independence.[6](https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.commons.gc.cuny.edu/wp-content/blogs.dir/49115/files/2026/01/American-Film-History_-Selected-Readings-1960-to-the-Cynthia-Lucia-Roy-Grundmann-Art-Simon-1-2015-Wiley-Blackwell.pdf) It was her first pairing with James Garner, who took over from [Rock Hudson](https://www.edgepedia.org/rock-hudson) as her comic foil; Garner followed it with *Move Over, Darling* the same year.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_thrill_of_it_all) • [7](https://time.com/3009166/james-garner-maverick/) For Norman Jewison, whose light touch on his 1963 debut *40 Pounds of Trouble* had prompted Universal to assign him a series of comedies, the film paired him with Day and Garner, and he followed it with *[Send Me No Flowers](https://www.edgepedia.org/send-me-no-flowers)* (1964), again starring Day, before moving on to more dramatic material.[8](https://apnews.com/article/abd93f2b671b416aabdd83829822e14a)
The film's handling of a wife's paid work and a husband's resentment has drawn later scholarly attention: Tamar Jeffers McDonald's chapter "Mother's Day: Taking the mother out of motherhood in The Thrill of it All" (2009) examines its treatment of motherhood, stardom, and feminism.[9](https://kar.kent.ac.uk/31612/)
## References
1. [The Thrill of It All (1963), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/19381-THE-THRILL-OF-IT-ALL)
2. [The Thrill of it All (1963) box office, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Thrill-of-it-All-The)
3. [The Thrill of It All (1963), AFI Catalog, Details and Synopsis](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/19381-THE-THRILLOFITALL)
4. [The Thrill of It All, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_thrill_of_it_all)
5. [The Thrill of It All, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/the-thrill-of-it-all/umc.cmc.3ac8w515gxl9cp3spqpj9zliu)
6. [American Film History: Selected Readings, 1960 to the Present (Wiley-Blackwell)](https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.commons.gc.cuny.edu/wp-content/blogs.dir/49115/files/2026/01/American-Film-History_-Selected-Readings-1960-to-the-Cynthia-Lucia-Roy-Grundmann-Art-Simon-1-2015-Wiley-Blackwell.pdf)
7. [James Garner: Tribute to a Marvelous Maverick, Time](https://time.com/3009166/james-garner-maverick/)
8. [Norman Jewison, acclaimed director, dead at 97, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/abd93f2b671b416aabdd83829822e14a)
9. [Jeffers McDonald, Tamar E. L. (2009), "Mother's Day: Taking the mother out of motherhood in The Thrill of it All," Kent Academic Repository](https://kar.kent.ac.uk/31612/)
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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 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 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