Rent Teacher's Pet (1958)

Opposites Attract. - Teacher's Pet review by Steve

Intelligent comedy drama which follows a standard romcom story arc featuring a pair of adversaries who fight each other before falling in love. Clark Gable is a gnarled, old school newspaper editor who goes incognito to a school of journalism in order to prove that classroom learning is pointless.  

Naturally he discovers the opposite and begins to doubt himself. Doris Day is the teacher who he romances through false pretences. Gable was 57 when he made this and even under heavy makeup he looks ten years older. Day was a fresh faced 36. Their relationship doesn't really make sense, but he is at least believable as an old school newspaperman.

No matter. Everyone remembers this for Gig Young's Oscar winning support performance as Clark's rival for Doris; an educated man who infuriatingly can do anything. When they are in an African jazz club he plays bongos and speaks perfect dialect while the older man just gets bitterly drunk. And he even turns out to be a pretty nice guy.

The film explores interesting themes relating to education, social deprivation and journalism. Though its two hour running time is a stretch. The script is literate and some of the dialogue is exceptional. But it is starved of jokes. There is a diverting cameo by Mamie Van Doren as an archetypal dumb blonde. But it's Gig Young who lifts this above average as a comic film. A+ for him.