Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

How sad is this?

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Doris is full of pluck and moxie fighting a big corporate jerk who actually seems unhinged in his singular quest to squash the hard working widow Jane. Jack is the earnest lawyer who has loved her since childhood. Together they make a wonderful pair as they go through no end of complications that drive them apart and united them again. Charming comedy was an inexplicable failure on its initial release probably in large part because of that atrocious title. It's re-release title of Twinkle and Shine was hardly an improvement, why they didn't stick with the initial title of That Jane from Maine which would have fit it perfectly is a mystery. Be that as it may this is a cute family comedy with wonderful location shooting and high production values as well as a super supporting cast.

This film was produced by Doris Day's husband at the time, Marty Melcher.The film is set in Maine. Doris Day is the owner of a tiny company that sells lobsters. When a shipment of hers is allowed by the railroad to sit for several days instead of sending it to the customers, the lobsters die and her company loses several important contracts. She contacts the railroad to have them pay damages and they agree to pay the going rate for the lobsters. However, Day isn't about to just accept this--her company reputation has been harmed and she is without customers. And, she hires her goofy friend (Jack Lemmon) to represent her in a lawsuit, as the railroad isn't about to budge. Normally, you'd think that the railroad would just pay her off, but the owner (Ernie Kovacs--who is very difficult to recognize under all the makeup) refuses. The case is decided in Day's favor, but the lawyers for the railroad mean business and promise to tie this up in appeals for years--even though the amount is only a couple thousand dollars. Fortunately, the judge must have really felt that the railroad was acting in bad faith, and so Day is awarded one of the railroad's engines to hold until they do pay. Soon, things escalate wildly out of proportion, as the story hits the national newspapers and the public support for this tiny company against an uncaring corporation is strong. So strong, in fact, that Day becomes an instant celebrity. As the case escalates further and further, where is all this going to lead?! The railroad is mean and nasty and they aren't about to give in--nor is Day.Despite losing money and being considered one of Day's 'lesser' films, I enjoyed this little civics lesson very much. Kovacs was quite enjoyable as the evil corporate giant and the script was fresh and amazingly original. If you like this film, try watching "Solid Gold Cadillac"--a film with a similar one lady versus corporate big-wigs script.

Oh my golly gosh, another squeaky romance…perky Doris Day does her best Doris Day impression; Jack Lemmon tries to stay afloat and a host of cutesy elements battle for supremacy. The story is so so…widowed Jane Osgood (Day) is raising children and lobsters in Maine, when her business is derailed by an abrupt decision by a railway boss. With the help of her longtime friend George (Lemmon), her neighbours and the press, she takes on the railway.Jack Lemmon is such a good actor, he seems a bit wasted here. I never saw less chemistry between two leads (except maybe when real-life couples appear on screen!). Maybe it was just me, but I found their single, anti-climactic kiss as sexless as Doris Day's screen persona. This feels like a real shame, since no one does pathos like Lemmon, and his kindness to Jane – looking after her kids, supporting her in his way – seems to deserve a proper love scene, not one in which the train takes the applause. Yes, I get that it's funny – but it could have been funny and sweet and foolish too, no? – instead of just rushed? The best comedy has a bit of sadness to it.I can't help but feel that George/Lemmon is emasculated – and that this isn't resolved at all in the film, despite the powerhouse speech he gives, despite his eventually taking action, and despite Jane's finally choosing him. When she shrills out "George!" for the umpteenth time, Lemmon's scowl is straight out of his drag gig in "Some Like It Hot" which doesn't help his position as the 'love' interest. Even the woodenness of his square-jawed journalist 'rival' doesn't make poor old George look more interesting or masculine. If I was George I'd have taken up with the lobsters (he'd get more lovin').So generally this left me a bit cold, and I find I very much prefer the slightly darker Doris that you can see in "Love Me or Leave Me" with James Cagney. (If even that Doris doesn't work for you, try any 50's Douglas Sirk melodrama.) And as for Jack Lemmon, I'll seek him out in any great tragicomedy, since that was clearly his great gift.

Maybe Hollywood should be producing more movies of this caliber. There are no deep messages here, and no need for pseudo-intellectual criticism. It is just a great classic piece of wholesome entertainment, even now. This 1959 movie has it all: great directing, superb cinematography, quality cast, and beautiful on-location background scenery, filmed in both Connecticut and Maine.Ernie Kovacs shines as the rich railroad magnate fighting Doris Day and Jack Lemmon, although my favorite cast member is Sam the Lobster, who doesn't have many lines to say in the movie, but rumor has it that production nearly came to a standstill when he demanded to be Doris Day's love interest.