Magnificent Obsessions: The Films of Ross Hunter, programmed by Seán McGovern.

Pillow Talk (dir. Michael Gordon, USA, 1959)

1959 was a transformative year for the career of Ross Hunter. In the same year as Imitation of Life was Pillow Talk, a classic screwball comedy that took on new meaning years later when Rock Hudson’s sexuality was public.

Doris Day plays Jan Morrow, a single woman and independent interior decorator. Due to the demand for phone lines in the area, she is forced to share a party line with Brad Allen, womaniser and all round pig, who lives in an apartment nearby. The two spar on the phone, but it is only some time later that Brad learns who Jan is, and masquerades as a handsome Texan rancher – except to toy with Jan, this smooth talking Southerner is… just a touch too fruity to be true.

But of course this is the screwball comedy, a subgenre known to tame the shrew and restore balance, but it is not without transgressions from Rock Hudson: a gay man, passing for straight, playing straight, playing gay. There is much to enjoy and be contemplative about in this delightful sex farce, which makes you wonder – how did Ross Hunter orchestrate of all of this?

Doors open at 19.00, for a 19.30 start.

Refreshments will be available in our licensed cafe/bar.

TICKETS & PRICING

Tickets £6.

Advance tickets may be purchased from Billetto, or direct from the Museum by calling 020 7840 2200 in office hours.