The One and Only
Everyone thinks they were a prolific duo. They weren't. Honestly, it’s one of those weird Mandela Effect things where you’d swear Doris Day and Cary Grant made five or six snappy technicolor rom-coms together in the early sixties. They had the same vibe, the same polish, and they both practically lived in those high-end Universal Studios sets that looked like a Sears catalog on steroids.
But they only made one movie. Just one.
It’s called That Touch of Mink, released in 1962. By the time it hit theaters, Doris was the queen of the box office. Cary was, well, Cary Grant—the man every guy wanted to be and every woman wanted to be with. On paper, it was the ultimate casting coup. In reality? It’s a fascinating, slightly awkward, and incredibly glossy time capsule that reveals a lot about how Hollywood was changing (and staying exactly the same).
Why Only One Movie?
You’d think after a massive hit—and it was a huge hit—they would’ve signed a three-picture deal immediately.
The movie was the fourth highest-grossing film of 1962. It even got nominated for three Oscars. People clearly wanted to see them together. So, what happened? Basically, Cary Grant was already looking at the exit door. He only made three more movies after this before retiring for good in 1966. He was 58 years old while filming, and he was becoming increasingly self-conscious about his age. He didn't want to be the "creepy older guy" chasing younger women on screen anymore.
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Doris Day, meanwhile, was at the absolute peak of her "professional virgin" era. She was 38, playing a woman who wouldn't dream of a weekend in Bermuda without a wedding ring. The chemistry was... professional.
Doris actually wrote about this in her autobiography, Doris Day: Her Own Story. She said Cary was "polite and professional" but "distant." There was no "give-and-take." It wasn’t a feud. It was just business. Cary was obsessed with the technical details. He chose her clothes. He looked at the sets. He even picked out the specific mink she wore. He was a perfectionist, but he wasn’t there to make a new best friend.
The Plot That Most People Get Wrong
A lot of fans confuse this with her movies starring Rock Hudson. In those, there’s usually a lot of "easy" chemistry. In That Touch of Mink, the dynamic is way more transactional.
Grant plays Philip Shayne, a billionaire who splashes mud on Doris's character, Cathy Timberlake, with his limo. Classic "meet cute." He tries to buy her off with fancy clothes and trips. She wants the ring. The whole movie is basically a 99-minute negotiation about whether she’s going to sleep with him or not.
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Some weirdly specific facts about the film:
- The Yankee Cameos: Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, and Yogi Berra all show up in a dugout scene. It’s totally random and very 1962.
- The Right Profile War: Both stars preferred their right side for close-ups. Grant eventually gave in and let Doris have it. That’s a big deal for a guy who once famously said he "played Cary Grant" for a living.
- The Salary Gap: Doris actually made more money than Cary on this one. She got $750,000 upfront. He took $600,000 but had a percentage of the profits, which probably made him a lot more in the long run.
Why It Still Matters (Sorta)
It’s easy to look at this movie now and cringe. The sexual politics are ancient. There’s a subplot involving Gig Young and a psychiatrist that wouldn't make it past a first draft today.
But as a piece of "Star Power" history, it’s unbeatable. You have two of the greatest screen presences of the 20th century in their only shared frame. It represents the end of an era. The studio system was dying. The sexual revolution was about to make "will they or won't they" plots look like nursery rhymes.
Grant and Day were the last of the "Old Hollywood" polish. They looked perfect. The clothes were perfect. The lighting was perfect. It’s like a beautiful, expensive watch that doesn't quite tell the right time anymore, but you still want to wear it because it looks so damn good.
How to Watch It Today
If you want to see the "Grant-Day" experiment for yourself, you can usually find it on streaming services like Apple TV or Amazon (for a rental fee). It pops up on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) fairly often too.
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Don't go in expecting the sparks she had with Rock Hudson. Go in to see two masters of their craft doing a very specific, very professional dance. Pay attention to the clothes. Look at the way Cary Grant moves. Notice the way Doris Day handles the physical comedy—she was actually much better at it than people give her credit for.
Check out the supporting cast while you're at it. Audrey Meadows (from The Honeymooners) is great as the skeptical roommate. John Astin (the future Gomez Addams) is hilariously creepy as a sleazy clerk. These character actors are often what keep the movie moving when the lead romance feels a bit cold.
Your Next Step:
Go watch the first ten minutes of That Touch of Mink and compare it to the first ten minutes of Pillow Talk. Notice the difference in the way the men look at her. It’s the easiest way to see why Cary and Doris only did this once. Once you’ve seen the "Impasse of the Right Profiles," you’ll understand why this remains one of Hollywood’s most successful, yet loneliest, collaborations.