Teacher's Pet showcases that even by the late 1950s, Clark Gable still had a gift for comedy. His timing, facial gestures and body movements are all spot on (likewise the cartoon drawing of Gable in the opening credits is the spitting image of Gomez Adams). It's clear by this stage in his life Hollywood had gotten the better of him and he wasn't the sex symbol he once was but the animal magnetism is still there (despite what appears to have a missing tooth or a large gap between his teeth). Teacher's Pet is one of the few worthwhile endeavors of Gable's later days in which he plays working-class hero Jim Gannon; editor for a large city newspaper. Gannon is a man who never went to high school and has a dislike of colleges (says he can't even stand the smell of chalk) and a distrust of intellectuals. Gannon believes the only way to be trained for the world of journalism is through practical, hands-on experience and not in the classroom.
In the late 1950s, the majority of American newspapers still employed old school journalists and editors. However, a new post-war idea sprang up to help professionalize the news industry (among other fields) by requiring would-be journalists to get a university diploma in order to get hired as a news reporter; a field which had been traditionally more working class. This conflict between these differing world views is at the heart of Teacher's Pet in which Gannon pretends to be a newcomer to the profession in the journalism class of Dr. Erica Stone (Doris Day).
Stone is a representation of what we would now identify as the typical university-educated liberal with her butch haircut and concern for social issues ("Was it because he's the member of a minority group, struggling to solve the complex problem of assimilation? Did society at large create the climate for this tragedy?). She doesn't look highly upon Gannon's breed of journalist, describing them as the "unpressed gentlemen of the press", and a dying race. Teacher's Pet certainly saw the writing on the wall, as today journalism is seen as a profession of the university-educated class. It appears the movie is going to take a corny best of both world's view for its conclusion until Jim decides at the end that he can't change his perspective.
Part of what makes Teacher's Pet entertaining is Jim's epic, what we would refer to in the early 21st century as trolling in which Jim pretends to be a journalism newcomer to show Dr. Stone and her class to show "what a phony-baloney the whole thing is" (and yes this guy must have a lot of free time outside of work). He acts a pathetic nuisance to the class, only to then write an article to Dr. Stone's amazement which includes the key ingredients of any news story; who, what, where, when and why?
The cast of Teacher's Pet also includes Mamie Van Doran as a second rate Marilyn Monroe. She primarily starred in juvenile delinquency B movies in the late 1950s and even sings a number in Teacher's Pet which reflects this. Likewise, the always memorable Charles Lane plays a member of Jim's staff roll at the paper, portraying less of a sourpuss this time round. Many viewers appear to comment that Gable is too old to be a journalism prodigy, however, I believe his old age is central to the character; just like how Gannon represents a different age of journalism, Gable represents a different age of Hollywood to that of Doris Day. The first half of Teacher's Pet moves along at a brisk pace, although I find the film's second half doesn't flow quite as good, particularly when it pulls the dreaded lair revealed cliché. It slows down proceedings, leaving Teacher's Pet a good if not quite great comic outing, but a prophetic one at that.
In the late 1950s, the majority of American newspapers still employed old school journalists and editors. However, a new post-war idea sprang up to help professionalize the news industry (among other fields) by requiring would-be journalists to get a university diploma in order to get hired as a news reporter; a field which had been traditionally more working class. This conflict between these differing world views is at the heart of Teacher's Pet in which Gannon pretends to be a newcomer to the profession in the journalism class of Dr. Erica Stone (Doris Day).
Stone is a representation of what we would now identify as the typical university-educated liberal with her butch haircut and concern for social issues ("Was it because he's the member of a minority group, struggling to solve the complex problem of assimilation? Did society at large create the climate for this tragedy?). She doesn't look highly upon Gannon's breed of journalist, describing them as the "unpressed gentlemen of the press", and a dying race. Teacher's Pet certainly saw the writing on the wall, as today journalism is seen as a profession of the university-educated class. It appears the movie is going to take a corny best of both world's view for its conclusion until Jim decides at the end that he can't change his perspective.
Part of what makes Teacher's Pet entertaining is Jim's epic, what we would refer to in the early 21st century as trolling in which Jim pretends to be a journalism newcomer to show Dr. Stone and her class to show "what a phony-baloney the whole thing is" (and yes this guy must have a lot of free time outside of work). He acts a pathetic nuisance to the class, only to then write an article to Dr. Stone's amazement which includes the key ingredients of any news story; who, what, where, when and why?
The cast of Teacher's Pet also includes Mamie Van Doran as a second rate Marilyn Monroe. She primarily starred in juvenile delinquency B movies in the late 1950s and even sings a number in Teacher's Pet which reflects this. Likewise, the always memorable Charles Lane plays a member of Jim's staff roll at the paper, portraying less of a sourpuss this time round. Many viewers appear to comment that Gable is too old to be a journalism prodigy, however, I believe his old age is central to the character; just like how Gannon represents a different age of journalism, Gable represents a different age of Hollywood to that of Doris Day. The first half of Teacher's Pet moves along at a brisk pace, although I find the film's second half doesn't flow quite as good, particularly when it pulls the dreaded lair revealed cliché. It slows down proceedings, leaving Teacher's Pet a good if not quite great comic outing, but a prophetic one at that.