Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

warrenk-2 Two for Tea is a standard musical from the early 1950s enhanced by Gene Nelson's dancing and Eve Arden's characteristic wisecracks. Doris Day and Gordon MacRae are obviously fine singers and work well together. But I prefer Day in the musical western Calamity Jane and in her mid-decade dramatic turns in Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much and the Ruth Etting biopic Love Me or Leave Me. MacRae always seemed wooden to me but that may have been what was required during the period. I haven't seen him in other roles which demanded more from him other than to stand up and sing. The dancing gives the film life as in the Charleston number. Nelson shines when the film becomes his in the Crazy Rhythm jungle sequence and the solo dance on the staircase. I wonder what might have happened if he had been under contract to MGM instead of Warner Bros. Would two Genes at MGM have been one Gene too many? Who can say now, but it's pleasurable to imagine Nelson in a film directed by Stanley Donen.

Richard Burin Tea for Two (David Butler, 1950) - I like Doris Day, but her cheery singing and cartoonish sensibility can't save this average musical, which is hamstrung by excessive comic relief, an unsuitable setting (the onset of the Great Depression - what an amusing scenario) and characters it's very difficult to root for. The set-up is this: Day dreams of being a Broadway star, and will get her big break if she can win a bet with uncle S.Z. Sakall to say "no" to every question she's asked for 36 hours. Not only do the writers fail to mine this promising premise to convincing dramatic ends, but they hardly wring any laughs out of it either. It's left instead for Billy "Oh no, not Billy De Wolfe" De Wolfe to provide the comic relief, which is not a situation I would like to revisit any time soon.The lack of thought that went into the script is epitomised by the staggeringly artless way a gaggle of fun late-'20s songs are crowbarred into the narrative. Still, the film is lit by that good score, much of it performed by frequent co-stars Day and Gordon McRae, and some impressive hoofing from Gene Nelson - with his staircase dance the obvious high spot. Terence Davies' favourite character actress, Eve Arden, snipes agreeably in support. Tea for Two is based on the stage musical No, No, Nanette (filmed in 1930 and 1940), which is the show-within-a-film here.

hfhfdfse Doris Day (I mean the character she portrays) is trying to win over her uncle to sponsor a new Broadway show in which she is going to star. Needless to say that her uncle is less than happy about the prospect: he is sure that the show is going to be a failure and he is going to loose all his money. Doris bets him that she can reply "no" to every single one question she is asked within a 24 hour time frame. If she wins, he will have to give her the money she needs. Of course, this bet is followed by a series of funny situations. Some are brilliant, some are silly but still there is a lot to laugh at in this film. For example, when Doris is asked by a police officer "Do you know your name?", she says with dignity "No". Sure, it is not a masterpiece but some will find it very amusing. If there is no better prospect than spending a lonely evening at home, why not to watch Tea For Two. S z Sakall is very funny as uncle Max, Eve Arden who plays the secretary is very good, she's got the best lines in the film and says them in the way which Goldie Hawn would be proud of. Why did not she get the Best Supporting Actress Oscar?

Kyle Rains It's on her tombstone at the cemetery in Westwood, a few paces down from Marilyn Monroe. See her movies and you will know why.Also see or hear "Our Miss Brooks" from radio or TV if you can find it. The movie version was not so great.Interesting trivia is that Doris and DeWolfe were great friends and he later appeared on her TV show playing the same type of character. Hmm, wonder if Rock and Paul Lynde ever guested on that show?"Cuddles" S.Z. is adorable as ever here, but it's Eve's line, (you can swear she's staring into the camera) "Does this strike anyone else as being totally imbecilic?" which sums up the movie...