User Reviews

Doris Day's last feature film is a pleasant success, although it somehow isn't recalled as a such. Backtracking for a moment… Ms. Day's 1960s "sex comedies" were very big at the box office. The best of these films were critically acclaimed at the time, and are fondly remembered today. But, by 1967, Day began receiving scripts that lacked the wit (and hit potential) of earlier films. Day knew this, but found herself committed to a few unworthy movies, by manager/husband Martin Melcher. They weren't the first "bad" movies Day did, but they did come at a time when she was a "superstar". Day was able to make these bad movies better through her presence; as usual, she put a good effort into each assignment.

By 1966, Day was firmly entrenched in the "Quigley Top 10" poll of box office stars, and had become a very dependable, consistent attraction. The films she didn't care for were responsible for Day falling out of the "Ten Best" list, in 1967. She saw "With Six You Get Eggroll" as an improvement. And, it was. Day's last films heralded a return to form; and, she appeared at a very respectable #14 in her final 1968 "Quigley Poll" appearance. It was a CBS-TV series deal that prevented Day from continuing her film career. She was in demand, and would have had to continue in films (she needed the money). But, Day was committed to work on the television series, against her wishes, by the now deceased Mr. Melcher.

Seeing the success of the earlier released Lucille Ball comedy "Yours, Mine and Ours" (1968), the studio promoted "With Six You Get Eggroll" as similar fare. Actually, this film is a little better, overall (both are good movies). Herein, lumber yard owner "Abby McClure" (Day) is resigned to being single, after being left with her deceased husband's business, and three sons. But, she is "lonely" (a euphemism), as director Howard Morris clearly highlights with the overhead shots of Day on her bed. Day reluctantly accepts self-professed sex-minded sister Pat Carroll's arrangement of a date with widow Brian Keith (as Jake Iverson). Their courtship is marvelously depicted, thanks to fine scripting and performances.

Some have debated whether or not the characters played by Day and Keith have pre-marital sex. Everything about in the characters' behavior suggests that they do. If fact, the biggest reason for the marriage is that they find it increasingly frustrating to "sneak around" and be "alone" (more euphemisms). The rest of the film deals with the inevitable problems the marriage causes in their living arrangements. Now, considering Day's business (which she's good at), you've got to wonder they didn't just build another bedroom for one of the children. Unfortunately, the business sense of Day's character is left standing at the alter. The plot question becomes: Will the children learn to get along, or break up the newlyweds?

Representing the opposing fronts are her son John Findlater (as Flip) and his daughter Barbara Hershey (as Stacy). Youngsters Jimmy Bracken and Richard Steele handle their roles (and surprising bathtub scene) very well. Sounding like a cross between "Under My Thumb" and The Zombies, The Grass Roots do an original, exceptional, and very sixties-sounding song called "Feelings"; listen to them as Day visits a youth nightclub. Stand-up George Carlin turns up as fast-food patron. Two future "M*A*S*H" regulars lead a mob of tripping hippies. And, you can have a lot of fun picking out sit-com favorites. By the third act, the film has become more unfocused and ordinary, but it never really obliterates its appeal.

******* With Six You Get Eggroll (8/7/68) Howard Morris ~ Doris Day, Brian Keith, John Findlater, Barbara Hershey

Doris Day moved into middle-age with grace and self-effacing charm; "With Six You Get Eggroll", her final film, was worked over by four screenwriters and may not be a comedy classic, but Doris plays it with conviction anyhow. As a widow with three boys who begins dating a widower--a single father and acquaintance of her late husband's--Day is quick to laugh, fast with the quips, canny and clever and bright. Spying Brian Keith's sexy neighbor "out for a walk" in the early evening, Doris's dry remark, "It's a nice night for streetwalking", is delivered nonchalantly but with icy accuracy. She works hard to befriend Keith's mercurial teenage daughter (Barbara Hershey, in her film debut) but, when that blows up in her face, she and Keith have an argument that is too loud and mean for a cute suburban comedy (the point here--that Day was finally able to make a connection with the girl--is lost and never recovered). The kids are all realistically abrasive and selfish--in need of Life Lessons--and there are fine supporting turns by Pat Carroll, Herb Voland and Alice Ghostley (and George Carlin in a bit); however, the paste-up/give-up happy ending must have looked like a groaner even in (or, especially in) 1968. "Eggroll" has some funny things to say about step familial relationships and rules, teenage possessiveness, and dating after 40. Unlike the not-dissimilar "Yours, Mine and Ours", this one gets its message across utilizing only four children, which is a bargain indeed. *** from ****

When I saw "With Six You Get Eggroll" in a plush New York theatre, I had no idea that it would be Doris Day's last film appearance. This one was an old idea with a modern look: a widow with three boys marries a widower with a teenaged daughter (Barbara Hershey)and all hell breaks loose.

Even though I am not partial to films with children in them or "family pictures", I enjoyed Miss Day's performance in this film as well as her supporting players. As was always the case, she was surrounded by the best supporting people available. Pat Carroll, as her sister was a lot of fun as was Alice Ghostley, her harried maid. There were many familiar faces darting in and out. People like Jaime Farr, Vic Taback, Jackie Joseph and George Carlin.

Brian Keith was a "comfortable", but gruff leading man for Doris. They had many nice scenes together, although he did not measure up to the usual caliber star with whom Miss Day was usually paired.

As usual, Doris Day worked well with children. She was one of the few major stars that could. Many female stars avoided kids like the plague, but not Doris. She could handle the situation.

Even though this is a comedy, there were a couple of very dramatic scenes in which Doris shows what a marvelously serious actress she can be. This came when she and Keith had a blowout about his daughter cleaning the house without any help from Doris' older son. Day was so into the scene, you could see her actually shaking with anger.

The film became a tearjerker at the end when everybody "saw the light" and came together after a big car chase, an accident and a fist fight. The picture is more enjoyable than the Henry Fonda/Lucille Ball film with approximately the same theme. Their's was called "Yours, Mine and Ours", also in 1968.

"With Six You Get Eggroll" is a light comedy-romance with a very familiar theme by its date. Widow and widower with kids still at home meet, fall in love and decide to tie the knot again, only to be challenged by their respective offspring. But, Doris Day and Brian Keith carry it off fine, with the help of her three sons and his daughter. Doris plays Abby McClure and Brian plays Jake Iverson. The cast are all good, and there are some very funny scenes especially in the beginning, when Abby and Jake meet up for the first time at a party she throws.

This was Doris Day's last movie. She made only 42 films in her entire career and retired from the screen and TV early. Except for her last few films, arranged by hubby Martin Melcher to bail out the estate he had poorly managed for years, Doris Day's star shone bright for movie and TV audiences alike for 25 years. Many, many fans and movie buffs would have loved to see Day in more films. After Melcher died in 1968, Doris hit it big with her own TV series, The Doris Day Show. It ran for five seasons, and after her last episode on March 12, 1973, she ended her performing career for good. She was just 50 years old.

Probably no other actress with such a bleak background and problem- filled personal life has done more to lift peoples' spirits by her talents. Doris Day was indeed a bright spot in the entertainment world. She was equally adept at dramatic and mystery roles, but her endearing talents shone best in her musicals and comedy-romances. She was one of a rare breed of screen, stage and TV stars who could act, sing, and dance and who excelled at comedy. She never won an Oscar but was nominated nine years for Golden Globes as the favorite female film star in the world – winning three times, in 1958, 1960, and 1963.

Brian Keith's background is very different. Except for a few uncredited parts in movies since childhood, his acting career didn't get started until the early 1950s when he appeared in several TV series. His first male lead came in a 1956 movie, "Storm Center," with Bette Davis. After that, he had many roles in films, TV movies and TV shows, and continued acting until his death in 1997 at age 75. He was in more than 160 films and TV shows.

"With Six You Get Eggroll" is a simple, light comedy-romance that most should enjoy. It's a good family film that may be a little slow for kids of the 21st century.

'With Six You Get Eggroll' was yet another film as part of my Doris Day completest quest, being a fan and realising that there were still films of hers to see. Seeing it, with it being notable for being her swansong film, it is pleasant enough but one can see the reviews here are so mixed.

Day certainly made much better films, 'Calamity Jane' and 'Pillow Talk' especially. She also made far worse, some have often cited later efforts for understandable reasons (her best decade easily was the 50s) as among her worst, to me a few of her early films like 'Lucky Me' and 'Starlift' are also strong contenders. 'With Six You Get Eggroll' is somewhat of a middling film for her.

There are numerous strengths with 'With Six You Get Eggroll'. The music has quirky energy and is suitably understated when needed. Some of the dialogue is witty and sophisticated and there are some amusing, if never exactly hilarious, moments. Day driving off in the trailer leaving Brian Keith in his underwear on the road stands out.

Some of the story has an energetic bounce, and there are moments that really charm. Howard Morris directs competently. Most of the cast make the film and their material work. Day comes over as very natural and at ease, she has fun and radiates charm. Keith has lovely chemistry with her and is a likable leading man with a gift for gentle comic timing. Pat Carroll is great fun in support, and it was nice to see George Carlin and a young Barbara Herschey. One mustn't forget the personality-filled dog either.

However, the children are rather annoying (not the first time that's been the case in a Doris Day film), while the production values have a very low-budget feel and looks very made for TV. 'With Six You Get Eggroll' gets rather absurd towards the end and the final scene is a sea of messy chaos.

For all the fun, bouncy and charming parts of the story, there are also a few dull and tired moments that is suggestive of padding things out, and while the predictability is forgivable not so much is including very 60s elements like hippies and an appearance from The Greenshots that just date the film and a rather clumsy effort to make the film current of the time, inconsistent pacing, the messy final scenes and a sense that it would have fared better as an episode for a sit-com considering the relative thinness.

In conclusion, not awful, not great, somewhat mixed instead. 6/10 Bethany Cox

I had never seen this movie until last night and I have to admit I was disappointed. Although the story is OK, there wasn't the same vibe that we got from the Rock Hudson and James Garner films of a few years earlier. The good points were Brian Keith, who puts in a nice quiet performance (despite him not being a favourite of mine) and one or two of the 'rest of cast' actors. About half way through, I said to my wife it would have been a lot better if James Garner had played the Brian Keith part, and she instantly agreed. Maybe the time for this type of movie was passing, maybe the earlier films had been so good that nothing could repeat the formula. OK to pass the time, but once was enough.

Stumbled across this one evening on TV and as a romantic comedy it doesn't delivery any real laughs with a production value not much better than your average Brady Bunch episode. The theme has been done many times, the blending of two families and of course they children are at odds with that until some extremely contrived event pulls them together, with the standard misunderstandings due to poor/no communication thrown in.

I've read other reviews and am surprised how may folks enjoyed this move, but if you're a Doris Day fan, choose something from the 50s.

Initially I was going to give this 3 stars but bumped it to 4 as it was fun seeing William Christopher and Jamie Farr together prior to the M*A*S*H days, with Herb Voland as well who had a recurring role in some early M*A*S*H episodes. There is also George Carlin and a few other familiar character actors you will certainly recognize not to mention a very young (and pretty) Barbara Hershey.

I absolutely love this movie. People have commented that Doris Day's later movies were not as good as the ones from the early '60s, but I disagree. The storyline here is very engaging, and the characters are superb. I totally lose myself in this movie when I watch it, and I laugh out loud every time. It is fun to follow the timeline of the movie... if you analyze it the entire thing takes place over about 5 months. It begins in June (with Flip and Stacey's graduation), and ends around Halloween (hence the brief appearnces of the Halloween masks). The supporting cast is terrific too, some great old faces that everyone will recognize. If you love the classic comedies of Doris Day, I heartily recommend this one.

Doris comes across as a beautiful 40-plus woman. Never saw her so mature and easy to look at. She is wonderful and has some great scenes with Brian Keith (who is wonderful in this). Good supporting cast and enjoyable for the whole family.

Abby (Doris Day) is the mother of three and a widow. Jake (Brian Keith) is the father of one and a widower. They are both lonely and knew each other long ago. Now when they see each other again, sparks almost immediately fly and soon, they impulsively marry without telling anyone nor planning for the lives to come! Not surprisingly, this causes some complications...such as resentment from the two oldest kids who are nearly adults. Can these six folks make a go of it or are they destined to be miserable?

This film was Doris Day's last film and it reflects the time when it was made. Being the late 60s, the film tried to be hip and modern...more than you might expect in a Day film. That isn't to say it's raunchy...it isn't. But the language is not exactly what die-hard Day fans might appreciate.

As far as the story goes, it's enjoyable enough but, as my wife said, "a lot of this doesn't make sense"...and I think realism is not a strong point in this movie. It tries much harder to be kooky instead....like it or not. As a result, the film is a bit limp and embarrassing to watch at times. A more realistic family drama or comedy would have worked better...at least for me.

By the way, there are a few interesting supporting actors in this one. Abby's best friend is played by Pat Carroll (the voice of Ursula in "Little Mermaid"). The fresh waiter at the drive-in is George Carlin. And, the two hippies at the drive-in late in the film are William Christopher and Jamie Farr (both from the TV show "MASH").

Doris Day's upbeat, cheery, and sunshiny career (with exceptions like "The Man who Knew Too Much," "Love Me or Leave Me," and "Julie") ended with "With Six You Get Eggroll," a film which shows how a father with one daughter gets along with a mother and her two sons, when the parents marry. The courting and romance of father Brian Keith and Doris is rather sweet, but the complications arise after their marriage, as to who moves into whose house and who sleeps where, which causes Brian and Doris to have a fight, and of course it leads inevitably to an outlandish and zany ending. This is one of Ms. Day's not-so-subtle movies, as the laughs come courtesy mainly from the youngest boy and his disposition and his crazy antics dealing with the change forced on him. This seems to have a juvenile sense of humor, but I've never laughed so hard in my life. I give this a '6', only because, while funny, it seems to come with a price of feeling rather uncouth, and maybe an embarrassment to the career of all concerned, including a young Barbara Hershey as Brian Keith's daughter. This came out a year before "The Brady Bunch," so one wonders if this movie inspired it. Directed by "The Andy Griffith Show" 's star Howard Morris, who played Ernest T. Bass, this is one family film that will either be a hit with families laughing at obvious jokes or fall flat with those who demand more from a Doris Day outing.

Unless someone persuades the 84 year old Doris Day to do an appearance in a Gloria Stuart like Titanic role, With Six You Get Eggroll will be her farewell big screen appearance. Not exactly the greatest film to go out on.

Anticipating The Brady Bunch by a year, With Six You Get Eggroll is a pleasant enough family comedy about another lovely lady only she's the one with three boys of her own. Doris is a widow with sons Jimmy Bracken, Richard Steele, and John Findlater who's getting a lot of static from her sister Pat Carroll about her social life or lack thereof.

Going through the Rolodex Brian Keith's name comes up. He's an old friend of Day's late husband who wouldn't you know it, is now a widower with a teenage daughter, Barbara Hershey. The inevitable romance blooms and they get married.

Getting the respective families adjusted to step relations is a whole other matter. If you've seen episodes of The Brady Bunch, Step By Step, and Life With Derek, I think you'll get the idea where the rest of this film is going.

Keith and Day look so comfortable together you do kind of wonder what their respective late spouses were like. Look for George Carlin to make his big screen debut as an obnoxious fast food stand owner and Vic Tayback as the poultry truck driver whose repeated run-ins with both sides of the family brings them finally together.

And in that rather anarchistic climax note the presence of Jamie Farr and William Christopher as a pair of hippies who help the course of true love.

With Six You Get Eggroll is an average screen comedy, but with all the blended family TV shows that have come and gone since, it's nothing no one hasn't seen before.

Along with "Yours, Mine and Ours" (Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda) this film marked the start of the "let's-create-a-family-by combining-each-of-ours" genre and soon several variations of the theme plowed their ways into theaters (including the much forgotten "Mulligan's Stew" where childless parents adopt a variety of ethnic representatives). It was a way to have "modern" family dramas survive in the ever changing marketplace. Looking like situation comedies found on television it was no surprise that they influenced what TV families of the 70's would look like. There was a chance to examine the ever increasing reality of divorce (disguised as widowship), yet still have a complete family unit. Of those that survived on television, "The Brady Bunch" and "Eight is Enough" are perhaps the most well known. No wonder abortion became popular! Soon these shows would be replaced by the examination of same sex parents (disguised as "good heterosexual friends") in such shows as "My Two Dads," and "Kate and Allie." Shows such as "The Cosby Show," "Home Improvement," and "Family Matters" brought television full circle so perhaps the 21st Century will see more single parent television and in another ten years a remake of "With Six You Get Eggroll." Of course the title would have to change for political correctness. How about "With Sex You Get Kids?" No wait, the pro-life groups won't like that. Ahhh, the sixties.

My mom always tells me about how idiotically bad Doris Day's movies were: Day always played wholesome women who never had sex. I guess that Day figured that her final film appearance should be something more realistic. She plays widow Abby McClure, who hooks up with widower Jake Iverson (Brian Keith), and they get really close.

"With Six You Get Eggroll" - so called because of a scene in a Chinese restaurant - seems like a precursor to "The Brady Bunch" (accentuated by the presence of Allan Melvin, who played Alice's hubby Sam in the latter). It's not a great movie by any stretch, but it is pretty humorous in some scenes - namely the "yellow" scene. Also starring are Barbara Hershey, George Carlin, Vic Tayback, and Alice Ghostley (aka Esmerelda on "Bewitched").

I wanted to like this film (and I did in some parts), but the plot is a little cluttered and mismatched. The humor comes, but not enough to keep me laughing (even though it was made in 1968). However, it is interesting to see the irony (or is it a coincidence). And it is this- while this is Doris Day's last film, it is also comedian George Carlin's first film and breakthrough into acting in movies (even though he was in a episode of That Girl).

I would probably have scored it less if not for my love of Doris! I disagree with the reviews scoring this film better than "Yours, Mine, and Ours"... a much better film. Brian Keith just didn't had what it took. TV was appropriately his thing.

The 60's weren't too kind to Doris Day. She reportedly turned down The Graduate, and did Caprice(67) Jumbo(62) Send Me No Flowers(64) Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?(68) Do Not Disturb(65) The Glass Bottom Boat(66) The Ballad of Josie(67) and Move Over, Darling(63) instead. With Six You Get Eggroll, what an awful title! is the last, though not necessarily the least of the dreary bunch. This was Barbara Hershey's first film and Doris' last and that's about the most interesting thing about this poky sitcom posing as a theatrical film. Similar to The Brady Bunch, Yours, Mine and Ours(68), and Day's own TV series, With Six YOu Get Eggroll was released the same year as 2001:A Space Odyssey, Rosemary's Baby, Faces, Planet of the Apes, Wild in the Streets, Pretty Poison, and The Night of the Living Dead, and it's a dull and witless comedy that was a relic even in 1968. And the gratuitous appearance of the Grass Roots, and the hippies in the background are a hopeless attempt to seem up to date. Talented Brian Keith takes a back seat to a bunch of "cute" kids, George Carlin, and a dog. Starting with an animated title sequence, the whole thing looks cheap and ugly, and the supporting cast made up of familiar faces from TV is unappealing and forgettable.

They're cheaper by the dozen, but eight is enough. On the other hand, if you are discussing yours, mine and ours, remember that "With Six You Get Eggroll." There are plenty of films and television shows about blended families (e.g. "The Brady Bunch"), but this is not one of the better ones. It is filled with clichés and caricatures and crashes. I like Howard Morris as an actor. Here, as director, he is charged with filling the screen with mayhem. I think "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" changed the landscape of comedy and, in the later stages of this film, it pays its stylistic homage.

But this film is really a hybrid of the Day/Hudson pillow talkies, any Irma Bombeck story, and Laugh-In. Doris Day and her three boys have to share a home with Brian Keith and his daughter. This is a sure recipe for classic comedy, right? Well, maybe not. The jokes are forced and the action is predictable.

Although this is not a very good film, it is a decent guilty pleasure. And if you like spotting known actors in minor roles, you will probably enjoy seeing Corporal Klinger and Eddie Haskell (among others) on screen.

By 1968, Doris Day was the 1950s/1960s version of maybe, Mary Tyler Moore in the 1970s/1980s or even, Sarah Jessica Parker today, however Doris Day was made famous more, by using her singing voice and eventually her acting. The similarities between all these actresses, usually fell with the light-hearted, romantic, comedy-type-of films, that all of them appeared in. They were marketable actresses, in both motion pictures and television, who were appealing to most audience members, had a comedic side to them and were likeable, in a cute, romantic, personable way. Doris Day was a queen at it in the 1960s. Also going on in 1968, was the growing competition, or was it, the foreseen merging, between motion pictures and its little brother, television. We also need to remember, that this was still a couple of years before the launching of the MPAA, so family-oriented faire, was the way to go.

By 1968, family-oriented, sitcom television shows, featuring maybe one or two major stars, surrounded by lesser-known, supporting actors, were becoming very popular, so the movie industry needed to compete with these shows. However, in order to do so, major studios, with both television and film production branches, began to share talent. Also, film studios would hire-out, some of the crews from television productions, to save on the budgets for the motion pictures. This was a time when television was still a step-down from the movie theaters, but an ideal way to churn our cheap film productions, to share with the masses. It was something the cinema didn't really want to do, but realized, that this process needed to happen. They had to make some movies, that looked like TV sitcoms, which was a glaring sight, almost immediately noticed, in the beginning credits, to Doris Day's, With Six You Get Eggroll (1968).

This is a simple story about normal people and the headaches of dealing with the family. Day's widowed Abby McClure, begins a relationship with mutually widowed Jake Iverson, that prompts a little bit of outrage from their kids, which leads to the two lovebirds, eloping one night. From here, they manage their lives and repair the kids feelings. It's simple, cut-and-dry, romantic comedy, at its family-oriented, television sitcom, best, albeit in motion picture form. With Six You Get Eggroll (1968), has the total look of a television show, from the opening credits, to the way it is shot, lighted and edited. The sets, the suburban California scenery, costumes and color, all look like a TV sitcom in 1968. Even the transitions, from scene-to-scene, that are used, look like television transitions, with a color-shape crossing the screen between fades.

In fact, With Six You Get Eggroll (1968), is teeming with many TV actors, that pop-up, throughout this film. Cast in the role of Jake Iverson is television star, Brian Keith (Family Affair 1966-1971). Alice Ghostley (Bewitched 1964-1972), Vic Tayback (Alice 1976-1985) and Allan Melvin (Phil Silvers Show 1955-1959), all play supporting rolls in With Six You Get Eggroll (1968). There also are cameos by Jamie Farr, William Christopher and Herb Voland from MASH (1972-1983). On top of all of this, playing drive-in-diner food-server, Herbie Fleck, is legendary stand-up comedian, George Carlin. There also is a cool cameo by late-60s band, the Grassroots, performing their hit song, "Feelings", during a pivotal scene in a disco-tech. Playing Iverson's daughter Stacey, is a young, Barbara Hershey (Beaches - 1988). With Six You Get Eggroll (1968), might be hard for some viewers to enjoy, but if you can put yourself in a 1968 frame-of-mind, grab your date and enjoy some lighthearted, rom-com, late-1960s, pop-culture, cinema fun. Maybe not great, but good enough.

PMTM Grade: 6.8 (C-) = 7 IMDB.

It's another variation on the oft-told tale of two people getting married and having to share their brood of kids. WITH SIX YOU GET EGG ROLL is directed by Howard Morris (from television) and it shows, because it's the kind of tale that plays like a half-hour situation comedy padded out to feature film length--but with a scarcity of laughs, or to put it differently, only the number of laughs that would have been possible within the half-hour limits of a TV show.

DORIS DAY decided to call it quits after this film--and it's rather easy to see why. Even the presence of some fairly reliable actors in the cast doesn't help. BRIAN KEITH, BARBARA HERSHEY, PAT CARROLL and ALICE GHOSTLEY do their best, but the script is the real problem and should have been left untouched for the big screen.

Nothing much can be said in favor of it. Skip it and see Miss Day in any number of her more worthwhile films.