Introduction
Welcome to my corner! This week, I'm sharing my thoughts on the film The Gazebo. I recorded it from the TCM television channel on October 26, 2025. I finally got around to watching it recently. Enjoy!
The Gazebo
The Gazebo is a 1959 American black comedy in CinemaScope about a married couple being blackmailed. It was based on the 1958 play of the same name by Alec Coppel and directed by George Marshall. Helen Rose was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White. It is also the last MGM film released in the 1950s.
Plot: Television writer Elliott Nash (Glenn Ford) makes increasingly desperate attempts to raise money in order to pay off a blackmailing photographer who threatens to publish nude photos of Elliott's actress wife, Nell (Debbie Reynolds). Unable to sell his house quickly enough, Elliott concludes that he has not choice but to murder the blackmailer. He schemes to utilize the installation of Nell's cherished antique gazebo and its quick-drying cement foundation but finds himself burying the wrong body.
Acting: Glenn Ford played Elliott Nash. He was phenomenal as Elliott Nash. The nervous parts were my favorite. His four most notable titles are Gilda, Superman, Pocketful of Miracles and 3:10 to Yuma. The only other Glenn Ford movie I've seen is A Stolen Life, which I wrote a column on last year. The Gazebo is definitely my favorite.
Debbie Reynolds played Nell Nash. She's a bright, shining light. Her graceful acting played nicely off of Ford's nervousness. Her four most notable titles include In & Out, Singin' in the Rain, Tammy and the Bachelor and The Unsinkable Molly Brown. I watch Halloweentown every year, so that's probably my favorite, although I like Singin' in the Rain too.
Carl Reiner played Harlow Edison. His four most notable titles are Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Thirteen, The Jerk and, as a writer, on The Dick Van Dyke Show. I've seen many of his titles. My favorite other than The Gazebo is probably the Hot in Cleveland television series.
Minor roles were played by John McGiver as Sam Thorpe; Mabel Albertson as Miss Chandler; Doro Merande as Matilda, the Nashes' servant (she was hilarious); Bert Freed as Lieutenant Joe Jenkins; Martin Landau as The Duke; Robert Ellenstein as Ben; and Dick Wessel as Louis the Louse.
Technical Aspects: The director was Lawrence Weingarten. The screenplay was written by George Wells, based on a play by Alec Coppel.
Cinematography was done by Paul C. Vogel. Adrienne Fazan was the editor. Helen Rose was the Costume Designer. Art Directors were George W. Davis and Paul Groesse. Jeff Alexander oversaw music.
Film rights to the play were bought for $250,000.
A cosmic subplot involves Alfred Hitchcock inadvertently assisting Elliott with a murder plan over the phone while checking on a scrip Nash is writing for him. The play's author, Alec Coppel, had written such a script for Hitchcock's film Vertigo.
From TCM: Based on a Broadway play, The Gazebo (1959) is a black comedy about a harried television writer, played by Glenn Ford, who is threatened by a blackmailer with indiscreet photos of the writer's Broadway actress wife (Debbie Reynolds). He decides on desperate measures —he will kill the blackmailer and bury him in the foundation of the gazebo that's about to be placed in the garden of the couple's country home. Naturally, not everything goes as planned. With its blend of comedy and murder, The Gazebo is reminiscent of the 1950s films of Alfred Hitchcock, as well as of Hitchcock's then-popular television series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents. In fact, there's a sly homage to Hitchcock in the film, with Ford's character receiving advice on the telephone from Hitchcock (who is neither seen nor heard) on how to dispose of a body. (This scene was also a favorite of mine.) Ford also receives some help from a very clever pigeon named Herman that he's adopted as a pet.
The Gazebo was the second teaming of Ford and Reynolds, who had struck romantic sparks both on and off the screen earlier that same year in It Started with a Kiss. In fact, 1959 was a year of nonstop work for Debbie Reynolds—she had four films released that year, also appearing in The Mating Game and Say One for Me. It was also a turbulent year in her private life. The very public breakup of her marriage to crooner Eddie Fisher, due to his affair with the recently widowed Elizabeth Taylor and his abandonment of Reynolds and their two young children, grabbed worldwide headlines for months. Ford's marriage to dancer Eleanor Powell had also recently broken up, and the two commiserated and helped console each other. According to Reynolds' autobiography, Ford even proposed to her, but she wasn't ready to get serios again so soon. She and Ford remained lifelong friends, although they never made another film together.
Ford had been a movie star for two decades; in 1958, he was voted the number one box-office attraction but had mostly appeared in dramas and westerns. Several critics praised Ford's comedy skills in The Gazebo. Ford's two comedies with Reynolds opened up a whole new career path of him, and his low-key charm would grace some very successful comedies of the early 1960s, including Pocketful of Miracles (1961) and The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963).
The supporting cast included some superb comic character actors, including Carl Reiner, John McGiver, Bert Freed and Doro Merande. Martin Landau, who played a lot of gangsters during this period, did so again, very well, in The Gazebo. And, of course, there was that well-trained pigeon, Herman, showing a lot of star quality.
Final Thoughts: I laughed out loud so many times watching this movie. I was not ready for it to be so comical, even though it was billed as a comedy. I didn't go into this movie thinking I'd like it enough to write a column for it, but here we are.
Herman the pigeon also played a surprisingly big role in the movie. It was nice to see that. He did a wonderful job.
I've never seen such a funny murder movie before, and for that reason alone, it is worth watching.
My favorite scene was when Elliott nervously follows his list of steps leading up to the murder, then tries to cover it up as everyone comes to him and gets in the way. So funny!
My favorite quote(s) are:
The Duke: "Your husband knocked him off!"
Nell Nash: "Don't be silly! My husbands the kind of man who takes cheese from mouse traps so the mice don't get hurt!"
The Duke: "I didn't say he knocked off a mouse..."
Where to watch it: According to Google, The Gazebo is not currently available on any streaming services. But you can purchase or rent a digital copy for a few dollars. I've also donated a DVD copy of the film to the Emil M. Larson Public Library in Clark for you all to enjoy, if you choose.
That's it for this week! What were your thoughts? Feel free to share them with us! You can call us, email us, visit us at the office, leave us a comment or message on Facebook, or even mail us something. Keep the comments, suggestions, questions, submissions, etc. coming our way! We'd love to hear from you!
