Clubs in Film: That Touch of Mink (1962)

Oct 11, 2025

The New York Athletic Club, as seen in That Touch of Mink.

That Touch of Mink (1962) is not an archetypal Clubland movie. It is a “will they, won’t they?” romantic comedy with Doris Day - she plays an unemployed typist who is unsure whether or not to be swept off her feet by Cary Grant’s suave millionaire businessman, who keeps trying to jet her off to overnight stays in Bermuda, only for her to keep being falling ill, from chicken pox to a drunken fall from a hotel bedroom window. All the while, Grant is ambiguous as to his romantic intentions.

The same view of the New York Athletic Club today, photographed this week. Apart from the temporary scaffolding, the main difference is the updating of the canopy with a black rather than a red design.

So, to the club. For the climax of the film, Day tries to make Grant jealous by accepting a proposition to go to a motel with a lecherous clerk who has been making advances towards her all movie. (Cary Grant exclaims, “Al’s Motel? Sounds like a place where you bring your own lightbulbs!”) And Doris Day’s trick works. Grant’s personal assistant, Gig Young, storms into the New York Athletic Club, to summon him for a dramatic intervention, and a race against time to the out-of-town motel.

Cary Grant is busy in the showers of the New York Athletic Club.

We know that it is the New York Athletic Club, because the Club’s own real-life exterior was used as a filming location, complete with a clearly-labelled canopy. Apart from some new livery (the canopy is now in black rather than red, with an updated logo), the main entrance and the surrounding view remains very much as it appeared during the film.

The exterior of the New York Athletic Club, seen from 59th Street in the film.

Of the Club itself, we see two views. The first appears to be a studio set, when Cary Grant is showering, and he is interrupted by Gig Young, who has to talk him into intervening, given Grant is suffering from wounded pride. Their exchange includes the observation:

“He’s a man, and she’s a woman.”
“That’s the most dangerous combination to turn loose in a motel!”

Eventually, still wrapped in his “NEW YORK ATHLETIC CLUB”-branded towel, Cary Grant runs out onto the front entrance on 59th Street, filmed in the authentic real-life location. He tries calling for his car, only to be reminded by the commissaire that he gave his chauffeur the lunchtime off, and instead he hails a cab. The non-plussed cab driver observes, “This girl, I’ve got to see.”

That Touch of Mink is available on DVD, Blu-Ray and streaming.