1960 Directed by Stanley Donen
Victor and Hillary are down on their luck to the point that they allow tourists to take guided tours of their castle. But Charles Delacro, a millionaire oil tycoon, visits, and takes a liking to more than the house. Soon, Hattie Durant gets involved and they have a good old fashioned love triangle.
"If you give me some gin, I'll give you some advice; I don't believe in something for nothing."
A cuckolded earl employs dire tactics to curry favor with an inconstant countess.
As far as I can gather, Stanley Donen's The Grass Is Greener marks the only collaboration between two of my very favorite actors—Robert Mitchum and Cary Grant, though both had already made two films with costar Deborah Kerr. Throw in a gorgeous Jean Simmons for comic relief, and one really ought to have something here. Unfortunately, while all but Kerr deliver winning performances, the love-triangle-plus-one scenario adapted by Hugh Williams and Margaret Vyner (from their somehow profitable stage play) is among the most asinine I've encountered in recent memory.…
”Well now I know that he knows,
and he knows that I know he knows”
Four boring white rich people sit around talking for 140 minutes about their relationship problems.
Do you remember those vintage coin operated Love Tester Machines? This film lacks so much chemistry that if any of these characters encountered such a machine their results would be “cold and clammy” every time.
It’s a bummer, because I like all four of these actors, but other than a single humorous phone call, this movie did nothing for me.
”Oh well, there you are, that’s the way the world wags”
Jean Simmons: *screams, hugs Deborah Kerr*
Deborah: "What's happening?"
Jean: "They're all wearing glasses!"
...this is the funniest part of the film.
I'm not fond of infidelity comedies (because I don't think cheating is cute or funny) but I love Jean Simmons and Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant in that order.
Je pensais m'évader un peu de l'université, mais c'était oublier qu'Hollywood reste le plus grand philosophe du 20ème siècle. Je peux bien passer ma semaine à essayer d'expliquer Wittgenstein et les formes de vie, mais ce film résume toutes les Recherches philosophiques en une phrase: à propos de son différent avec Deborah Kerr (une Anglaise), Bob Mitchum (un Américain) dit "Sometimes I'm convinced that the greatest barrier between our countries is the bond of a common language." C'est tellement puissant comme phrase, ça pas de sens. Genre, on peut passer sa vie à décortiquer une phrase comme ça. Parlez en à Wittgenstein. En tout cas à son fantôme.
Toute la première partie du film est presque explicitement une investigation du…
I’m going to go against the majority and say that Deb Kerr made this film. Did y’all even see her in that robe?
It doesn't keep its momentum throughout the entire runtime, but there are so many good moments that I still loved it. Jean's line delivery of "They're all wearing glasses!" had me screaming.
Sometimes I'm convinced that the greatest barrier between our countries is the bond of a common language.
-Charles Delacro
A farce where committing adultery and dueling with pistols is treated about as seriously as being caught telling a white lie with the perfect cast to pull it off. It doesn't come close to being director Stanley Donen's best, but it's still damn good.
Cary Grant is goofier then usual and seeing him go up against Robert Mitchum for the affections of Deborah Kerr feels like two different movies have melded together. Mitchum is playing an outsider by the name of Charles Delacro, but still seeing him interact with Grant feels like two different universes meeting.
The three leads are all great, but it's Jean Simmons that steals the show as an eccentric heiress and ex-girlfriend's of Grant's.
Part of:
31 Birthdays of January
Born on January 31st: Jean Simmons
A Stanley Donen adaptation of a play by the husband and wife team of Margaret Vyner and Hugo Williams. Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr play an earl and countess, nobility in title and residence if not in bank account (their home is a tourist-destination castle). One day wealthy American Robert Mitchum drops out of the tour and seduces Kerr. She considers running away with him. Eventually all three (along with Kerr's daffy buddy Jean Simmons) gather for a weekend of relaxation and talking around their feelings.
The fundamental problem with this, according to my wife, is that no one, ever, under any possible circumstances, would even consider cheating on Cary Grant. Certainly not with Robert Mitchum. So for her, a…
