The Grass Is Greener (1960)

I don't know why The Grass is Greener isn't a go-to classic comedy, like Some Like it Hot or It Happened One Night. It's darling! Based off the play by Hugh Williams and Margaret Vyner, it's hilarious, witty, charming, and endearing.Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr are married and stuck in a minor rut. When Deborah meets an American tourist, their attraction is undeniable. Yes, I know, she has Cary Grant at home, so perhaps Robert Mitchum is the only man Hollywood could have cast to make her infidelity believable! Before long, Deb and Bob are having a hot-and-heavy affair, and to help him deal with the problem, Cary recruits the advice of his faithful butler Moray Watson and his flirtatious friend Jean Simmons.Every part of this movie is cute, even the song during the opening credits and Hardy Amies's beautiful costumes. The script is very funny, with a mixture of jokes, wry one-liners, and situational comedy. I'm not even a Deborah Kerr fan, but she's just as delightful in this movie as her three co-stars.Remember the split-screen scene in When Harry Met Sally when the four friends are on the phone? That scene was a re-make; the hilarious original can be found in The Grass is Greener. I highly recommend this cute comedy. After you watch it, maybe you'll adopt the phrase, "So I went to Harrods and bought a sponge!" in your household, as I have in mine.

A few previous reviewers seem to have viewed this film with a very weird set of expectations. In fact, 'The Grass is Greener' is exactly what it wants to be: a clever little drawing-room comedy. Slightly mannered, slightly stylized, very upper-crusty. And utterly delightful, on all counts.The cast is a dream come true. Grant plays slightly against type, to great effect. He's not the strong leading man, for once, but a rather repressed, befuddled and sorely taken-for-Granted husband. Mitchum makes a perfect foil: straightforward, brash, emotional. They're a perfect match, and their conflict is worked out... perfectly. With never a harsh word spoken, and only a very genteel amount of violence.The ladies make a great backdrop for all this. Deborah Kerr has never been more charming, or more effortlessly natural. She has the film's broader comedic moments, and handles them beautifully. Jean Simmons is always a delight, and she plays her catty best-friend role to the hilt.But the real star is the dialog. Underplayed, yet always literate and obliquely witty. Grant's references to "Dun-dee cake" always make me laugh, since cake is so obviously not what he's talking about. The dramatic aspects of the story are equally clever. The central concept of *not* confronting an errant spouse seems particularly wise.Of course, if you're looking for a typical Hollyood-style romantic comedy, or a broad farce along the lines of Donen's later 'Charade,' you do need to adjust your expectations. This is a very different kind of film, a far more British - or perhaps simply more erudite - type of comedy. More along the lines of 'Blithe Spirit,' or the original 'Pygmalion.' And easily on a par with the best of its kind. A film to be savored, not devoured.

The Grass Is Greener is directed by Stanley Donen and stars Cary Grant, Robert Mitchum, Deborah Kerr & Jean Simmons. It's adapted by Hugh Williams & Margaret Vyner from the play of the same name which they had both written and found success with in London's West End. Music is by Noel Coward and Christopher Challis is the cinematographer.Struggling financially, the Earl & Countess of Rhyall (Grant & Kerr) start giving tours around their stately mansion. Enter Charles Delacro (Mitchum) & Hattie Durant (Simmons), whose appearance at the mansion sets in motion the wheels of love, jealousy and machismo fuelled duelling.Considered too talky on its release, The Grass Is Greener, it's fair to say, is more for those who are either into the star wattage on offer, or for those who are romantics at heart. Upon first viewing the film doesn't appear to have much in the way of comedy, in fact when Grant is either off screen or out of ear shot there's a hole as big as the implausibility factor in the plot. However, further viewings (well listenings really) reveal a sharper script than the one critics gave credit for back in the day. There's plenty of "nudge nudge" winkery going on, while the portrayals of the rich American & British characters (could they get any more polar opposite than Grant & Mitchum?) has a nice glint in the eye to them.On the cast front, Grant is as smooth and classy as he always is, with his sometimes undervalued comedy timing here in full force. Kerr & Simmons look attractive, with the latter benefiting greatly from some outrageously punky Dior costumes. While Mitchum, tho no master of comedy, works his laconic low tone charm to great effect off of Grant's well spoken aristo verbality. However, look away from the big four heading the cast and you find much comedy value in Moray Watson as the Butler. He, along with Challis' photography inside of the house, are arguably the stars of the show. A fine film for the patient to enjoy, even if it's not the masterpiece that its cast list suggests it should be. 7/10

This adult drawing room comedy is a bit of fluff. Light and inconsequential but funny. Deborah Kerr is excellent in her role as the bored and under appreciated wife of an English aristocrat, Cary Grant. They are struggling to keep the family estate intact by charging for guided tours. Can one really be bored with Cary Grant? Mitchum is the rich, virile American tourist who sweeps her off her feet. Jean Simmons plays the beautiful but rather ditsy friend of Kerr. Kerr tells her, "You can't play Scrabble, not with adults". The mink coat scene is worth watching as is the fishing scene. America versus England with a happy ending.