The Grass Is Greener (1960)

Directed by Stanley Donen. Starring Deborah Kerr, Cary Grant, Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons, Moray Watson.

Spotty romantic comedy with a high pedigree of talent on both sides of the camera. Grant and Kerr are married English nobles whose financial woes require them to open up their palatial home to guided tours; one such tourist (Mitchum) boldly intrudes on Kerr in her private quarters and a shared attraction sparks between them, one that she hesitantly goes along with. Grant doesn’t fail to notice his wife’s “turned head,” but rather than explode in a jealous rage, he decides to be civilized (even sporting) about the situation…up to a point. Simmons is also in the mix, playing a dotty heiress that’s a reasonable facsimile of Audrey Hepburn on the giggle juice, but aside from providing a little vim and vigor to the proceedings, she seems to solely be on hand to act as a consolation prize for the loser. As a long-winded and meandering bedroom farce, casting makes it nearly impossible to arrive at a fully satisfying resolution to the criss-crossed love matches, but at least those casting decisions make the lumps and thin gruel go down easier (Donen’s inertly prosaic setups have the opposite effect). Written by Hugh Williams and Margaret Vyner from their own stage play. Music by Noël Coward. Grant also co-produced, but went uncredited.

52/100