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The Grass is Greener

6.4

1,452

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Original title

The Grass is Greener

Year

1960

Running time

104 min.

Country

United Kingdom

Director

Stanley Donen

Screenwriter

Hugh Williams, Margaret Williams. Play: Hugh Williams, Margaret Williams

Cast

Music

Noël Coward

Cinematography

Christopher Challis

Producer

Universal Pictures

Genre

Romance. Comedy | Romantic Comedy. Screwball comedy. Jealousy

Synopsis

When American millionaire Charles Delacro (Robert Mitchum) stumbles into the private quarters of Victor (Cary Grant) and Hilary (Deborah Kerr), an English aristocratic couple who allow public tours through their stately mansion, he brings a whirlwind of trouble with him. Hilary’s dissatisfaction with her staid life plus verbal sparring with Charles about Anglo-American differences spark a romance between the two, easily perceived by Hilary’s husband, Victor. When Hilary goes to London to meet Charles secretly, an old flame of Victor’s visits to give him advice on his disintegrating marriage and to perhaps seduce him too. Victor’s solution? Invite his wife’s lover up for the weekend to engage in some fishing and a duel. Woven together with a wide streak of humor is a wonderful, surprisingly rich and blunt scrutiny of marital troubles and endurance.

Awards: 1960: Golden Globes: Nominated for Best Film - Comedy and Actor (Grant)

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Critics' reviews

"This movie offers four of the best -- and best-looking -- Hollywood stars cavorting together in material so slight and inconsequential it often seems ready to float away like a toy balloon"

Michael Phillips: Chicago Tribune
"Miss Kerr and Miss Simmons look attractive and Mr. Grant and Mr. Mitchum try hard to create the illusion of being moved by love and passion. But they both appear mechanical and bored"

Bosley Crowther: The New York Times
"Charming, if a bit claustrophobic."

Chicago Reader
"Director Donen takes us for a few romps in the green countryside to ease the claustrophobia, but this gratuitous meandering only serves to make us realize how hidebound the story is."

TV Guide
"Stanley Donen's spouse-swapping comedy is not as naughty as it might have been, but it showcases Mitchum in a good comic role"

Mick LaSalle: San Francisco Chronicle
"The Hugh and Margaret Wilson screenplay, adapted from their London stage hit, slowly evolves into a talky and generally tedious romantic exercise, dropping the semi-satirical stance that brightens up the early going."

Variety Staff: Variety
"Everyone in this movie - adapted from a flummery stage comedy by Hugh and Margaret Williams - stands around like mannequins in Bond Street stores."

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User history

The Grass is Greener

1960

Stanley Donen

6.4

(1,452)