The Grass Is Greener (1960)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Stanley Donen

Writers:

Hugh Williams (screenplay) and
Margaret Vyner (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

27 February 1961 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Variety is the spice of life!

Plot:

Victor and Hillary are down on their luck to the point that they allow tourists to take guided tours of their castle...

Plot Keywords:

Color In Title | Beautiful Woman | Marriage | Independent Film | Based On Play

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Cary Grant	...	Victor Rhyall, Earl
Deborah Kerr	...	Lady Hilary Rhyall
Robert Mitchum	...	Charles Delacro
Jean Simmons	...	Hattie Durant
Moray Watson	...	Trevor Sellers, the Butler

Runtime:

104 min | UK:80 min (VHS version)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:Approved (certificate #19674) | Finland:S | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video re-rating) (1999) | UK:U (video rating) (1986) | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Lacock Abbey, Lacock, Wiltshire, England, UK

Company:

Grandon Productions Ltd.

Trivia:

Cary Grant refused to wear a smoking jacket for one scene, believing that if the audience saw him dressed that way they would immediately lose sympathy with his character. The director later said that a type of old-fashioned comedy died that day.

Quotes:

Victor Rhyall, Earl: Well then, so long, be seeing you, as you say in America.
Charles Delacro: Cheerio, as you say in Britain.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Silhouettes: The James Bond Titles (2000) (V)

Cast Sparkles

Drawing room comedies seem to be a thing of the past. Their demise was apparently one reason Cary Grant decided to thin down his late career: his kind of parts just weren't being written anymore.

By the time this film version of a stage hit came out in 1960, the genre had just about run its course.

How fortunate to have four full-fledged stars take on the leading roles. What is Robert Mitchum doing in an English castle, interacting with "upper class royalty"?

For one thing, he plays a Texas millionaire--an impressive entree most places. Then, the rest of the cast are all transported Brits, so long established in America as to be de facto Americans. They can still deliver their clipped English lines, thought, with great flair.

("So, now you're a millionare, and I'm growing mushrooms . . . oh well, that's the way the world wags.")

Deborah Kerr is bright and vulnerable, Jean Simmons, pert and sophisticated, Robert Mitchum, cool and crafty, and Cary Grant urbane and witty. It's fun to see this quartet trading double entendres and quaint quips.

Stanley Donnen does his best with a stagy script, relying on his experienced cast to carry off the humor and action. It succeeds nicely, and its downright fun to follow their stylish jousts.

Tea, brandy, or champagne?