The Grass Is Greener (1960) User Reviews

very British, very arch, very enjoyable

[rupie · 7/10 · 14 April 2000]

This delightful film's script is a descendant of the sort of archly witty portrayals of British upper-class life that came from the pens of Somerset Maugham and Noel Coward (one of whose songs serves as musical lead-in, and at least one of whose tunes ["Mad About the Boy" - listen for it] serves as background music to comment on the action). The atmosphere of this sort of comedy may be a bit foreign to American tastes (the whole topic of infidelity is discussed in such a civilized and gentlemanly fashion among the parties- Stiff Upper Lip and all that - where Americans would be screaming at each other and going for weaponry) but as a devotee of British drama I enjoyed the movie hugely. It's a stellar cast - everyone shines, right down to Moray Watson in the small but delicious part of the befuddled butler Sellers. Jean Simmons is especially enjoyable in her out-of-character portrayal as the outspokenly vampish Hattie. Despite opinions below to the contrary, the incomparable Cary Grant fills the part of this down-at-the-heels English Lord like old brandy fills a crystal decanter. The sumptuous setting of the baronial manor and the high production values make the film beautiful to look at, to boot. (The fact that the unfortunate Lord is forced to open his manor to paying visitors to support his lifestyle is based on the historical truth of the confiscatory tax policies imposed on the British hereditary gentry by post-WWII Labor governments; everyone is entitled to their own opinions on these policies, but be assured the film makes no political comment).

It does stretch the imagination a tad that Victor could treat the whole issue of his wife's infidelity - going on right in front of his nose - in such a dispassionate manner, but that is a characteristic of this genre. Further, Grant manages to convince us that, beneath his outer imperturability, his wife's disloyalty has pained him deeply and he could not stand to lose her.

This is a not-well-known film, and its appeal might be a bit specialized, but I think it's a minor gem. And I could not omit mentioning the charming opening credits with their bevy of delightfully cavorting babies.

I'm not a promiscuous trollop!

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 8 September 2010]

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

Almost too sophisticated for its own good

[dafrieze · 6/10 · 9 April 2009]

This is one of the films Stanley Donen directed during his long sojourn in England. His previous one with Cary Grant, "Indiscreet," also starred Ingrid Bergman, and the two of them repeated their impeccable chemistry from "Notorious" ten years earlier in a very romantic and yet sophisticated comedy. "The Grass Is Greener" is, if anything, more sophisticated, almost stultifyingly so. It's obviously based on a stage play, fitted out with a handful of cinematic tricks that stick out like sore thumbs.

This cast could do no wrong, as far as I'm concerned, and they just about manage to make it work. Robert Mitchum is probably miscast, but he doesn't let it show, and his scenes with Deborah Kerr (the two of them made many films together and enjoyed one another's company) work beautifully. Cary Grant is impeccable, as always, although I can't help thinking that this really is Rex Harrison territory. And Jean Simmons is delightful - she really is a fairly underrated actress. Moray Watson also shines as the butler.

One question: why didn't the doctor every show up? (You have to watch the movie to the end to find out what I mean.)

mature whit

[svannozzi · 12 October 2001]

This movie has a very mature whit, it is not an "adult film" but young people just won't get it. I watched it the first time in my twenties but did not appreciate it as I did when I saw it in my thirties and had been married for many years. Cary Grant's character is caught with the possibility of loosing the wife that is the center of his world. He must choose between making a fuss or letting her go quietly. He feels if he makes a fuss the choices are she will stay and they will both be unhappy or she will still go and he will have lost his stiff upper lip. The plot is added to by his wife's best friend that would be very happy to console him if his wife leaves. (hey I would be happy to console Cary Grant) The script is a hoot the dialogue lively and cunning. The only real action is a duel at thirty paces that shows who is willing to give his life for the love of his life. The set is a little constraining but the stately homes of Britain are pretty stuffy in real life. The casting of Robert Mitchum as the American millionaire is perfect, he is very American and everyone else is so very British his is really the odd man out.

I enjoy this movie every time and recommend it for a relaxing, amusing evening.

Light entertainment worth viewing.

[wrs10 · 7/10 · 8 November 2008]

Most points have already been made - a sub Noel Cowardesque script but still stands up as light entertainment. (Maybe my age is showing). Supposedly set in the country but actually filmed at Osterley Park under the flight path to Heathrow airport!!! I am not sure that the outdoor shots could be filmed there today with all that noise! Anyway - it still looks good!

Google:- National Trust UK Osterley Park

I have some snaps of the livestock munching away in its the fields but I guess a herd of cattle, horses or a flock of water fowl looks much the same another somewhere else. Worth a trip if you have the time (but it sure costs a lot more than "a half-crown" nowadays!!!)

tres amusant

[jamdonahoo · 7/10 · 24 August 2006]

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.

Attempt at a Sex quadrangle at one of "THE STATELY HOMES OF ENGLAND"

[theowinthrop · 7/10 · 8 June 2006]

This is a film that does try to be good - and it is actually amusing at points. The central story about the aristocrats finding interest in an American millionaire (Mitchum) and an old flame of Grant's (Simmons) had potential. But the problem was that the screenplay is too talky and too cerebral, but not (paradoxically) as complete as it should be.

There are pages and pages of the dialog which are (frankly) long winded. Cary Grant is not amusing when explaining his behavior to people, even Deborah Kerr. Whatever emotional chemistry worked for them so wonderfully in AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER is cut down considerably here.

The additions of Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons does not really help. Mitchum's growing interest in Kerr, and her growing response to his seeing her in London is okay, but Simmons' relationship regarding Grant is not developed. We know they had an affair before he married her friend Kerr, and she has remained a friend of both, and she is funny regarding her open interest in sex, but why Grant's rejection of her is never really gone into. Also, at the tale end, there is the suggestion that Simmons and Mitchum might find each other a worthy lover. But nothing in the film really builds up to that final look between them! There are good moments - Grant and Mitchum going fishing, and muttering under their breaths about each other, and the business about the fur coat gift that Mitchum buys Kerr, and she tries to hide (and Simmons ends up wearing as her own). But the good moments are fragments. The duel scene towards the end is analyzed to death. It says a lot that the use of Noel Coward's song THE STATELY HOMES OF ENGLAND on the soundtrack at the start and end of the film is one of the highlights. One wishes Coward wrote the screenplay here - it might have been brighter or more consistent.

Because the cast really tries I have given it a "7", but it is not as good a film as it should have been.

Worth watching anyway..

[Jacquline · 7/10 · 16 January 2000]

There is a glittering cast (Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons), a witty script and beautiful scenes of the English countryside in superb colour. So why is this film so flat? Whether it is a movie, a play or a novel one has to believe in the characters. Unfortunately Cary Grant is not believable as an English lord. Deborah Kerr is not believable as an unfaithful wife. Robert Mitchum is believable as an American tourist but , seemed uncomfortable in the role. When he walked into the private apartments of Lord and Lady Ryall in their Stately home he looked as if he should have been walking into a Chicago speakeasy. Only Jean Simmons seemed to fit her part. It was a funny script which was wasted. Still, anything with Cary Grant in it is worth watching. See what you think.

Cast Sparkles

[harry-76 · 8/10 · 1 December 2002]

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?

A very good film indeed.

[stigoftdump · 7/10 · 30 January 2000]

This is a cracking film! A top notch script and a fantastic cast combined to create a funny, moving film that seems to have been overlooked by most. Cary Grant is always worth watching, and the entire leading cast made this an easy film to like. I didn't find this film flat at all; I found the screen sparkled with the interplay and the script. A fine film; catch it on the telly if you see it on!

The lowest rating I've ever given a Cary Grant film

[utgard14 · 3/10 · 4 January 2015]

An aristocratic British couple (Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr) allow tourists to visit their castle because of financial difficulties. On one of these tourist trips, an American millionaire (Robert Mitchum) puts the moves on Kerr and she wastes no time falling for him. Grant doesn't discourage her affair, instead trying to come up with a way to win her back. How pathetic.

A dry, dull, stagy film with unlikable characters played by likable actors. Five or ten years later it might have been more risqué but this is all very sedate and mannered. There's no fun to be had here unless you're someone who likes these sorts of tired old movies where screwing around on each other is seen as a harmless and natural part of marriage. Dated plot aside, the characters are a mess. Mitchum's character is an obnoxious bundle of clichés. Jean Simmons is not part of a love triangle or quadrangle, as some plot synposes online tend to say (as well as the misleading DVD cover). She's just an ex of Grant's who is only in the film to be a pot stirrer. Kerr tries harder than anybody else to make this thing work, which just makes her character all the more insufferable.

Cary Grant is badly miscast and dresses like Mister Rogers in this. I wasn't surprised to find out Cary didn't want to do this movie. He turned it down initially and then Rex Harrison was cast. But when Harrison had to withdraw at the last minute, Cary stepped in to help out. It's a part that is a better fit for Rex Harrison. Cary may have been born in England but he was never suited to playing these stereotypical "stuffy Brit" roles. Also, despite his age at the time, it's a hard sell to believe him the kind of man women would throw over for Robert Mitchum (no spring chicken himself by this point). I like Mitchum as much as the next person, but no...just no. To date, I believe this is the lowest rating I've ever given a Cary Grant movie. He's one of my favorite movie stars so it takes a lot for me to hate a movie he's in. But this is one that I don't see myself ever watching again.

Bad title, good movie

[gilgeoIII · 8/10 · 20 June 2004]

Although I'm a film buff, I was unaware of the existence this delightful,sophisticated comedy until I saw it recently on TV in Buenos Aires, of all places. Grant, Kerr and Simmons are splendid, as usual, and Mitchum is, well, Mitchum and that's good enough for me. The plot offers the conceit of Mitchum taking Kerr away from Grant, her fusty husband, because Mitch is hot and Grant's not, a rather daring concept for 1960. Grant, of course, has a trick or two up his sleeve and alls well that ends well. The witty dialogue and snappy direction (Stanley Donen) puts to shame the witless, charmless crap churned out by Hollywood hacks for the past 25

You'd expect a movie to be able to upstage . . .

[oscaralbert · 6/10 · 7 June 2015]

. . . the stage play upon which it's based, but such apparently is not the case with THE GRASS IS GREENER. Except for a brief men-in-waders scene, this verbose exercise in talking sex to death might as well have been filmed on Broadway. Sure, there's a few touches of window dressing with have-and-have-not automobile comings and goings, as well as a walk-through of a couple high-ceilinged rooms. However, these scant minutes' worth of "real life" hardly provide an adequate antidote for what seems like hours of grueling repartee that may have sounded scintillating in a playwright's mind, but generally fall flat on stage, and pancake to paper thinness on a Big Screen. As a supposedly accommodating husband, Cary Grant looks particularly long-in-the-tooth, making his willingness to settle for his wife's sloppy seconds entirely reasonable (if not very convincing). However, Deborah Kerr's wayward wife "Hilary" character comes off as more gauche than a family's new mutt, who debuts by humping everyone's leg at an important dinner party. Any right-thinking household immediately would have such a nuisance pet "fixed," which is what most GRASS IS GREENER viewers will be hoping for Hilary.

Quite a Weekend

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 8 June 2006]

Lord Cary Grant and Lady Deborah Kerr as nobility have fallen on hard times and now they show their fabulous estate off to the tourists for pin money. One of those tourists is American millionaire Robert Mitchum who thinks the best sight he's seen is Kerr. He sweeps her off her feet and her marriage is put in danger.

Cary's not going to take this lying down and Mitchum is invited to the estate for the weekend. Along for the ride is Jean Simmons, a friend of Grant's and Kerr who wouldn't mind getting Cary on the rebound. It's quite a weekend.

Cary Grant and I assume Deborah Kerr's parts according the recent biography of Robert Mitchum were originally intended for Rex Harrison and Kay Kendall. When Kendall died, Harrison dropped out. Cary Grant's part probably would have been better in Harrison's hands. But you can't say that Grant didn't learn a lesson. He was widely quoted as saying after he turned down My Fair Lady that he wouldn't even by a ticket to see the film of Harrison didn't play Henry Higgins.

Simmons does come off the best in this comedy of manners. She's full of wisecracks and is no hypocrite about her life.

You know when you think about it the same premise was used for Sleuth with much more serious overtones. It's sometimes a small margin between comedy and drama.

Not the best work that any of this talented quartet has done.

Bright, funny adult comedy set among the titled class in England

[screenscribe505 · 26 August 2000]

The cast is obviously the star of this film, with headliners Grant, Kerr, Mitchum and Simmons each doing a fabulous job in a movie that depends very heavily on intelligent, witty dialogue strewn with double-entendres. The subject is adultery, and whether one (Grant) should make a public fuss when his wife (Kerr) is being swept off her feet by a rich American (Mitchum). Mix in a beautiful, if somewhat dotty, friend (Simmons) who makes sly observances throughout. Although set in England of the late 50s, the film doesn't show much countryside and occasionally feels a bit claustrophobic as the action takes place on a very few sets. The film feels like it has stage origins, and it plays much like Neil Simon's better film adaptations (e.g. California Suite, Barefoot in the Park). If you are a fan of any of these stars, this movie will entertain you.

A rewarding Intelligent film

[byron-116 · 7/10 · 15 June 2020]

A clever sophisticated script with double meaning dialogues make this film so very enjoyable. The first 20 minutes are rather slow, but soon enough it picks up momentum Grant, Kerr and Simmons are great as expected. Mitchum is miscast.

Age & education

[atummine · 7/10 · 10 February 2022]

If your middle age (45-65) and reasonable educated or intelligent you will enjoy this quick witted movie The acting is great and humorous. The story is true to life for most couples at this stage in there lives & marriage (mid life crisis)

Talky but Witty

[kenjha · 7/10 · 26 December 2012]

Royal British couple down on its luck raises funds by giving tours of its castle. It's fun watching the star quartet in this light comedy, amiably directed by Donen, who was right at home in this sort of material. It features some witty dialog that the stars deliver effortlessly. What keeps it from being better is that it is a bit too talky and stagy and it takes a while to really get going. The finale featuring a duel between Grant and Mitchum over Kerr is funny. Simmons seems to be having a ball in the role of a divorced woman in heat. Also amusing is Watson as the butler. Parental Warning: The opening credits include nudity!

Dated, but very good cast makes it worthwhile

[Kreme · 6/10 · 16 December 2001]

While some parts of this movie from 1960 will make someone in 2000 cringe, the fine job by the four stars, (and also Moray Walters as Sellers, the butler) makes this a movie worth seeing. Jean Simmons, in particular, is a joy to watch in her role as Hattie. Watch it for the cast and the fine job they do playing off each other.

Static but entertaining nonetheless

[fletch5 · 9/10 · 9 December 2000]

Enjoyable cast and often deliciously witty dialogue succeed enlivening this otherwise rather static comedy. It can't shake off its staginess, which results in occasional moments of slight weariness, but for the most part, "The Grass Is Greener" is classy and quite entertaining. There are some splendid scenes between the four leading actors that make you smile. Really big laughs aren't guaranteed, but the film leaves an overall good feeling.

How the British aristocracy handles with the infidelity!!!

[elo-equipamentos · 7/10 · 5 May 2020]

A sophisticated comedy based on Noel Coward novel a true British institution, where the main subject is infidelity, a well-married Lady Hilary (Deborah Kerr) lives a fancy life on castle open for public visitation when appears an eccentric American millionaire Charles Delacro (Robert Mitchum) the sexual attraction is easily noticed, his husband Victor Rhyall (Cary Grant) realize on British way, but guide by sex drive the mid-age Hilary goes to London to a fake appointment at her hairdresser pretending stays at his mate Hattie Durant, Charles and Hilary has a hidden meeting at London, the infidelity took place at several places on four days, meanwhile the flamboyant Hattie already running at Victor's house expecting the opportunity to get back his former boyfriend Victor, however decides struggles by his unfaithful wife and invites all them to an civilized chat that includes the old fashioned gun duel, sharp dialogues in a lot sense of black humor, Mitchum seemingly wasn't enough comfortable on the role, also the comedy is too prudish and doesn't aged very well, still interesting how the British aristocracy handles with this matter!!

Resume:

First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.5

Incredible cast, forgettable flick...

[moonspinner55 · 4/10 · 1 October 2005]

Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum, and Jean Simmons in a comedy from Stanley Donen...and its a dud? English couple, having had to turn their estate into a tourist spot, have their marriage tested when the wife falls for an American millionaire. Extremely odd picture serves up infidelity as something chic, with the inevitable apologies all around at the end. Donen directs this play-into-film uninventively, with stagy action and camera set-ups. Kerr retains her dignity with a schizophrenic role (her cheating spouse remains saintly!), and Mitchum is droll, but Grant phones his performance in (it seems the older he got, the more he relied on his patented charm). Some cute lines are pretty much buried in the lightweight script; there's no depth to the emotions played out, and no truth in the characters. ** from ****

Jean is the true star!

[calvertfan · 8/10 · 8 May 2002]

I first watched TGIG about a year ago, as a Cary Grant fan and ONLY a Cary Grant fan, and I positively hated it, and when I saw it was coming up on TV again I just ignored the listing. Then, two days beforehand, I for some odd reason watched a Deborah Kerr documentary (odd as I'm not a fan of hers) and they showed two small clips from TGIG, and I straight away knew that I had to give the film a second chance!

The first 15 minutes or so started off rather slow, but once Jean Simmons graces the screen, you won't want to switch off! As a Cary Grant fan, I must nobly admit that he doesn't really do much for this film. His role, while not bad, is just a bit bland and not up to the calibre of other roles he has played. So it's a nice touch to have him there, but really it could have been any fella. The real star of the show was definitely Simmons, making Hattie by far the best character. She's sly and witty and can't help making every second comment naughty; she's oh so terribly frightfully grand dahling, very cheeky, exceedingly silly, and plays off Kerr so well with the air-kisses and light banter. The funniest scene in the film was by far the one right near the end where Kerr holds up Simmons at gun-point to get her to take the mink coat off!

Oddly though, the scene that I saw on the documentary, the split-screen phonecall, was not in the movie. The phone scene was there, they were all speaking at the same time, but it wasn't done split-screen style. A little odd!

Overall, this is a fine treat for any Jean Simmons fans. I kept thinking Ingrid Bergman might have been a better choice than Kerr, possibly following on from the lovely Indiscreet. But the guy playing Sellers the Butler - he was wonderful! And don't forget the old saying, because sometimes the Butler DID do it...

THE GRASS IS GREENER is essentially a tongue-in-cheek farce about a respectable wife's blatant affair and her equally respectable husband's unorthodox countermove

[lasttimeisaw · 7/10 · 26 April 2020]

"Charles and Hilary's coup de foudre extends over the visiting hours, and when Hilary casually mentions that she intends to attend to her coiffure in London, while being entirely cognizant of her veiled motive to meet Charles there, Victor offers no objection, and one week later, he even invites Charles to their mansion for a weekend gathering, also present is Hattie Durant (Simmons), an American heiress who is Hilary's best friend and Victor's old flame, who sees the opportunity to insinuate herself into the household now that Hilary's adultery is out in the open, only she wishes!"

read my full review on my blog: cinema omnivore, thanks

A wreck you can't look away from.

[lynpalmer1 · 4/10 · 3 October 2021]

Totally implausible storyline. Unbelievable that suave, debonair Cary Grant could be in danger of losing his wife to another man, even Robert Mitchum. Equally unbelievable that his happy wife of 10 years would run off for a 4 day sex romp with a man she's known for 5 minutes. The utter civility of the whole affair is ridiculous, as is the duel sequence. Shots are fired and the women are barely interested enough to see what's happening. The double standard, although quite common in past decades, of husbands vs. Wives in matters if infidelity is maddening. You watch anyway, waiting for emotions and fireworks to kick in but they never do. The look of the film itself is beautiful, vivid colours and gorgeous sets. The story is a ridiculous wreck.