lol! ^PG RT @billiamsan: Is it wrong that I thought of deodorant spray before I thought of the actor? Yes #TCMParty twitter.com/Billiamsan/sta…
— TCM Party (@TCM_Party) March 19, 2013
Tuesday’s Overlooked Film: The Grass is Greener (1960)
This week’s overlooked selection is the 1960 Stanley Donen comedy feature, The Grass is Greener. The film stars an all-star cast including Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons. The film is based on the play of the same name that found success on London’s West End.
Grant and Kerr’s characters, the Rhyalls, are lording it up on a stately English manor that is facing hard financial times. In an effort to raise the money needed to maintain the estate, they decide to open up the house for tourists.
Among the people to come in are the “stereotypically” newly minted American tycoon Charles Delacro (Mitchum) and the Earl Rhyall’s equally annoying ex-sweetheart, American heiress Hattie Durant (Simmons). What follows is a comedy of manners (of sorts) in which the four principal characters find themselves entangled in a ‘love square.’
The film received mixed reviews at the time of its release and was a domestic box office disappointment. While it is admittedly not the best work of any of the folks involved, for fans of any of the actors, it is definitely worth your time.
Check out the trailer here.
PLEASE BE SURE TO VISIT TODD MASON’S BLOG FOR OTHER OVERLOOKED SELECTIONS!
'Tis the Season! Christmas Pix, Vol. 9
Do not be fooled by the poster, there is nothing leery about Holiday Affair. But it is a cute film centered around a love triangle with a little boy and a train set for good measure.
What strikes many people is the fact that it stars Robert Mitchum (yeah really) and Janet Leigh; it was very early in her career and over 10 years prior to her ill-fated turn as Marion Crane in Psycho. Not a box office success when it was first released in 1949, this film is not generally ranked among a Christmas classic, but it definitely is worth a look-see. It has since been rediscovered as a cinematic gem from a time long gone. What also probably aids its modern successes is the presence of Leigh and Mitchum, now household names in the world of Classic Hollywood.
You will be happy that you did.
