Kiss Them for Me

Kiss Them For Me has a lot to offer - Cary Grant, Stanley Donen (Singin' in the Rain, Charade) as director, and Julius Epstein (Casablanca, Arsenic & Old Lace) as screenwriter - but it never really lives up to its potential. There are some funny moments here and there, but the film is more of a drama with comic elements, and the balance doesn't always work well. Viewers expecting one of Cary Grant's great comedic romps will be disappointed. Still, it's not a bad film, just an uneven one.

The story is about three Navy fliers, each considered a "war hero," who embark on a four-day leave in San Francisco. They secure the "Ambassador's Suite" in a fine hotel and order up tons of liquor for their large, rowdy parties, where there are three women for every man. In the end, however, they don't get to relax and momentarily forget the war as much as they have to deal with the awkwardness between the civilian world and their own. They also have to confront the reality of life after the war. Grant, in particular, realizes that he's good at what he does (flying planes), and he's giving himself to a worthy cause that's bigger than himself, neither of which he may be able to do outside of the Pacific theatre. He's offered more than one chance to turn his reputation as a war hero into a cushy job, but he sees the emptiness and boredom that waits for him in the normal American lifestyle. Instead of talking with the powerful owner of a shipbuilding company who could help him with his financial future, he sits on the floor listening to jazz and flirting with the owner's fiancée.

Unfortunately, Donen and Epstein don't seem to trust these dramatic elements and inject a poorly developed romance into the film, which undoes some otherwise good writing and leads, finally, to a flat ending. Maybe if they'd found a suitable female lead to play off Grant, the romance would have worked better, but Suzy Parker is stiff and wooden on screen, and her character grows wearisome after a while. The best that can be said for her is that she provides a little relief from the grating presence of Jayne Mansfield, who is described in the original 1957 NY Times review of the film as, "grotesque, artificial, noisy, distasteful - and dull." And that pretty much sums it up. In the original play on Broadway, in 1945, these two women characters were evidently blended into one, played "with brilliance" by a young Judy Holliday. Oh, for a woman of her grace, wit and energy in this film version. (As a side note, Judy co-starred in the play with Richard Widmark, who played Crewson.)

In the end, though, there is still Cary Grant. He saves the film from being a total waste of time. And Epstein's script has some wonderful gems scattered here and there. Also, the camaraderie between Grant and his two Navy buddies, one of them played by Ray Walston, works well most of the time. For those interested in a 50's drama about Navy fliers, you're better off watching The Bridges at Toko-Ri, with William Holden and Grace Kelly. If you want a great Cary Grant comedy, try his much better effort with Julius Epstein - Arsenic & Old Lace. If you've seen just about everything else with Cary in it, and you want something different, this one will do in a fix.

A good cast (with one major exception) pushes its way through Epstein's smart light satire. Mansfield was never better, or funnier, than she is here paired with Walston, who's a veteran who's determined to become a congressman to get out of the war. He and his buddies -- including suave con-artist Grant -- head to San Francisco on leave and start the city's swinginest party while conniving to escape the service altogether through industrial speaking tours. The only thing about this movie that's not delightful is Suzy Parker's one-note performance as Grant's love interest, which takes up too much of the film's time and slows down the pace in the second half. Walston and Mansfield have good chemistry; the gimmick is that she's set on making love to every serviceman (to do her duty for the war effort, of course) but he's a married man who, nonetheless, loves his wife. They steal the movie with little trouble from Grant (who's amusing here in the first part of the film, when not paired with his non-actor co-star.

This movie comes off as a half-baked Jane Mansfield / Cary Grant vehicle, but there are some reasons not to immediately turn it off. The plot meanders and the chemistry between the characters is practically non-existent, particularly between Grant's Crewson and Suzy Parker's Gwinneth. It feels as if even the 'war buddies' had just met when shooting began (the movie, not the war). If you've ever wondered why Jane Mansfield was considered the poor-man's Monroe, this film says it all. She has not half of the charm, comedic instinct, or for that matter sexual magnetism of Marilyn.

Having said all that, I found myself actually chuckling out loud at some of Cary Grant's slick lines. Would that we were all as quick-witted and smooth. For younger viewers, it's fun to see Ray Walston (Mr. Hand from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High"...aloha!) in his very first big-screen role. And it is my understanding that Suzy Parker was universally panned for this performance; call me unsophisticated, but I didn't think she was that bad (although her voice was later dubbed out). What do you think?

Kiss Them for Me (1957)

"Funny how everybody picks him out first." Ah, they are talking about Cary Grant, still charming and handsome and far outclassing this funny, slightly simple comedy about G.I.s on leave in San Francisco.

Not that this is exactly dumb--the screenplay is even by one of the Epstein brothers (of "Casablanca" fame), and it has a few real dingers of jokes. I was laughing in stitches--sometimes. It's silly stuff but the acting is decent. The photography is by Milton Krasner, who had a long career in the black and white years and then took to widescreen color with classic taste, just finishing "An Affair to Remember" (with Grant) the same year. The credits go on, from makeup (Ben Nye) to music (Lionel Newman) to of course the director, Stanley Donen, who had a whole string of brightly colored 1950s hits, little things like "Singin' in the Rain" and "Charade."

What I mean by all this is that there is no reason this movie isn't terrific, except maybe a weak as licorice story idea. Maybe, just maybe, this had resonance in 1957 with the millions of ex-soldiers still going to the movies, but I have a feeling even they were wanting something more, over a decade after it had all ended. It also doesn't help that one leading female star is Jayne Mansfield playing an embarrassing Marilyn wannabe. "It's natural," says Mansfield in one moment. "Except for the color."

The other leading woman is quite the opposite in nature, a stately, restrained woman played by Suzy Parker. Parker has a short resume, mostly known as a model (with Avedon as her partner in crime), and her acting reveals more knowledge of photography than movie-making. That is, she looks good. (She was actually an accomplished photographer for awhile, too.)

So, why watch this movie? For a glimpse of the times, perhaps (a kind of 1957 version of 1944, I think), including lots of great sets and some shots of San Francisco. But mostly it's Cary Grant's show, even if you aren't a fan. He's actually really good as an actor, not just as a handsome fellow. He plays his part with surprising bite, too.

So what rescues this movie from its fault lines? For one, there's a steady, subtle anti-war thread that must have been relatively new to this kind of movie. There's no disrespect to soldiers or the country, but there's disdain for wallpapering over the truths of war, the use of slogans, the aggrandizing. It's refreshing still, and coming from Grant it has special bite. For another, there is a steady peppering of witty lines from all kinds of characters (not just Grant, though he leads). I'm guessing this is where Epstein shows. And then there is the love story, which isn't so convincing, but it's still a nice addition to the bright color and busy scenes that dominate the movie. In fact, as much as Parker is a weak actress, she and Grant alone together make for some of the best parts of the film.

Grant says, "True love almost always fades, but money stays green forever." And it's his sarcasm, his not believing the slogan, that is the theme of the movie.

This film about three naval airmen on leave in San Francisco lacks a few things. Either it should have been more madcap to celebrate their enjoyment of leave. Or it should have dealt more with the demands and drama of warfare. As it is, "Kiss Them for Me" lands squarely in the middle of these two alternatives like a dud.

When Cary Grant meets Suzy Parker (whose voice was dubbed), there does seem to be chemistry--fueled by her striking looks and her cool demeanor. But she is no Bacall. As the film develops and more demands are placed on her performance, the cracks begin to show. Finally, it is revealed that she is little more than a mannequin.

The film is adapted from a play. I have a feeling that the play was more madcap. That tone just doesn't happen with the film. The ending of the film is not fulfilling or funny.

It was good to see Ray Walston in his first picture, but the film offers little else. Jayne Mansfield is over the top to the point of being silly, not sexy. Too bad.