Kiss Them for Me

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.

I would like to second the opinion of that stalwart minority who appreciate the beautiful and vastly underrated performance of Suzy Parker. The majority opinion is that she was stiff, wooden, unapproachable, or simply incompetent as an actress. But one must consider the character she was playing: a beautiful, almost aristocratic young woman who suddenly finds herself carried away by a world-weary, war-weary, bitter, yet still idealistic Cary Grant. What would one expect her do in this situation: instantly fall into Grant's arms? Anyone watching this movie with an open mind and an open heart will see Ms. Parker slowly getting used to Grant's poignant style, and slowly readjusting her view of life just enough to fall in love with him. Parker eventually leaves her fiance in the movie because Grant is everything her fiance is not, and because he is willing to live his navy life as fully and as idealistically as he can; Parker's beautiful face reflects, even without words, the total impact that Grant's personality is having on her. Hers is a wonderful performance, one that was, alas, scarcely appreciated by the critics.

This film was a critical and box-office fiasco back in 1957. It was based on a novel which was later turned into a play--which flopped on Broadway. The story is about some navy officers on leave in San Francisco during WWII. They have 4 day's leave which they spend at the Mark Hopkins hotel. The film meanders a lot and none of the characters seem very real. Cary Grant is generally brilliant in comedy and drama--but here he plays a sort of wheeler dealer and he doesn't really pull it off. Tony Curtis or James Garner would have been better choices. Audrey Hepburn was initially set to play opposite Grant, but had other commitments--so Suzy parker stepped in. She had never acted before, but was America's top photographic model at the time. I think that she did a good job, considering all the pressure that she was under. Grant's pairing with Jayne Mansfield in a few brief scenes--did not really work. The Studio was trying to give her some class by acting with Grant--but the character had no substance at all.

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?