Kiss Them for Me is a 1957 American romantic comedy film directed by Stanley Donen in CinemaScope,[3] starring Cary Grant, Jayne Mansfield and model-turned-actress Suzy Parker in her first film role. The film is an adaptation of the 1945 Broadway play of the same name, itself based on Frederic Wakeman Sr.'s 1944 novel Shore Leave.[4] The supporting cast features Ray Walston, Werner Klemperer, Leif Erickson, and Larry Blyden.[3]
The three pilots are called to report back to duty but McCann wins his election and becomes a congressman whereby he grants his two friends a peace posting away from the battlefront. At a celebratory party, the three pilots encounter a drunk crewman who tells them the ship he was supposed to be on was sunk at Pearl Harbour.
Kiss Them For Me [1957]
When released in late 1957, Kiss Them for Me was greeted with negative reviews. Critics called the film "vapid" and "ill-advised"; not to mention "no good". When the film did not recoup its production costs, Twentieth Century-Fox appeared to punish cast members, especially Jayne Mansfield, whose career was tossed on the back burner by the studio.[citation needed] Mansfield was resilient, however, and after several more years of starring roles landed on the Top 10 list of Box Office Attractions for 1963.
VARIETY Film Review - November 6, 1957 - by "Kap" - submitted by Barry Martin It has taken a dozen years and a transition from printed page to stage to screen to lend commercial possibilities to Frederic Wakeman's first novel, "Shore Leave." It was moderately successful as a book and eked out a short run on Broadway as a play by Luther Davis, under the title of "Kiss Them For Me." Now, with virtually all of the serious material excised to hew closely to a comedy line and with Cary Grant and Jayne Mansfield as marquee bait, the film version produced by Jerry Wald for 20th-Fox release looks like okay boxoffice.
Walston meanwhile has been victorious in a campaign to be elected a congressman and Blyden has had little luck in the quick romance department. News that their carrier has been sunk, however, sends them back to the war, ignoring the chance for extended shore leave for Grant and Blyden via speaking tours of war plants and Walston's opportunity to become a civilian as a result of his elections. There are occasional and bitter references to wartime profiteers, an angle which dominated much of the play, but the passage of time has dulled the sting and they serve now only to slow the comedy slightly. To overcome this, Epstein has come up with sharp dialog that frequently cues solid chuckles.
NEW YORK TIMES Film Review - November 9, 1957 - by Bosley Crowther - submitted by Barry Martin A tall, slumberous miss named Suzy Parker is the one new and fascinating thing in "Kiss Them for Me," a lot of nonsense that came to the Roxy yesterday.
As the three Navy pilots Andy, McCann, and Mississip plan a four-day break in San Francisco for themselves, they set out to make it a special party. However, Commander Andy Crewson falls head over...Read more heels for the fiancée of the tycoon Eddie Turnbill, which brings about many troubles.
As the three Navy pilots Andy, McCann, and Mississip plan a four-day break in San Francisco for themselves, they set out to make it a special party. However, Commander Andy Crewson...Read more falls head over heels for the fiancée of the tycoon Eddie Turnbill, which brings about many troubles.
The party aspects of the film were a detriment to the serious aspects, rather than properly juxtaposing them. Some of the war points of the film work really well and those alone could have made a decent war film, but the constant backdrop of the party ruins a lot of the dramatic moments. Grant and Parker do a great job, but most of the other actors and characters were pointless or annoying, or like Mansfield brought down every scene they were in. Still felt overall like a waste of time though, sadly.
A talky film, adapted from a play. Grant and his love interest Suzy Parker don't seem to really kiss in this. I don't know if she didn't like him, or he didn't like her, but it looks rather awkward at times.
(director/writer: Stanley Donen; screenwriter: from the play by Luther Davis/from the book Shore Leaf by Frederic Wakeman/Julius J. Epstein; cinematographer: Milton R. Krasner; editor: Robert Simpson; music: Lionel Newman; cast: Cary Grant (Andy Crewson), Jayne Mansfield (Alice Kratzner), Lief Erickson (Eddie Turnbill), Suzy Parker (Gwenneth), Ray Walston (Mac, Lieutenanat McCann), Larry Blyden (Mississip), Nathaniel Frey (Chief Petty Officer Ruddle), Werner Klemperer (Lt. Wallace), John Doucette (Shore Patrol lieutenant), Richard Deacon (Bill Hotchkiss, Businessman), Frank Nelson (R.L. Nielson, hotel manager); Runtime: 105; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: Jerry Wald; Fox Home Video; 1957)
In the end, the real heroes run back to the front lines to escape the smug home front types and all the phoniness over patriotism. Somehow all the glibness never translates to funny, and the weak story with serious asides falls on its kisser despite its talented cast and Fox giving it a glossy look.
In this light-hearted wartime comedy, three WWII Navy men orchestrate a 4-day leave for themselves in San Francisco. once ashore, they immediately set out to make it a swinging celebration - to last as long as possible! Chief among the party-bound is Commander Andy Crewson (Cary Grant). Desperate to keep the men on the straight and narrow, Lieutenant Walter Wallace (Werner Klemperer) commits the trio to becoming spokesman at a local shipyard that's owned by a local tycoon. But before long, the rowdy Crewson is courting the shipmaker's voluptuous daughter (Jayne Mansfield) with hilarious results.
Kiss Them for Me is een Amerikaanse romantische film uit 1957 onder regie van Stanley Donen. De film is gebaseerd op een toneelstuk van Luther Davis en op het boek Shore Leave van Frederic Wakeman.
On the Town (1949) Royal Wedding (1951) Love Is Better Than Ever (1952) Singin' in the Rain (1952) Fearless Fagan (1952) Give a Girl a Break (1953) Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) Deep in My Heart (1954) It's Always Fair Weather (1955) Funny Face (1957) The Pajama Game (1957) Kiss Them for Me (1957) Indiscreet (1958) Damn Yankees (1958) Once More, with Feeling! (1960) Surprise Package (1960) The Grass Is Greener (1960) Charade (1963) Arabesque (1966) Two for the Road (1967) Bedazzled (1967) Staircase (1969) The Little Prince (1974) Lucky Lady (1975) Movie Movie (1978) Saturn 3 (1980) Blame It on Rio (1984) Love Letters (1999)
Shortly after the third season finished filming, Jean Hagen (who played Margaret, the Mother) left the show. It was explained that Margaret had died suddenly off-screen. In a four-part story arc that began in April 1957, son Rusty fell ill with the measles and Danny hired Kathy O'Hara (Marjorie Lord), a young Irish nurse, to look after him. Kathy was a widow with a little girl named Linda (then played by Lelani Sorenson). Not surprisingly, Danny quickly fell in love with Kathy, as did the kids.
The highlight of the recordings received since my last set of reviews is the vintage television musicals saved from obscurity by Video Artists International (VAI). I am sorry that several of the other items drew such negative comments, but I tried to point out whatever seemed good about them just to be fair. 2ff7e9595c
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