Kiss Them for Me (1957)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Stanley Donen

Writers:

Julius J. Epstein (screenplay)
Luther Davis (play)

Release Date:

10 December 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | War

Plot:

Three decorated Navy pilots finagle a four day leave in San Francisco. They procure a posh suite at the hotel and Commander Crewson...

Plot Keywords:

Pilot | San Francisco | Navy | Hotel | Candidate

Cast

Cary Grant	...	Cmdr. Andy Crewson
Jayne Mansfield	...	Alice Kratzner
Leif Erickson	...	Eddie Turnbill
Suzy Parker	...	Gwinneth Livingston
Ray Walston	...	Lt. (j.g.) McCann
Larry Blyden	...	Mississip
Nathaniel Frey	...	CPO Ruddle
Werner Klemperer	...	Lt. Walter Wallace
Jack Mullaney	...	Ens. Lewis

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:G | USA:Approved (certificate #18625) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | UK:U

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Jerry Wald Productions

Trivia:

Ray Walston's first film.

Goofs:

Continuity: Although set in 1944, when Andy Crewson and Gwinneth Livingston are on the cable car, you can see vehicles in the background through the window which are obvious early '50s models. When the cable car stops to allow passengers to disembark, there is a 1952 Pontiac on screen throughout the stop.

Quotes:

Gwinneth Livingston: Crewson, I love you very much.
Cmdr. Andy Crewson: That's the only way to love a person, otherwise it isn't worth all the trouble. I love you very much too.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 2 (1999) (TV)

Soundtrack:

How About You?

Delightful service comedy

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.