Dream Wife (1953)

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Best movie ever!

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

I gave it a "2" by virtue of it being a Cary Grant movie. Otherwise, I would have given it a "1" with a wink because it is so bad that it is good, which is the very definition of camp. There are those kind of days when a movie this awful seems just right, especially if you need something to do in order to take your mind off of anything really important in your life.I will not recap this silly piece of '50's fluff. You must watch it for yourself, but please don't blame me if you want the 100 minutes of your life back. I did warn you. Nevertheless, in my opinion, Cary Grant in anything trumps an incredible percentage of movies being made these days. One must still wonder what Cary was thinking when he agreed to appear in this mess of a movie. It would be hard to believe that he needed the money, but, who knows? I suspect that it tanked at the box office and if I wasn't too cheap to buy a premium subscription to IMDb, I could find out.Perhaps in retrospect Cary Grant, himself, provides us with the ultimate review of his movie, as he decided to retire from film-making immediately after making it.

This film is a fascinating look at our culture's post WWII attitude towards women and the Middle East. The movie showcases the big message of get-the-women-back-into-the-kitchen that followed the War. As for our attitude towards Islamic peoples, it IS all about oil as far as our government in this film is concerned. The rulers are fabulously wealthy and exotic, the portrayal of them and their customs betray Hollywood's gross ignorance of the peoples and the religion. The princess' dance (seductive and Martha Grahamish) in the opening scene says it all. The women in the court all wear short sleeves. No one bothered to find out anything about the religion, it would seem. The behavior of the 'Bakistanis' is made up only to create comic moments, no matter how inaccurate, unseemly or unrealistic.The plot is silly and implausible, but it's fun to watch Grant and Kerr in their first on screen performance.

This is not one of Cary Grant's more famous pictures and it's obvious why--it's not particularly good. In fact, through much of the film, Grant walks through his scenes as if he's trying to convey that he's a bit embarrassed at the silliness and shallowness of the film, as his performance is very subdued. In addition to Grant, Deborah Kerr stars in this comedy.Oddly, Kerr and Grant are very miscast. Grant plays a man born in Connecticut and Kerr's nationality isn't mentioned, but she works for the U.S. State Department--yet both of them are clearly British due to their accents. Why they just didn't make them Brits, I don't know.The film begins with Grant negotiating oil contracts with the king of the fictional Muslim nation of Bukhistan. While they are celebrating the deal, the king's sexy daughter entertains them with a dance that isn't all that good but frankly, given how beautiful she is, Grant doesn't seem to notice. It seems that he's a bit smitten with the girl, though he is already engaged to Miss Kerr and so he soon leaves to begin married life in America.Unfortunately, Miss Kerr is a hard-driven workaholic who really isn't all that concerned with when they'll marry or where they'll go on a honeymoon--if they go at all! She's a rather clichéd character--you know, the "working woman who has no time for love or romance". So naturally, Grant is irritated with her and decides to call off the wedding. And, to spite Kerr, he asks the king's daughter to marry him, as he likes that she's very old fashioned and submissive--and very little like the cold and almost sexless Kerr.What follows pretty much looks like a 1950s or 60s sitcom--with Kerr assigned to act as liaison between Grant and his new bride to be (since she doesn't speak English and Kerr speaks both languages). The usual sexual tension you'd expect between Kerr and Grant is all there along with some kooky adventures as the new fiancée learns what it's like to be a liberated American. And, when the film degenerates to the kooky level, you can't help but want it all to end.The bottom line is that this is a second-rate plot--too filled with lousy writing, clichés, sitcom-like plotting and dumb situations. Plus, is it at all realistic that a devout Muslim king would even allow his beloved daughter marry an infidel? Overall, this is a passable film only because it stars Cary Grant. Even in one of his poorer efforts, he's STILL Cary Grant and managed to enliven this mess enough to make it a decent time-passer.

Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr are a wonderful couple. Throwing each other line after line with Grant's usual and very his -facial expressions. The dinner scene between the two in the beginning is a blast. The whole beginning is great, funny, very promising, but it's obvious where it's going plot-wise, and with the plot the movie flops. The funny scenes become scarce, predictable and I just waited for it to end. Walter Pidgeon must be one of the best supporting actors ever. Catch the first 30 minutes or so than stop watching, or just pass. Nice idea that went wrong.PS How that "Dream wife" of his learns English so quickly is absolutely amazing! She does speak with a few mistakes, of course.