Please Believe Me (1950)

One of my all time favorites.

Just perfect...

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

When the story begins, Alison (Deborah Kerr) learns she has just inherited a ranch in Texas. She and those around her assume she's wealthy. On the cruise ship across the Atlantic to the States, three men all set after her. Terence (Robert Walker) is a crook and plans on bilking Alison. Jeremy (Peter Lawford) is rich and plans on winning her with his charm. And, finally, Matthew (Mark Stevens) is with the DA's office and falls for her...but also wonders if she might be a crook because she's often with Terence and his 'gentlemans gentleman' (James Whitmore)...a crook Matthew recognizes. The film started off well and I enjoyed it through the long ocean voyage. But when the film made it to land, it really sank. The plot just got dumb and the film dragged....so much so that I longed for it all to end.

Deborah Kerr plays no-nonsense British lass who inherits a ranch from her Texas pen-pal and sails for the States; aboard ship, she is wooed by three bachelors: a lawyer, a millionaire playboy, and a con-artist. Sleek, genteel comedy plays like a blue-haired drawing-room farce. Kerr chirps along happily, but there's really no character here for her--just the outline of one (we can't even be sure what she did for a living back in London). Although there are no big laughs, amiable second-banana James Whitmore steals all his scenes with little effort. Extremely minor offering, one of the very last from famed producer Val Lewton, and perhaps just glossy enough to engage Kerr's fans. ** from ****

Just goes to show you when people are under contract.A stellar cast of Deborah Kerr, Robert Walker, Peter Lawford, and Mark Stevens are put into this absolute classic stinker.Seems that during World War 11, Kerr met an old U.S. soldier who leaves her farmland that's an absolute piece of junk-just like this movie.Walker is a con-artist who thinks that Kerr has landed a lot of money and tries to woo her. On board the board, there's Lawford with his 14 million and his lawyer Stevens. Walker has his crony, James Whitmore, who is the only funny person in this.Scenes include a tie scene which is utterly ridiculous. Naturally, Walker is being financed to fleece Kerr by hoodlum J. Carrol Naish.The film becomes even more ridiculous when it's discovered that Kerr's land is worthless. Having run up debt, she tries to sell the hotel rug and of course winds up with one of our gallant 3.A weak plot is further done in by poor writing. Norman Taurog, a great director, who won the Oscar for directing "Skippy" years before is straddled with his mess. He probably needed that dog to help out with this clinker.

Alison Kirbe, an English woman who has been corresponding with a man from Texas, is suddenly notified he has died and left her his estate. Little prepares this no-nonsense woman for the adventure she is going to embark as she goes to America where her own future is assured. What she never knows is that three men who want her, for different reasons, are pulling strings to get her money while they are doing their little game behind the scenes. Or for that matter, Alison Kirbe doesn't have a clue as to the real estate value of the property she inherits.This MGM comedy directed by Norman Taurog, offers some mild fun because of the great work by the principals in this production. It served as a change of pace for its female lead, Deborah Kerr, who had done a lot of dramatic work in the English cinema, as she proved she was well suited for this type of light comedy.Deborah Kerr is seen in a luxury ship in this film, a place in which she seems a natural, as she plays another romantic lead in the remake of "An Affair to Remember". Ms. Kerr held her own playing opposite Robert Walker, Peter Lawford, and Mark Stevens. The three men in the story are perfectly cast as each brings his own type of persona to the story. Unfortunately, James Whitmore, J. Carrol Nash, and Spring Byington, who are seen in supporting roles don't have much to do in the film."Please Believe Me" marked the arrival of Deborah Kerr to her long association with Hollywood where she would leave her mark throughout the years she graced timeless classics for our enjoyment.