Walk Don't Run (1966)

During the housing shortage of the Summer Olympic Games in 1964, two men and a woman share a small apartment in Tokyo, and the older man soon starts playing Cupid to the younger pair.

Director:

Charles Walters

Writers:

Robert Russell (story), Frank Ross (story),

Stars:

Cary Grant, Samantha Eggar, Jim Hutton

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Cary Grant	...	Sir William Rutland
Samantha Eggar	...	Christine Easton
Jim Hutton	...	Steve Davis
John Standing	...	Julius D. Haversack
Miiko Taka	...	Aiko Kurawa
Ted Hartley	...	Yuri Andreyovitch
Ben Astar	...	Dimitri
George Takei	...	Police Captain
Teru Shimada	...	Mr. Kurawa
Lois Kiuchi	...	Mrs. Kurawa

Storyline

The British industrialist Sir William Rutland - "Bill" to his friends - is in Tokyo on a business trip during the time of the Summer Olympic Games there in 1964. Having arrived two days before their start, he has problems finding a hotel room. Spotting an ad posted on a British Embassy's message board, Bill goes in search of a room to sublet, and he wrangles his way into the apartment of Christine Easton, who is renting out the sitting room of her one-bedroom apartment as a bedroom for the duration of the Olympics. Bill's short-term living situation in Christine's sitting room is despite her solely having looked for a female roommate. Soon thereafter, Bill meets Steve Davis, an athlete with the American Olympic team who seems to be reluctant to disclose in which event he is competing. Like Bill, Steve has arrived in Tokyo two days early, and also like Bill, and without Christine's knowledge, he also wrangles his way into Christine's flat, to share her sitting room with Bill. Christine...

---

Plot Keywords:

olympics | embassy | housing shortage | matchmaking | remake | 

---

Taglines:

Run, don't walk to see Walk, Don't Run.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Romance

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

29 June 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Walk, Don't Run

Filming Locations:

Shimbashi, Tokyo, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Granley Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is a remake of The More the Merrier.

---

Goofs

At the race, Julius says the fastest time for the 50 km race-walk is "four hours and fifty-three minutes." At the time of the 1964 Olympics, the men's 50 km race-walk world record was actually 4:00:50. (At the time of the film's release, the record was 3:55:36.)

---

Quotes

Christine Easton: I don't know why you wanted a room, you spend all of your time outside!

---

Connections

References Charade (1963)

---

Soundtracks

"Happy Feet"
Written by Quincy Jones and Peggy Lee
Performed by The Don Elliott Voices

User Reviews

Near Classic; Breezy and Very Amusing; Cary Grant's Last Comedy

This film was probably launched as a "Cary Grant" vehicle, a remake of "The More the Merrier", but I suggest it is a major comedy for several other reasons. As William Rutland, peer and genial businessman and busybody, Grant is mature and good; but involving him in the housing shortage in Tokyo during the 1964 Olympics was a stroke of near-genius. Adding in the old storyline about a girl planning to marry for money and introducing the right man for her instead, in the persons of Samantha Egggar and Jim Hutton, was better, with Grant acting as matchmaker. But making Hutton a member of the US Olympic team and keeping his event a secret, adding in a comedic Russian spy, the smallness of their shared apartment which Grant sublets to Hutton after wangling his own way in, plus visiting a Japanese household of friend Miiko Taka with Eggar and fiancée John Standing, he of the "tall forehead" and boring personality, was I claim pure gold comedically speaking. Charles Walters directed this satirical comedy in breezy style, with story by Robert Russell and Frank Ross from Sol Saks' and Grason Kanin's inspired story. The cast included besides the principals George Takei as a Tokyo police officer, Ben Astar as Dimitri the bumbling Russian spy, skilled actor Teru Shimada as Taka's father, Lois Kiuchi as her mother, Ted Hartley as Yuri, Hutton's Russian fellow athlete-friend, and hundreds of others in bit parts and small roles. The very genial music for the film by Quincy Jones was low-key and delightful; Henry Mancini supplied songs also; the cinematography by Harry Stradling Sr. was lovely from start to finish; and the production designs by Joseph C. Wright were varied and serviceable through. Outstanding scenes in the narrative include I suggest the way in which Sir William's trousers keep disappearing, the attempt by Grant in underwear to enter the Olympic walking event to obtain a signature on a document from Hutton, the party where Grant suggest to a lady Russian shot putter that she put her derrière somewhere else than in his dinner, the trip to see Eggar's friends (the Kurawa family) and the police station scene, among others. This is a sometimes slick and always amusing and I find frequently very-involving story filled with characters that seem unusually real. It may have begun as a Cary Grant vehicle; but I find Hutton is brilliant, and it became despite a bit of over- lengthy presentation a classic as a romance, a comedy concerning overcrowding and a presentation of very memorable characters whose general theme is how one need to deal with life by means of honesty rather than by taking the seemingly easiest path. A favorite of many, many filmgoers, myself included.