A Esposa Ideal (1953)

A business tycoon decides to wed a Middle Eastern princess whose customs dictate the pair must live apart for several months before marrying; even more complications settle in when the tycoon's ex-fiancée is assigned to chaperone the pair.

Director:

Sidney Sheldon

Writers:

Sidney Sheldon, Herbert Baker

Stars:

Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Walter Pidgeon

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cary Grant	...	Clemson Reade
Deborah Kerr	...	Effie
Walter Pidgeon	...	Walter McBride
Betta St. John	...	Tarji
Eduard Franz	...	Khan of Bukistan
Buddy Baer	...	Vizier
Les Tremayne	...	Ken Landwell
Donald Randolph	...	Ali
Bruce Bennett	...	Charlie Elkwood
Richard Anderson	...	Henry Malvine
Dan Tobin	...	Mr. Brown
Movita	...	Rima
Gloria Holden	...	Mrs. Jean Landwell
June Clayworth	...	Mrs. May Elkwood
Dean Miller	...	George

Storyline

Clemson Reade, a business tycoon with marriage on his mind, and Effie, a U.S. diplomat, are a modern couple. Unfortunately there seems to be too much business and not enough pleasure on the part of Effie. When Clemson meets Tarji, a princess trained in all the arts of pleasing men, he decides he wants an old fashioned girl. Princess Tarji's father is king of oil-rich Bukistan. Because of the oil situation and to maintain good political relations during the courtship between Clemson & Tarji, the State Department assigns a diplomat to maintain protocol until the wedding. Effie!

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Plot Keywords:

princess | fiance | new york city | middle east | cross cultural relations | 

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Taglines:

M-G-M's HILARIOUS HIT! (original print ad - mostly caps)

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Eduard Franz as "Khan of Bukistan" is speaking gibberish as an English "translation" scrolls across the bottom of the screen at the beginning of the film.

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Goofs

In the scene where Effie is served Arak by the Khan, she is informed that it is a wine made from rice. In fact, Arak is an liquorice-flavored liquor made from distilled late-harvest grapes mixed with aniseed.

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Quotes

Effie: Clem...
Clemson Reade: [softly] What?
Effie: I am afraid that we'll have to postpone the wedding till after the oil deal is signed.
Clemson Reade: [alarmed] What?
Effie: I don't see any other way. Truly I don't. There are so many things to get done. Meetings, conferences, reports, and all of them so urgent.
Clemson Reade: So is our wedding.
Effie: But I mean *really* urgent.

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Connections

Referenced in What's My Line?: Deborah Kerr (1953)

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Soundtracks

Ghi Ti, Ghi Ti, Ghi Ti
By Charles Wolcott and Jamshid Sheibani

User Reviews

One of my all-time favorite lines

Only in the 1950s could a movie like Dream Wife be made! Cary Grant is engaged to strong, career-woman Deborah Kerr, but he expresses his desire for a more meek, stereotypically feminine companion. He breaks off the engagement and decides to marry Betta St. John instead. However, since Betta is a real princess, the State Department assigns Deborah to act as official chaperone between the two until the wedding!

While the plot is pretty thin, the best part of this film is the banter between Cary and Deborah. They have fantastic comic timing together, and they reprised their pairing later in An Affair to Remember and The Grass is Greener. One of my all-time favorite lines comes from this film: the pair is arguing about all the things they hated about each other when they were a couple, complaints they're now allowed to voice since they're not on good behavior anymore. Cary says he always hated Deborah's perfume. "My perfume? But you always used to ask me to put it on!" Deborah exclaims. He replies, "You always wore it! What was I supposed to do, ask you to take it off?" If you're laughing, rent the hilarious The Grass is Greener. Dream Wife has a few funny lines, but it probably won't end up being your favorite old movie.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 December 1953 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

A Esposa Ideal

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,565,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1