Dream Wife (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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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film failed at the box office, resulting in a loss to MGM of $456,000 ($4.33M in 2019) according to studio records.

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Goofs

Upon arrival to America, as Tarji exits the plane, we see "Star of Bukistan": written across the aircraft in English and Arabic. In the next shot, as she is descending the aircraft's stairs, it changes to "Trans World Airlines"

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Quotes

Clemson Reade: Gentlemen, I must say, I'm delighted to meet you... mustn't I?

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Connections

Featured in American Masters: Cary Grant: A Class Apart (2004)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Boring.

I saw this movie for the first time on TCM, interested because of the pairing of Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. It's really boring, with a silly, unbelievable plot.

Worse than that, Grant looks and act in such a peculiar manner. He appears to be bone-thin, with his suits just hanging on him. And his expressions and body language border on the effeminate in some sequences. This is not the dashing, debonair, sophisticated Cary Grant we've all become accustomed to seeing in so many movies over the years.

Kerr has a brief drunk scene that is unusual for her screen persona. Aside from that, there's not much to her character that can save this dreary flick.

The one thing worth noting is the movie's benign portrayal of Islamic rulers. Was it really like that 50 years ago, or were we just too ignorant to know any better?

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 June 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dream Wife

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