Kiss Them for Me (1957)

In 1944, three Navy pilots stationed in Hawaii and a P.R. officer go on a 4-day leave to San Francisco where they party with a good crowd in the executive suite of a busy hotel.

Director:

Stanley Donen

Writers:

Julius J. Epstein (screenplay) (as Julius Epstein), Luther Davis (play)

Stars:

Cary Grant, Jayne Mansfield, Leif Erickson

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Cary Grant	...	Cmdr. Andy Crewson
Jayne Mansfield	...	Alice Kratzner
Leif Erickson	...	Eddie Turnbill
Suzy Parker	...	Gwinneth Livingston
Ray Walston	...	Lt. (j.g.) McCann
Larry Blyden	...	Mississip
Nathaniel Frey	...	CPO Ruddle
Werner Klemperer	...	Lt. Walter Wallace
Jack Mullaney	...	Ens. Albert Lewis

Storyline

Three decorated Navy pilots finagle a four day leave in San Francisco. They procure a posh suite at the hotel and Commander Crewson, a master of procurement, arranges to populate it with party people. Lieutenant Wallace is trying to get the pilots to make speeches to rally the homefront at shipyard magnate Eddie Turnbill's plants, but they're tired of the war and just want to have fun. While Crewson begins falling in love with Turnbill's fiancée Gwinneth Livingston, he tries to ignore the distant call of war.

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Plot Keywords:

pilot | party | navy | hotel | nightclub | 

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Taglines:

They tried so hard ... so very hard ... not to fall in love !

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 December 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

El beso del adiós

Filming Locations:

Fairmont Hotel - 950 Mason Street, Nob Hill, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,945,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jerry Wald Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Color by Deluxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The aircraft carrier seen at the end of the film is the USS Boxer (CV 21). It wasn't commissioned until 16 April 1945 so it never saw service in World War II, but did see extensive service in the Korean War.

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Goofs

The cargo aircraft said to be landing at "Honolulu-1944" in the opening scenes is a Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter, the prototype of which first flew on November 9, 1944, and the first production versions of which did not enter Air Force service until 1947.

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Quotes

Gwinneth Livingston: Crewson, I love you very much.
Cmdr. Andy Crewson: That's the only way to love a person, otherwise it isn't worth all the trouble. I love you very much too.

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Connections

Featured in Censura: Alguns Cortes (1999)

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Soundtracks

Temptation
(uncredited)
Music by Nacio Herb Brown

User Reviews

Delightful service comedy

A good cast (with one major exception) pushes its way through Epstein's smart light satire. Mansfield was never better, or funnier, than she is here paired with Walston, who's a veteran who's determined to become a congressman to get out of the war. He and his buddies -- including suave con-artist Grant -- head to San Francisco on leave and start the city's swinginest party while conniving to escape the service altogether through industrial speaking tours. The only thing about this movie that's not delightful is Suzy Parker's one-note performance as Grant's love interest, which takes up too much of the film's time and slows down the pace in the second half. Walston and Mansfield have good chemistry; the gimmick is that she's set on making love to every serviceman (to do her duty for the war effort, of course) but he's a married man who, nonetheless, loves his wife. They steal the movie with little trouble from Grant (who's amusing here in the first part of the film, when not paired with his non-actor co-star.