The Grass Is Greener

This staid, polite 1960 comedy about adultery serves as a career footnote for Cary Grant and a star-spotting opportunity for fans of movie icons Robert Mitchum, Deborah Kerr, and Jean Simmons. But otherwise The Grass Is Greener—based on the play by screenwriters Hugh and Margaret Williams—comes across as somewhat dry and stage-bound. Grant plays Victor, an urbane British earl whose life revolves around being a companionable family man and ideal host to tourists visiting the historic family mansion. One visitor, American oil tycoon Charles Delacro (Mitchum), is immediately smitten with Hilary (Kerr), Victor's wife of 10 years, and boldly tells her so. Hilary commences a discreet affair with the Yank, a situation that Victor is perfectly aware of but is also too civilized to make a terrible fuss about. Meanwhile, Victor's old flame, Hattie (Simmons), a chic London divorcee, wonders if she maybe won't get Victor for herself after all. Everything is resolved happily and rather uneventfully in this film from director Stanley Donen, who would subsequently reteam with Grant for the classic romantic suspense film Charade and later make a measurably sharper and wiser dramedy addressing a rocky marriage in Two for the Road. Re-released on DVD and bowing on Blu-ray, this is a strong optional purchase. (C. Cassady)