Film Evaluation: Dream Spouse (1953)



Style: Romantic Comedy  

Director: Sidney Sheldon  

Working Time: 100 minutes  

Synopsis: Whereas on a visit to the oil-rich nation of Bukistan, American businessman Clemson Reade (Cary Grant) is obtainable a wedding to the ruler’s daughter Princess Tarji (Betta St. John), who has all of the attributes of an ideal conventional spouse. Again in the US, Clemson breaks off his engagement along with his workaholic fiancée Effie (Deborah Kerr), a State Division official finalizing a crucial oil take care of Bukistan. Tarji accepts Clemson’s marriage proposal and travels to the US, with Effie is assigned to chaperone the couple.

What Works Properly: Some chuckles are discovered within the sharp contrasts between Clemson’s idealistic imaginative and prescient of a dream spouse devoted to her man’s each want and Effie’s no-nonsense, all-business, always-on-the-phone fashionable girl.

What Does Not Work As Properly: The tin-eared plot stumbles to develop the straightforward be-careful-what-you-wish-for battle-of-the-sexes premise, and sacrifices all widespread sense and cultural continuity looking for low-cost laughs. From the State Division micromanaging a courtship to Tarji’s fast acclimatization, the comedy disintegrates into silliness. The foundational cracks embody the supposedly suave and complex Clemson being dumb sufficient to suggest marriage throughout oceans to a girl he barely is aware of, who cannot converse his language, and who comes from a tradition he doesn’t perceive. Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr drift by way of the dross with famous disinterest.

Key Quote:

Clemson (arguing with Effie): I desire a full-time spouse and also you desire a part-time husband, it is so simple as that.

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