Cammina, non correre

It was on TV during lockdown, nothing else on, and I was busy pottering around but got quickly drawn in. There are some absolutely masterful moments, tiny details in the acting and scripting that are reminiscent of a bygone age of film in which love honesty kindness and trust were still understood. The acting is superb throughout and they all have immense timing and patience to make it even funnier. An unexpected joy.

Cary Grant's last film is an enjoyable, albeit entirely unnecessary, remake of the classic The More The Merrier. That film starred Joel McCrea, Jean Arthur, and Charles Coburn. Grant play the Coburn role as an older man who tries to play matchmaker to a younger couple he is sharing an apartment with. The couple here are Jim Hutton and Samantha Eggar. Poor substitutes for screen legends McCrea and Arthur but both are likable. The original took place during WW2 so it used the wartime housing shortage as part of the plot. This moves things to Tokyo during the Summer Olympics in order to keep the plot intact of Grant not being able to find a room anywhere else. On the whole, it's an amusing movie but probably much less so if you've seen the original. This is pretty much a scene-for-scene remake with few changes. Grant's a rough fit for the role as it is intended but he does give it his best, using his charm and wonderful screen persona to great effect. He's certainly the best thing about the film and, at all times, my attentions were on him rather than his co-stars. Obviously I would recommend you see the classic 1943 film over this. But, if you have seen that, there's no harm in giving this one a try to see a different cast approach the same story. As far as last films of great stars goes, this could be worse. Just look at some of Grant's contemporaries and you'll see some truly sad ways to end a career. Cary wisely knew to get out while the getting was good. That's a lesson a lot of stars could still learn today.

This film was probably launched as a "Cary Grant" vehicle, a remake of "The More the Merrier", but I suggest it is a major comedy for several other reasons. As William Rutland, peer and genial businessman and busybody, Grant is mature and good; but involving him in the housing shortage in Tokyo during the 1964 Olympics was a stroke of near-genius. Adding in the old storyline about a girl planning to marry for money and introducing the right man for her instead, in the persons of Samantha Egggar and Jim Hutton, was better, with Grant acting as matchmaker. But making Hutton a member of the US Olympic team and keeping his event a secret, adding in a comedic Russian spy, the smallness of their shared apartment which Grant sublets to Hutton after wangling his own way in, plus visiting a Japanese household of friend Miiko Taka with Eggar and fiancée John Standing, he of the "tall forehead" and boring personality, was I claim pure gold comedically speaking. Charles Walters directed this satirical comedy in breezy style, with story by Robert Russell and Frank Ross from Sol Saks' and Grason Kanin's inspired story. The cast included besides the principals George Takei as a Tokyo police officer, Ben Astar as Dimitri the bumbling Russian spy, skilled actor Teru Shimada as Taka's father, Lois Kiuchi as her mother, Ted Hartley as Yuri, Hutton's Russian fellow athlete-friend, and hundreds of others in bit parts and small roles. The very genial music for the film by Quincy Jones was low-key and delightful; Henry Mancini supplied songs also; the cinematography by Harry Stradling Sr. was lovely from start to finish; and the production designs by Joseph C. Wright were varied and serviceable through. Outstanding scenes in the narrative include I suggest the way in which Sir William's trousers keep disappearing, the attempt by Grant in underwear to enter the Olympic walking event to obtain a signature on a document from Hutton, the party where Grant suggest to a lady Russian shot putter that she put her derrière somewhere else than in his dinner, the trip to see Eggar's friends (the Kurawa family) and the police station scene, among others. This is a sometimes slick and always amusing and I find frequently very-involving story filled with characters that seem unusually real. It may have begun as a Cary Grant vehicle; but I find Hutton is brilliant, and it became despite a bit of over- lengthy presentation a classic as a romance, a comedy concerning overcrowding and a presentation of very memorable characters whose general theme is how one need to deal with life by means of honesty rather than by taking the seemingly easiest path. A favorite of many, many filmgoers, myself included.

They don't make comedies like this anymore. It's got a bit of the mad-cap silliness of the era, as though people could be ridiculous and think it somehow made sense. God, sometimes I wish that were so. The characters bicker constantly, yet that never seems to stop them from getting along. Wouldn't it be fun if life were really like that? This film makes it seem as though it could be. It's about three westerners who share the Tokyo apartment of one of them during a short-lived housing crunch arising from the '64 Olympics. It's a very slight premise, but it serves to propel a gem of a light-hearted comedy. The humor is droll, dry, witty, and acerbic. But, there's a sense of we're-all-in-this-together that keeps the film on the fun side of the line that divides confusion from conflict. If you like "The Gilmore Girls," but would prefer a little more sedate pace, you'll love this one.

This film is an absolute must see for all Cary Grant fans !!! It is a superb twist of romance and comedy.. although surprisingly it's not Cary whose on course for the romance, rather he plays the matchmaker !! and wonderful he is at it too !!!

There are many highlights to this film... watch out for the way Cary talks his way into sharing Samantha Eggar's flat, and when he runs in the race in his boxer shorts and vest !!! (a hilarious moment) and finally the most heart rending moment when he's outside at the end of the film and he lets the shutters go up between the two lovebirds, allowing them to be be together !!! Will definitely make you say aww !!!

This film is absolutely brilliant and definitely in my top 5 Cary Grant films !!

a must for Cary Grant fans !!!!