BEFORE: OK, a last-minute change of plans to announce - the fourth film directed by Stanley Donen had been scheduled for tonight, but I determined that it was in the wrong bracket, so to speak. I've moved it to a spot later in the month, to be next to other films where Cary Grant plays someone in the military. ("Father Goose" didn't really count as one of those, because he played a civilian conscripted into reconnaisance work for the Australian navy.) Now the (M)Archie Madness chain can continue with the straight romantic non-military comedies.
THE PLOT: Clemson Reade, a business tycoon with marriage on his mind, and Effie, a U.S. diplomat, are a modern couple. But when Clemson meets Tarji, a princess trained in all the arts of pleasing men, he decides he wants an old-fashioned girl.
AFTER: As always, I have to take the year a film was made into account when judging it - every film is a product of its time, after all. So I have to take this film as a commentary on the sexual politics of 1953, something akin to "Desk Set", perhaps. Perhaps this represents some kind of turning point in the war between the sexes, because women are depicted in two contrary roles - the American woman is an accomplished diplomat in the U.S. Dept. of State, and the other is a princess from Bukistan (not a real country, I checked) who has been raised to be subservient to men.
It's a huge coincidence that a businessman travels to this fictional country, where he happens to meet a princess and learn about her upbringing, while at the same time his fiancée is working on a deal for the U.S. to get oil from the same exact country. What are the odds? And when he proposes marriage long-distance to the princess, she comes to the U.S. and guess who the State Department assigns to look after her? Her intended groom's ex-girlfriend! Another staggering coincidence, but then again, maybe not many people in the U.S. government speak, umm, Bukistani?
This sets up, you guessed it, another love triangle. Grant's character has to have his old girlfriend translating his messages of love to his new fiancée, plus he has to work with his old girlfriend to keep the princess out of trouble, or else the U.S. might not get all that sweet oil, and gas prices will go up. (Bad news, it's 1953 and they're bound to go up sooner or later...) You don't suppose that spending time with his ex will re-ignite those feelings of love, do you? Or that courting his new fiancée without being able to even kiss her might change his mind about the process.
In the end, the two women have something of an effect on each other, resulting in the subservient princess learning to assert herself (I think in Bukistan she'll probably be stoned for that, so congrats) and the modern woman learning that she needs to make room in her busy schedule to attend to the needs of her man. And if you don't like this message, just keep reminding yourself that the film was made in 1953 - at least she got to be career-oriented most of the time.
NITPICK POINT: Filmmakers in 1953 apparently didn't understand the difference between a "Stan" country, which would likely be a Soviet Republic nation, and a Middle Eastern one, which would likely be rich in oil and have a princess. So this fictional country seems like a strange hybrid of the two.
The native dress and furniture seem to suggest a nation such as Morocco or Libya, perhaps, but if that's the case, they should have chosen another fake name. Ah, but perhaps they were referencing Pakistan, which sort of fits the bill, except it doesn't have a royal family. Either way, this showcases how little American screenwriters knew about Islamic countries at the time.
NITPICK POINT #2: Why did the film's scorer, or music department, play an instrumental sting of "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean" whenever something (allegedly) funny happened? I could see that in a maritime picture, like "Ensign Pulver" or something, but here it was completely out of place, disconnected from the storyline entirely.
Also starring Deborah Kerr (last seen in "The Grass Is Greener"), Walter Pidgeon (last seen in "Funny Girl"), Betta St. John, Eduard Franz, Richard Anderson, Les Tremayne.
RATING: 3 out of 10 sweetmeats
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