Movie Review: Dream Wife (1953)

Genre: Romantic Comedy  

Director: Sidney Sheldon  

Starring: Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Walter Pidgeon, Betta St. John  

Running Time: 100 minutes  

Synopsis: While on a trip to the oil-rich country of Bukistan, American businessman Clemson Reade (Cary Grant) is offered a marriage to the ruler's daughter Princess Tarji (Betta St. John), who has all the attributes of a perfect traditional wife. Back in the United States, Clemson breaks off his engagement with his workaholic fiancée Effie (Deborah Kerr), a State Department official finalizing a critical oil deal with Bukistan. Tarji accepts Clemson's marriage proposal and travels to the US, with Effie is assigned to chaperone the couple.

What Works Well: Some chuckles are found in the sharp contrasts between Clemson's idealistic vision of a dream wife dedicated to her man's every need and Effie's no-nonsense, all-business, always-on-the-phone modern woman.

What Does Not Work As Well: The tin-eared plot stumbles to develop the simple be-careful-what-you-wish-for battle-of-the-sexes premise, and sacrifices all common sense and cultural continuity in search of cheap laughs. From the State Department micromanaging a courtship to Tarji's quick acclimatization, the comedy disintegrates into silliness. The foundational cracks include the supposedly suave and sophisticated Clemson being dumb enough to propose marriage across oceans to a woman he barely knows, who can't speak his language, and who comes from a culture he does not understand. Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr drift through the dross with noted disinterest.

Key Quote:

Clemson (arguing with Effie): I want a full-time wife and you want a part-time husband, it's as simple as that.



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