The Grass Is Greener (Universal Pictures) (1960)

Deborah Kerr Rejects Film Producing Job, Says Shed Rather Stick With Acting (Current) Deborah Kerr is recommending a new respect for some of those old copy-book maxims. “Not that people should start living according to cliches,” she said. “But some of the maxims have a realistic point to make.” The subject came up during production of ‘The Grass Is Greener,” CUMLENTIY Jab LCi neers Theatre, and in which she co-stars with Cary Grant, Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons for UniversalInternational release. Miss Kerr was trying to explain, “for the umpteenth time,’ as she put it, why she has no intention of becoming a producer. “This all started,” she explained, “when someone found out I wanted to make Somerset Maugham’s ‘Cakes and Ale.’ The next thing I knew, I was being ‘quoted’ as saying I was going to form my own independent production company and star in ‘Cakes and Ale’ myself.’’ Being erroneously quoted is not a new experience for movie stars. In this case, however, the story was upsetting because it cut across a fundamental principle. : 2 TRE SSBASS S GREENER” {LF} : STANLEY DONEN, producer-director of "The Grass Is Greener,"" new Universal-International comedy release costarring Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons. New Film Garces Offer Relief From Present Day Woes (Advance) After years of drought, Hollywood is again harvesting a crop of hilarious comedies. And the man who has made some of the top laugh items thinks there will never again be a comedy famine in pictures. “Entertainment tastes are varied,’ producer-director Stanley Donen admits, ‘‘but there’s always room for good comedies. They weren’t being made for a while, probably because the world situation was such that no one thought the public was in the mood for anything too lighthearted. But now I think we’ve finally realized that the opposite is true.” Donen, who produced and directed the sparkling new Technicolor-Technirama comedy “The Grass Is Greener” for UniversalInternational release, firmly believes that the ability to make people laugh is one of the film medium’s greatest assets. The film, a Grandon Production, comes Theatre. “TI guess the pendulum has now swung way around,” Donen says. “There was a time when some producers and studio executives felt that things were so grim that we just couldn’t make fun of the everyday life we lead. Now, they admit that people just can’t go around being glum all the time.” “The Grass Is Greener,’ which stars Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons, is a champagne comedy about life among Engiland’s titled classes. Story, embellished by Noel Coward’s music, is based on the great London stage success by Hugh and Margaret Williams who also wrote the screenplay. “T don’t believe in most of those copy-book things,’’ Deborah explained, ‘‘but there’s one I really adhere to. That’s the one about the shoemaker sticking to his last. To me, that makes good sense. “I’m an actress. I want to act. I don’t think I should also try to be a producer, or a writer, or anything else in the movie business. I think I should stick to acting.” However, she pointed out, this doesn’t necessarily mean that she wouldn’t like to have her own production company, as many stars now do because of the possible tax savings. But such a company, she insisted, would have Deborah Kerr on the payroll as an actress, not as a producer. “If Ido have my own company,” she declared, ‘‘T’ll hire a producer who knows his business and let him run it. I think actors and actresses should stick to acting. It’s what they know and what they do best. I don’t know anything about producing and I’m not sure I want to learn—at least, not yet.” “The Grass Is Greener’ was brought to the screen by producerdirector Stanley Donen. The Technicolor-Technirama comedy is based on the London stage success of the same title and was scenarized by playwrights Hugh and Margaret Williams. Music in the production is by Noel Coward. Technirama Camera Goes Railroading (Current) A Technirama camera was mounted on a railroad locomotive for the first time for a key scene in producer-director Stanley Donen’s ‘‘The Grass Is Greener.’’ The Universal-International release starring Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons is now at the...................Theatre. Bulky photo equipment was lashed to the locomotive and pointed to the rear of the train by Donen to show the receding station as the train pulled away and emphasize the loneliness of Grant, alone on the platform. First use of the remarkable camera for this type of shot was followed by Donen’s use of same apparatus on a specially constructed boat for fishing scenes with Grant and Mitchum. “The Grass Is Greener,’ a Grandon production, is Technicolor film version of the great London stage success by Hugh and Margaret Williams who also collaborated on screenplay. DEBORAH KERR shines brightly in costarring role with Cary Grant, Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons in "The Grass Is Greener," Universal-International comedy release produced and directed by Stanley Donen. (Still No. 1902-R363) MEMORABLE moment in "The Grass Is Greener" features Cary Grant and (26) Deborah Kerr, co-starring with Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons in new comedy sensation produced and directed in Technicolor-Technirama for Uni versal-International release. (Still No. 1902-R859) Robert Mitchum Is Known Backstage As Hollywood s Modest Hardboiled Softie (Advance) “Man,” said Robert Mitchum with feeling, ‘‘the only thing I really care about is if I’ve got enough cash in my pocket for a drink or a pack of cigarettes. Am I wealthy? Well, if I’ve got enough dough on me for that, I guess I’m wealthy.” The sleepy-eyed he-man of the movies made that observa tion during production of the new comedy, “The Grass Is Greener” which comes...............----:-----to the toast ea tates. Theatre. Mitchum, who co-stars with Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr and Jean Simmons for Universal International release, was obviously bored with the subject of finances. Money is something he doesn’t think about; in fact, Mitchum’s whole relaxed philosophy of life is not to get overly concerned about anything. The legend has been created, for example, that he’s a violent, monosyllabic personality. Nothing could be further from the truth. “Me, violent?” he drawled in surprise. “I hate violence. I’m a placid guy. I wouldn’t hurt a fly. Ask my wife, she ought to know.” The legend, apparently, has its foundation in the fact that Mitchum has lived a life that has been spectacular, and punctuated by troubles of various kinds, since he ran away from school at the age of 16. It has been a rugged life— and from it Mitchum has evolved a philosophy of doing what he wants, when he wants to do it, as long as he isn’t hurting anyone else in the process. Newspapermen, accustomed to having film stars put their best face forward, have frequently been surprised by Mitchum’s “take me as you find me” attitude. This doesn’t mean that Mitchum regards himself as that ephemeral being commonly called a movie star. His success is still something of a surprise to him, but he doesn’t attempt to analyze it. Experts Cited For Grass Is Greener’ (Current) For the first time in film history, the list of technical advisers on a feature is longer than the list of players. The film, now at CICS seececee vende Theatre, is producerdirector Stanley Donen’s Technicolor-Technirama “‘The Grass Is Greener,” starring Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons for UniversalInternational release. In addition to the four stars, only featured player Moray Watson receives any screen credit in “The Grass Is Greener.” There are, however, a total of six listed technical advisers. To insure the authenticity of various sequences, Donen hired advisers on mushroom growing, trout fishing, duelling, railroading, operating tourist attractions and on hotel procedure. Screenplay for the new film, a Grandon production, was written by Hugh and Margaret Williams who made adaptation from their great London stage success. Background music is by Noel Coward. Produced and directed by Stanley Donen, ‘‘The Grass Is Greener” brings Mitchum as a romantic, easy-going Texas oillionaire. Hugh and Margaret Williams wrote the screenplay, an adaptation of their London stage success. Picture, a Grandon Production, is filmed in Technicolor-Technirama. SIMMO Grass Is Greener’ Universal-International comedy release co-starring Deborah Kerr and Robert Mitchum directed and produced by Stanley Donen in Techni color-Technirama. New Screen Comedy Made Enchanting By Noel Coward Music (Current) Some of the most light-hearted and popular music of the last 30 years comes flooding back into memory as a result of a novel experiment by producer-director Stanley Donen for his new Technicolor-Technirama comedy ‘The Grass Is Greener.” Instead of following the normal procedure and hiring a composer to create a new musical score for the sparkling comedy which stars Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons now-al, thea. 2 peer Theatre, Donen elected to revive much of the gay music of Noel Coward. “It just seemed like the perfect combination,’ Donen reports. “The) Grass*-is1Greener,” ia Grandon Production for Universal-International release, is a funny story of life among England’s landed gentry—specifically what happens when one of England’s famous stately homes is opened to the public as a tourist attraction. One of Coward’s most popular novelty tunes, “Stately Homes of England,” actually tells the background of the story. “Actually,” Donen says, ‘we used eight of Noel’s old songs and he wrote one new theme that runs through the picture. When I went over the list of numbers that he submitted as his original suggestions, I was amused. It was as if the original play by Hugh and Margaret Williams had been written as a projected musical using the Coward melodies.” In addition to “Stately Homes,” the Coward music heard in ‘‘The Grass Is Greener’ includes such evergreens as “T’ll Follow My Secret Heart,’ ‘Mad About the Boy,” “The Party’s Over Now” and “Mad Dogs and Englishmen.” Others are “Sigh No More,” ‘“Poor Little Rich Girl” and “Room With a View.” {Still No. 1902-44) Why Moviegoers Want Top Star Talent Explained By Hollywood s Stanley Donen (Current) “Shakespeare is often quoted,” producer-director Stanley Donen contends, “but he never took his own advice—at least, not in the way that advice generally is interpreted nowadays.” Donen’s observations were touched off by the latest in a recurrent series of contentions from various sources that “the play’s the thing’? and that Hollywood should concentrate more on screenplays than on screen players. Donen, whose latest comedy “The Grass Is Greener,’ now at Chee ee Theatre, boasts no less than four top stars — Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons— takes strong exception. “It’s all very well to say ‘the play’s the thing,’’”’ he comments. “It’s a basic theory that no one will really disagree with because it’s axiomatic that if you haven’t got a good story to start with, you might as well not make the picture. But it’s absolute nonsense to believe that the drawing power of certain top stars isn’t mighty important in figuring your chances on any given picture.” Movies, Donen noted, have existed for years on the strength of star names. His Grandon production ‘The Grass Is Greener,” a TechnicolorTechnirama comedy being released by Universal-International, is cited by Donen as a case in point. “It’s a comedy dealing with what happens when an English stately home is opened to the public and an American tourist falls in love with the lady of the house. “Theoretically, we could have filmed it with just about anyone. But look how much funnier it is when the main characters are people like Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons.” Page 5