Walk Don't Run (1966)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Excellent but underrated film

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Bottom Line on top: I give the film a 3 out of 10 for those viewers who watch this remake film without ever having seen the original. While you are not aware of what you are missing, I am. Therefore, I want you folks reading my review to really get this: If you end up liking "Walk, Don't Run", well then, RUN, DON'T WALK to the TCM site to purchase "The More the Merrier" to have an absolutely fabulous comedy in your film collection to watch repeatedly and share with other TCM fans.I didn't know Walk, Don't Run was a remake when I decided to DVR it. I was 20 minutes in when I recognized positively it was a remake of "The More The Merrier". I watched the entire film; but, I have to tell you, it wasn't easy to stay with it. Why? Because saying this film lacked the Charm, Warmth and Wit of the original is an understatement .. well, if I could think of a word under understatement, I'd be using it. All I kept thinking was how much weaker the script was. How Samantha Eggar was NO JEAN ARTHUR by ANY comparison. How Samantha and Jim had zero chemistry compared to Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea. How Jim Hutton held no presence in the apartment-sharing scenes whether between him and Cary Grant or between him and Samantha compared to Joel with Jean and Charles Coburn. How Jim held none of the animal attraction I felt for Joel as Joel acted his way through this film in and out of the apartment. How I missed seeing Charles Coburn's performance in scenes with Jean or Joel and with Jean and Joel===as well as his typical acting nuances with other characters throughout the entire movie. Heck, I got to a point in the original where I waited for Charles Coburn and his antics to get back on screen, not caring if it would be with Jean and/or Joel….and I'm feeling that impatience while I'm enjoying the heck out of seeing Jean and Joel's interplay.I did like some of the exchanges between Cary and Jim; and I do believe they did some ad-libs between them that amused each other. I enjoyed rewinding those scenes to watch each man's facial reactions as they played off each other. Here's a huge rub I couldn't overcome. Charles Coburn could never be mistaken by the audience for the man that Jean Arthur would fall in love with from their first encounter on, even when he turned out to be rich. Joel enters that movie and there is clearly Jean's love interest. Cary, however, is 'Cary'. I mean look at and listen to him compared to Jim Hutton. Even if a later reveal gave Jim a 'Sir' title or money…..I still go with Cary, hoping he'll somehow get himself 'single' for me, if he is married.By the way, I watched and waited the entire movie for something about Samantha Eggar to make me give a rip about her and how her role plays out. Never cared. Her mannerisms, speech cadence, sex appeal…sorry…nothing there compared to Jean Arthur's performance.

Two stars because of Cary Grant, otherwise zero stars. This film has nothing to recommend it and it is a bit sad to see god Cary reduced to acting in a routine and tired remake of an older, truly brilliant and genuinely funny film called 'The More the Merrier'. Where the latter is full of flair and wit, this remake is forced and bloated; where the latter is full of well thought-out and interesting eccentricities, this feels like a string of clichéd and unfunny jokes. Cary knows he's in a bad film and although he does a decent job, one can feel that neither his heart nor his mind is in it.My advice, don't bother with this (unless you're set on covering the entire Cary Grant filmography),but do try and get hold of the 'The More the Merrier'. I wish Cary had ended his career(one of the most glorious film careers ever) with a much better film.

Walk Don't Run (1966)In my book, Cary Grant can do no wrong, and he absolutely makes this movie. It's a bit of a 1960s farce, and is maybe exactly what everyone was reacting against with the shift in movies around this time to greater realism and pertinence. This has neither!But that's okay, it has beauty (the sets, architecture, and widescreen filming are all really fabulous) and innocence, which is weird to remember. Even sweet romances from our time, like Sleepless in Seattle, don't have the same pure innocence of this, which I think is genuine in its own way. The scene is mid-60s Tokyo, which is hard to beat for interest (and great cars). The plot? Oh, I'm not sure it actually has one that matters, except boy meets girl. It's mostly like a super high class situation comedy, and the comedy is more important than the situation. And more important than both is Cary Grant, who is in great form. Yes, Jim Hutton is there (and he's fine but forgettable) as well as the female lead, Samantha Eggar (who is not as fine, but is fine anyway, and also forgettable). But then there is Cary Grant. There are even some odd gay gaze moments, where Grant, and the camera, check out the legs or body of a man (Grant, though married, was also gay, it appears). If you catch it it's almost shocking, but perhaps the audience was so innocent, as well, it was thought of as simply funny.So: drop Cary Grant beautifully in Tokyo and create a nonsensical series of little gags, and you have it. And it's Grant's last film.

The 1964 Summer Olympics result in a tremendous housing shortage in Tokyo; so, suave British businessman Cary Grant (as William Rutland) can't get a hotel room. With no alternative, he decides to answer an apartment to share posting. Soon, silver-haired Mr. Grant is moving in with beautiful young Samantha Eggar (as Christine Easton). Grant is a little miffed when Ms. Eggar implies her boarder is too old for romance, but he's happily married. Moreover, Eggar is engaged.Next, Grant meets tall, dark, and handsome Jim Hutton (as Steve Davis), and decides he'd be better mate for Eggar than fiancé John Standing (as Julius Haversack). Grant has Mr. Hutton, an early-arriving Olympian waiting for his own accommodations to become available, make it "Three's a Crowd" in Eggar's apartment. Eventually, Grant decides to play matchmaker.The plot ("The More the Merrier") and situation are nothing new, but the cast makes it enjoyable. Grant is especially noteworthy in the scenes after he moves in to Eggar's apartment. His comic physical timing and delivery of lines is often impeccable. There was certainly no reason for Grant to retire, since he appears to have lost little due to age; and, his presence alone made the film a hit. "Walk, Don't Run" is way too long; but, spending two hours in an air-conditioned theater with Cary Grant must have been a cool way to spend time in the summer of 1966.****** Walk, Don't Run (6/29/66) Charles Walters ~ Cary Grant, Samantha Eggar, Jim Hutton, John Standing