Walk Don't Run

Amazon.com

This extraordinarily sweet--but thankfully not sappy--film proves once and for all that Cary Grant was devastating, period. Young, mature, or in his golden years. The reason Ian Fleming modeled James Bond after Grant is startlingly clear. Grant was 62 when this film, set during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, was made. Grant plays Sir William Rutland, who is caught in the crowded rush--without a place to stay. He finds himself subletting an apartment along with Christine Easton (Samantha Eggar), who's in town to be near her fiancé, a British diplomat. Also sharing their tight quarters is Olympic competitor Steve Davis (Jim Hutton), who's evasive about his sport. Soon Sir William, a distinguished businessman, finds himself playing Cupid to his young housemates.

The movie is a comedy of clever words, of misunderstandings, and, surprisingly, of physical humor. Grant, stripping down to boxers and a T-shirt, takes to the Tokyo streets, participating in "the event" to the incredulity of those around him and to the amusement of the audience. It's a priceless and very funny scene--and the film is full of such joys. Grant lived another 20 years, but this was his final film and a fine cheerio it is indeed. --N.F. Mendoza

Description

During the housing shortage of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, two men and a woman share a single apartment and the older man plays Cupid to the other two. Stars Academy Award winner Cary Grant in his last film role.

Customer Reviews:

An excellent romantic comedy with a twist.......2007-08-23

Cary Grant is known to romance the leading ladies in most of his movies with few exceptions, and this is one of them. This may be appropriate since he was 62 when this movie was made. The twist in the movie is that he sees a younger version of himself in a young American Olympian named Steve Davis (Jim Hutton) whom he meets during the 1964 Olympic Games.

Cary Grant plays William Rutland a charming businessman; during one of his business trips to Tokyo, he persuades a young woman named Christine Easton (Samantha Eggar) to sublet her apartment, when he could not find a place to stay in the city. The two become unwilling roomies because of the gender difference. While the Christine is not too thrilled with the arrangement she tries to adjust with the new situation, but it gets a little more complicated when Rutland sublets his apartment to Steve Davis. Rutland plays cupid on two young roommates in spite of their incompatible personalities, and Christine's engagement to a boring diplomat named Julius Haversack (John Standing). Rutland meddles in the young couple's romantic problems, and goes an extra distance to pretend as a competitor of 20 kilometer walk to talk to Jim during his event, and tries to heal the differences between the young lovers. The best moments of the film are Rutland's walk in his boxer shorts and a T-shirt avoiding the police and the game regulators; and sharing the cramp apartment with the two young people. Rutland makes references to his two earlier movies; Charade and An Affair to Remember by singing the theme songs.

CharadeAn Affair to Remember

Cary Grant movie DVD.......2007-01-11

This is one of my all time favorite movies. I think Cary Grant is at his best in this, his last movie. He always cracks me up. The movie is in widescreen and the colors and sound are clear and rich. It is well worth the money.

Unexpectedly Hilarious.......2006-10-30

Walk, Don't Run was a delightful surprise. It was Cary Grant's last movie, in which he proves that he's not only gorgeous and charming, but also a king of comedy. Whether searching for a pair of elusive pants, playing with an ubiquitous couple of Japanese children, or "dropping by" one of the Olympic races, there's no one funnier than him. A very good movie and an unforgettable star.

"I wouldn't know what to do in the bathroom all day!".......2004-12-06

In 1966, Cary Grant retired from his distinguished 34-year acting career after starring in the lighthearted romantic comedy "Walk, Don't Run". Set in Tokyo, Japan during the 1964 Olympics, Sir William Rutland (Cary Grant, 1904-1986), a very wealthy British industrialist, arrived in Tokyo two days ahead of schedule and the lavish Okura Hotel (where he is supposed to stay) has no rooms available. In fact, the Olympics have placed a giant "no vacancy" sign across the entire city of Tokyo. Frustrated, William goes to the British Embassy to seek out assistance in locating a room. There, he is seen by the snobbish & indifferent Julius P. Haversack (John Standing) whose attitude changes towards Sir William upon discovering who Sir William is. Sir William wanders out of Mr. Haversack's office and finds a bulletin board with a advertisement to share an apartment. Desperate to have a place to sleep, Sir William grabs the advertisement and travels to its address. Upon arriving, the woman who rents the apartment, Christine Easton (Samantha Eggar), doesn't want to share her apartment with a man, but is unable to convince Sir William to leave and reluctantly allows him to stay. The following day, while Sir William is conducting business with a Japanese company, he comes across an American busily taking pictures and making notes about the building's architecture. The American, Steve Davis (Jim Hutton, 1934-1979), is part of the American Olympic team, but is reluctant to discuss which event he is in. Also, insufficient room in the Olympics' housing has left Steve homeless, so he immediately latches upon Sir William to stay with him. Of course, Miss Easton is not particularly happy to discover that Sir William has sublet his part of the apartment, but again very reluctantly lets Steve stay as well. Of course, this creates even more havoc for everyone to try and use the apartment's single bathroom. Over the course of the film, it is revealed that Miss Easton is engaged to the unpleasant Mr. Haversack at the British Embassy, but Sir William would like to see the single Steve woo Miss Easton instead.

Other memorable characters in the film include Miss Easton's friend Aiko Kurawa (Miiko Taka), Steve's Russian friend & fellow Olympian Yuri Andreyovitch (Ted Hartley), the dimwitted KGB agent Dmitri (Ben Astar, 1909-1988), Aiko's parents (Teru Shimada, 1905-1988, and Lois Kiuchi) and the young boy & girl that often sit on the stairs inside the apartment building (Craig Matsunaga & Patty Siu). Fans of "Star Trek" will no doubt recognize George Takei playing the police captain. George Takei is known more for his repeated role as Lt. Hikaru Sulu in the original "Star Trek" series from 1966 to 1969 and the first six "Star Trek" films between 1979 and 1991. Memorable scenes in the film include Sir William at the Okura Hotel, Sir William meeting Mr. Haversack, Sir William arriving at Miss Easton's apartment, their first morning together, Steve meeting Miss Easton, the night at the Japanese restaurant (where Sir William proceeds to eat ham & eggs), the boat trip, Aiko's family, the police station, the race and the closing scenes. Overall, I rate "Walk, Don't Run" with 4 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys a fun & lighthearted romantic comedy.

Extremely lightweight romantic-comedy.......2004-07-03

I'm just old enough to remember the minor controversy that was stirred up by the allegedly "risque" premise of the 70's TV show "Three's Company." It's hard to believe that once upon a time the idea of unmarried men and women simply sharing living arrangements together was supposed to be shocking. If you keep that dated sentiment in mind while watching "Walk, Don't Run" then you might be able to understand why this this movie was even made.

Essentially, what we have here is a "comedy" based on the alleged hilarity that ensues when a young woman shares her Tokyo apartment with two men during the 1964 summer Olympics. Pretty Christine Easton (Samantha Egger), a British expatriate living in Japan, had advertised for a roommate, but forgot to specify a gender preference. As a result, Sir William Rutland (Cary Grant), a visiting British businessman answers her ad and, ignoring her protests of the impropriety of a man living with her, promptly pays his share of the rent and moves right in. The next day while Sir William is attending to his business he meets Steve Davis (Jim Hutton), an American architect who is also an Olympic athlete (although what event he is participating in is kept a secret until near the end of the movie). For reasons that are never explained, Sir William befriends Steve, learns that Steve has no place to stay, and that leads to Steve also moving into Christine's tiny apartment. Sir William then decides that Christine's British fiance is a bore, who doesn't deserve such a "babe" as Christine, and so he starts manuevering Steve and Christine to get together.

If you don't know that the idea of two men sharing an apartment with a woman was considered shocking in 1966 then most of the "comedy" of this movie will fly right over your head. The "comic" premise of this movie is based on showing how unmarried people can co-exist in a cramped apartment. The movie wastes an inordinate amount of time around the idea of "bathroom scheduling" by showing how Sir William trys to squeeze in his bathroom time in between Christine's. It's overlong and boring the first time, but the film then repeats it by doing it again when Steve joins the apartment. Grant's amazing gifts as a comedic actor are the only thing that make those scenes watchable and even then just barely so.

This was Cary Grant's last movie and it's a shame that such a talent left on such a pedestrian note. However, "Walk, Don't Run" probably reinforced Grant's decision to quit. Here was an actor who, unlike many of his comtemporaries, had remained a believable romantic lead into his late 50's. Yet, here Grant is playing cupid for the superbland Jim Hutton. Grant seems to be having fun playing for the first time in his career the guy who doesn't get the girl and his look of chagrin when one of Christine's co-worker's tells him pointblank that she didn't even think that he and Christine are romantically linked is probably the funniest part of the movie. However, Grant was smart to get out after this movie if these were the roles he was going to be offered as he advanced into his 60's.

"Walk, Don't Run" was a product of Hollywood's dying studio system. It shows that Hollywood's self-imposed moral production code was breaking down as one hears Cary Grant say a curse word for the first time on-screen and the film makes no-bones that sex is a topic of discussion on several occassions. Also, one has to wonder if Sir William's befriending Steve was another nudge-and-wink reference to homosexuality that were occasionally sneaked into movies by closeted screenwriters and directors back in the day. Think about it- an older man starts following around a complete stranger, who just happens to be a young, handsome athlete, and then invites the young man to go to a bathhouse with him!

Overall, "Walk, Don't Run" is an extremely lightweight romantic comedy. The comedy is mostly based on a dated premise and the romantic chemistry between pretty, prim Samantha Egger and the bland Jim Hutton is minimal. Despite having Stanley Donen at the director's helm, this movie is only notable for being the last of one of Hollywood's greatest stars.

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