CARY US BACK TO 1966,,,,,,,BQ RUNS, NOT WALKS TOWARD "WALK, DON'T RUN"...........

Walk, Don't Run (1966)     What a perfect palate cleanser after turning off the news..........

                 .........back to the days when romantic comedies shone with paintbox primary colors, sweet girls maintained their virginity with ironclad resolve........and steadfastly found their future partners annoying and clumsy.......until the Third Act Swoon....

                 We still love this one even through it's tinged with a certain aura of autumnal sadness.......being Cary Grant's last film before announcing his retirement......

                  With age catching up to him, Grant smoothly slid into the role of a British business tycoon who functions as Cupid for squabbling mis-matched, destined-to-mate adorkables (Samantha Eggar and Jim Hutton).....

                  Borrowing the plot of  1943's "The More The Merrier", the three end up sharing an apartment in overcrowded 1964 Tokyo during the city's hosting of the Summer Olympics....

                 And that's all you need to know, really. Like a lot of 60's rom-coms, it has very little witty dialogue or rapid-fire gag lines......depending completely on the relaxed charm of the three leads to keep you smiling all the way through.

                 Charm they have in abundance........and we never stopped smiling through the whole 2 hours......

                In a fitting cinematic farewell, Grant deploys his perfect timing and mastery of physical comedy. Eggar may be the only ravishing redhead of that era who also brought vulnerability to her skill set.

              And as the Olympic competitor whose sport remains a mystery to everyone until the climax (check the title), Jim Hutton made full use of his under-appreciated boyish likability.  We'll never know why the star-crossed Hutton, dead of cancer at only 45) never found success as a romantic lead.....he was natural successor to James Stewart and Jack Lemmon in deftly playing All-American boys stumbling into love as they try to get out of their own way.....

             Add the catchy main title theme from young freshman film composer Quincy Jones and you've got a mid-60's Hollywood produced romance close to perfection........(it may take place in Toyko, but only in Hollywood could you find a soundstage version of a teeming, overpopulated Japanese street where there's plenty of room to park....)

              Cary Grant drives off in his limo, smiling with the knowledge that he's finally engineered some sex for the awkward young lovers........and all is as it should be in 1966. 4 stars (****).