Dream Wife (1953)

48% want to see it
(1,026 ratings)

Clemson Reade (Cary Grant) is the kind of man who wants to marry an old-fashioned girl, one who will stay home and take care of her husband. However, he's fallen in love with Priscilla "Effie" Effington (Deborah Kerr), who has an exciting career with the State Department that she has no intention of… More Clemson Reade (Cary Grant) is the kind of man who wants to marry an old-fashioned girl, one who will stay home and take care of her husband. However, he's fallen in love with Priscilla "Effie" Effington (Deborah Kerr), who has an exciting career with the State Department that she has no intention of giving up. Clemson has the poor timing of proposing marriage to Effie just as she's in the middle of trying to resolve a major political crisis with the Middle Eastern nation of Bukistan; the United States wants to stay on Bukistan's good side, thanks to their plentiful reserves of oil. Tired of waiting for Effie, Clemson decides that he needs to find a potential bride who will follow his lead instead of her own, and he soon meets Princess Tarji (Betta Saint John), daughter of the King of Bukistan, who has spent her life learning to faithfully serve her man. Clemson half-seriously sends a telegram proposing marriage to Tarji, which touches off a political tempest in a teapot when Tarji responds by visiting the United States. The State Department decides that someone should look after Tarji while she's in America, and who should be given the assignment but Effie; to Clemson's chagrin, Effie uses her time with Tarji to enlighten her about the more liberated status of women in the West. By the way, don't bother looking for Bukistan in your atlas, the country doesn't really exist. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 39 min.
Genres: Drama, Romance, Classics, Comedy

Studio: Warner Bros

Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Flat sex farce.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Nicolas K

Had its moments mostly because of the charisma of the cast, but the plot was naive.

Cast

            Cary Grant as Clemson Reade

            Deborah Kerr as Priscilla "Effie" Effington

            Walter Pidgeon as Walter McBride

            Betta St John as Tarji

            Eduard Franz as Khan

            Buddy Baer as Vizier

            Don Randolph as Ali

            Bruce Bennett as Charlie Elkwood

            Richard Anderson as Henry Malvine

            Dan Tobin as Mr. Brown

            Movita as Rima

            Gloria Holden as Mrs. Landwell

            June Clayworth as Mrs. Elkwood

            Dean Miller as George

            Steve Forrest as Louis

            Jonathan Cott as Marine

            Patricia Tiernan as Pat

            John Alvin
            
            Jean Andren as Bit

            Dan Barton as Sailor

            Faire Binney as Mrs. Parker

            Lynne Marie Brown as Miss Temple

            Steve Carruthers
            
            Edward Cassidy as Customs Official

            Maria [Movita] Castaneda as Rima

            Jack Chefe as Captain

            Lillian Culver as Woman at Airport

            Donald Dillaway
            
            Kathleen Freeman as Chambermaid

            Bernie Gozier
            
            Dabbs Greer as Elevator Boy

            Aram Katcher as Bukistanian/Messenger

            Mary Lawrence as Mrs. Malvine

            Alphonse Martell as Headwaiter

            Bert Moorhouse as Attlow

            Jimmy Moss as Small Boy

            Virginia Mullen as Annie

            Forbes Murray
            
            Robert Nichols as Elevator Boy

            Dick Rich as Delivery Man

            Vernon Rich as McBride's Assistant

            Gordon Richards as Sir Cecil

            Kay Riehl as Woman

            Perry Sheehan as Evelyn the Receptionist

            Charles Sullivan as Truck Driver

            Les Tremayne as Ken Landwell

            William Vedder as Old Man

            Gayne Whitman as Men at Airport

            Gail Bonney as "Mommy"

            Jack George as Clarence

            William Hamel as Reporter

            Hassan Khayyam as Bukistanian Priest

            Marjorie Liszt as Woman Cab Driver

            Rudy Rama as Servant

            Dorothy Kennedy
            
            Beryl McCutcheon
            
            Allen O'Locklin as Clerk

            Jim Cronin
            
            William McCormick
            
            Harry Stanton
            
See full cast