''Walk, Don't Run'' is a 1966 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Charles Walters Charles Powell Walters (November 17, 1911 – August 13, 1982) was an American Hollywood director and choreographer most noted for his work in MGM musicals and comedies from the 1940s to the 1960s. Early years Charles Walters was born in Pasade ...

and starring

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one of ...

, Samantha Eggar, and Jim Hutton. The film, which was Grant's last film role, is set during the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this h ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

. It is a remake of the 1943 film '' The More the Merrier''. The title stems from the basic rule of racewalking: that competitors must not run at any point (both feet leaving the ground).

Plot

In 1964, important British businessman Sir William Rutland arrives two days early in

and encounters a housing shortage caused by the

. While at the British Embassy seeking help, he spots an advertisement for a roommate and soon finds himself at the residence of Christine Easton, who insists it would be improper to take him in as a housemate. Easton had forgotten to advertise that she wanted to sublet to a woman, but eventually, lets Rutland stay. Rutland then sublets half of his space to American Olympic competitor Steve Davis without consulting Easton. While Easton is less than thrilled with the arrangement, she has to put up with it, as she has already spent Rutland's share of the rent. Rutland sets about playing matchmaker for the two young people, in spite of their disparate personalities and Easton's engagement to a boringly dependable British diplomat, Julius P. Haversack. Davis repeatedly dodges questions about his Olympic sport. Rutland meddles in the young couple's romantic troubles. To further his matchmaking, he even strips down to his boxer shorts and a

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a '' crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are genera ...

so he can pretend to be a competitor and talk to Davis during his event, the 50-kilometre

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

, and eventually heals the breach between the young lovers.

Cast

as Sir William Rutland * Samantha Eggar as Christine Easton * Jim Hutton as Steve Davis * John Standing as Julius P. Haversack * Miiko Taka as Aiko Kurawa * Ted Hartley as Yuri Andreyovitch * Ben Astar as Dimitri *

George Takei George Takei (; ja, ジョージ・タケイ; born Hosato Takei (武井穂郷), April 20, 1937) is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the fictional starship USS ''Enterprise'' in the televi ...

as Police Captain *

Teru Shimada Teru Shimada (島田輝 ''Shimada Teru'', born Akira Shimada (島田明 ''Shimada Akira''); November 17, 1905 – June 19, 1988) was a Japanese-American actor. A '' Nikkeijin'' (first-generation Japanese-American), Shimada emigrated to the Unit ...

as Mr. Kurawa * Terry Farnsworth as Olympic walker * Lois Kiuchi as Mrs. Kurawa

Production

Filming locations were at the Hotel Okura Tokyo, Embassy of the United Kingdom, Tokyo, and

Yoyogi National Gymnasium Yoyogi National Gymnasium, officially is an indoor arena located at Yoyogi Park in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, which is famous for its suspension roof design. It was designed by Kenzo Tange and built between 1961 and 1964 to house swimming ...

. Grant retired from acting in 1966, which was the year his only child, a daughter, was born. He died in 1986.

Score

The film's music was composed by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

, with

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

contributing to the writing of the songs, "Stay with Me" and "Happy Feet".

Personnel

–

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

, conductor * Toots Thielemans –

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica in ...

whistle A whistle is an instrument which produces sound from a stream of gas, most commonly air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a small slide whistle or nose flute type to a lar ...

s *

Harry "Sweets" Edison Harry "Sweets" Edison (October 10, 1915 – July 27, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and a member of the Count Basie Orchestra. His most important contribution was as a Hollywood studio musician, whose muted trumpet can be heard bac ...

–

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

Bud Shank Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and thro ...

– reeds * Earl Palmer –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

Carol Kaye Carol Kaye (née Smith, born March 24, 1935) is an American musician. She is one of the most prolific recorded bass guitarists in rock and pop music, playing on an estimated 10,000 recordings in a career spanning over 50 years. Kaye began pla ...

–

electric bass The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

Emil Richards Emil Richards (born Emilio Joseph Radocchia; September 2, 1932 – December 13, 2019) was an American vibraphonist and percussionist. Biography Musician Richards began playing the xylophone aged six. In High School, he performed with the Hartf ...

–

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

* Don Elliot Voices –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

on "Happy Feet" * Tony Clementi – vocals on "Stay with Me" * Jack Hayes,

Leo Shuken Leo Shuken (born December 8, 1906, Los Angeles, California - d. July 24, 1976, Santa Monica, California) was an American film music composer, arranger, and musical director. Shuken composed for the music industry from the end of the 1930s until s ...

– orchestrations * Richard Hazard – vocal orchestrations

Reception

The film grossed $7,500,000 at the box office, earning $4.5 million in US theatrical rentals."Big Rental Pictures of 1966", ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', 4 January 1967 pg 8 It was the 22nd highest grossing film of 1966.

References

Bibliography

* Reid, John Howard. "''Walk, Don't Run.''" ''Reid's Film Index'', no. 36 (1998): 178–181.

External links

* * * *
Historic reviews, photo gallery
a
CaryGrant.net
{{Charles Walters 1966 films American romantic comedy films 1966 romantic comedy films 1960s sports comedy films Remakes of American films Films scored by Quincy Jones Films directed by Charles Walters Films about the 1964 Summer Olympics Films about Olympic track and field Films set in Tokyo Films set in 1964 Columbia Pictures films Films produced by Sol C. Siegel Japan in non-Japanese culture 1960s English-language films 1960s American films