Kiss Them for Me (1957) on Netflix
Three decorated Navy pilots wangle four days of leave in San Francisco and take a suite at the Fairmont Hotel, where Commander Andy Crewson arranges wine, women and song.
- Netflix2.8/5
- IMDb5.6/102,316 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
Three decorated Navy pilots return from the Pacific and wangle four days of leave in San Francisco, reaching the city in a friend's PBY Catalina. Commander Andy Crewson, a master of procurement, takes a suite at the Fairmont Hotel and fills it with wine, women and song. Alice Kratzner arrives among the guests, drawn by the promise of nylon stockings. Lieutenant Wallace wants the three men to make morale speeches at the shipyard plants of magnate Eddie Turnbill, who could vouch for them with the Navy. Crewson and his friends, worn out by the war, want only a few days away from it. Lieutenant McCann, a married man running for Congress in Massachusetts, could leave the Navy at once if he wins.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Kiss Them for Me (1957)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Richard Widmark, who had played Andy Crewson in the 1945 Broadway play, was approached to reprise the role but was passed over once Cary Grant expressed interest in the film.
- Siouxsie and the Banshees used the film's name in the title and lyrics of their 1991 single "Kiss Them for Me", which was written as an ode to Jayne Mansfield.
- The screenplay toned down many of the play's cynical anti-war profiteer dialogues and changed the Alice character from a "Victory Girl" into a war worker.
- Navy veteran Frederic Wakeman Sr. wrote his first novel, Shore Leave, while recovering in a naval hospital, basing the character of Andy Crewson on an actual decorated naval aviator.
- The film was the feature debut of Ray Walston and Nathanial Frey, who had appeared together on stage in Damn Yankees, and of model Suzy Parker.
