Dream Wife (1953)

Deborah Kerr: Priscilla 'Effie' Effington

Photos 

Quotes 

• Clemson Reade : We haven't been able to make a definite plan since we met.

  Effie : Well, we went to Vermont for two weeks.

  Clemson Reade : Yes. Yes, that's right. To her grandfather's farm. For two wonderful relaxing weeks in glorious Vermont.

  Walter McBride : Tim'll be there in September.

  Clemson Reade : We spent *one* day there. She had to leave to take care of the crisis in the Sahara; some of the sand was missing.

  Effie : Well, you stayed on.

  Clemson Reade : With grandfather. It wasn't the same thing.

• Effie : Don't you think it's time to go to bed?

  Effie : [recites love poem]  The night is filled with muted sounds / The air is still, but in the hush / The whispers of a thousand lovers. // You and I together here, to dream a thousand wonders / The night is still, we kiss, / And in my heart a thousand thunders.

• Effie : Clem...

  Clemson Reade : [softly]  What?

  Effie : I am afraid that we'll have to postpone the wedding till after the oil deal is signed.

  Clemson Reade : [alarmed]  What?

  Effie : I don't see any other way. Truly I don't. There are so many things to get done. Meetings, conferences, reports, and all of them so urgent.

  Clemson Reade : So is our wedding.

  Effie : But I mean *really* urgent.

• Effie : [Pointing at a globe]  Here is Bukistan.

  Clemson Reade : [mumbling]  Oh, I know, I have been there.

  Effie : Here is the United States.

  Clemson Reade : [mumbling]  Yes, yes, I have been there too.

  Effie : We have just *one* thing in common. Oil! Every plan we make for peace or war depends on that oil.

  Clemson Reade : 'That so?

  Effie : I don't have to tell you what happened in Iran. Half the free world had to learn how to pronounce the name Mosadegh.

  Clemson Reade : I still can't.

  Effie : The same thing is happening again, only this time there will a lot of new names to learn. And the only way to get that oil is to get those names on the dotted line.

• Clemson Reade : Oh, I didn't mean that. What you are doing *is* important.

  Effie : But not as important as cooking your breakfast. You don't need me for that. You can buy it for a dollar an hour. We've been emancipated, Mr. Reade. Have you heard of Susan B. Anthony?

  Clemson Reade : Can she cook?

• Effie : You can trust Mr. You-Know-Who but you've got to be careful of the other one.

• Effie : Fix me a drink, will you, darling?

  Clemson Reade : Champagne coming up.

  Effie : Make it a Scotch and water, would you, Clem?

  Clemson Reade : Yes, dear, yes.

  Effie : No ice, just a lemon and...

  Effie , Clemson Reade : Easy on the water.

• Effie : I wish you'd understand.

  Clemson Reade : I think I've understood all along. I've just been kidding myself. I want a full-time wife and you want a part-time husband, it's as simple as that.

• Effie : I'm in charge, Clem, whether you like it or not, I am in charge.

  Clemson Reade : Yes, yes, yes.

• Effie : So that's it. You think what I'm doing is like belonging to a garden club or having a hot game of Mahjong with the girls.

• Effie : Thank heavens I'm a woman. A man couldn't take it.

• Effie : This cable reads like a proposal of marriage to the Princess.

  Clemson Reade : That's exactly what it is.

  Effie : Are you serious?

  Clemson Reade : Are you asking as a woman or a member of the State Department?

  Effie : I thought you went over there to work.

  Clemson Reade : As a woman.

• Effie : You hardly know the girl.

  Clemson Reade : I know her well enough to want to spend the rest of my life with her. By that time I should know her even better.

• Effie : What they're trying to tell you is: The Princess Tarji has heard so much about them she would very much like to have an American hot dog.

• Effie : You don't know what you'll be letting yourself in for. It's not like marrying an American girl.

  Clemson Reade : Oh, I hope not.

• Clemson Reade : Why don't you run along and see a French movie or something?

  Effie : This is better than a French movie.

• Effie : Did you explain the facts of life to him?

  Walter McBride : He knows them. That's our problem.

• Effie : Until the wedding you can't embrace her, or kiss her, or anything. After the wedding she becomes your property.

  Clemson Reade : You make me sound like a landlord.

• Effie : What about my hats?

  Clemson Reade : Well, if you really want to know, they're the most ridiculous hats I've ever seen. They all look like crackerjack prizes. But did I complain? No.

  Effie : You used to compliment me on my hats.

  Clemson Reade : Isn't that what you wanted me to do?

• Effie : Don't you understand, Clem? She's like a kid with a new television set. She's learned a new word, freedom. And now she's just fiddling with all the knobs.

• Effie : If every woman told the man she's going to marry what she really thinks, this would be a nation of old maids!

• Effie : One sees with the heart, not the eyes.

  [repeats it in Bukistanian] 

  Khan of Bukistan : You speak Bukistanian.

  Effie : I speak all the important languages, Your Excellency. And what you say is true of some American women. But that is because we need guidance. The guidance of men who are wise and strong. Men who can make women what they were meant to be.

• Effie : I can be a woman, too.

  Clemson Reade : Well, I know...

  Effie : See? Oh, no, a woman's work is never done. Gotta wash him, dress him, feed him, and burp him.

• Effie : Click, click, push, pull, that's Effie.

• Effie : Oh, Clem, make an earthquake for me.

• Effie : The daughter of the Khan is not merchandise to be sent on approval to a man with the judgment of a camel.

• Clemson Reade : I'm a selfish monster, I'm foolish, arrogant...

  Effie : In other words, you're just an average man.