Cary Grant and Comedy

Isn't Romantic Comedy redundant?
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mrsl
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Cary Grant and Comedy

Post by mrsl »

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Watching Room for One More today, I really understood what a good comedic actor Cary was. His work in this movie, and in Monkey Business, and House Boat are all good enough to draw a few out loud guffaws from me (which is hard to do). The funny thing is, I know he was married to Betsy Drake for over 12 years, but that is so hard for me to wrap my pea brain around. To me Cary Grant is the epitome' of the perfect man. Now this is from his choice of roles, which I know are not on a perfect par with his private life, but his looks, sense of humor, demeanor, and overall personality are the kind most women are looking for. On the other hand, Betsy Drake was a rather plain un-interesting lady, and how she married and kept Cary for all those years is a wonder to me, and personally, I can't help but understand his wild attraction to Sophia Loren. I'm not condoning it, I just understand it. Sophia was a stunner and throughout his marriage to Betsy, his leading ladies were mainly 'girl next door' types, like Doris Day, Jeanne Crain and Eva Marie Saint who was not particularly sexy except for their train scene, and of course the ice queen who was already a princess, and of course his buddy Ingrid.

However, I do feel he is at his best with kids. He seems to have a rapport with them that few actors have. Often the kids seem afraid of the adult, but with Grant, they seem very comfortable and relaxed. He also seems more than happy to play the fool with kids, e.g. being tied to the tree in Monkey Business, and joking around with the Houseboat kids.

Does anyone else have a favorite actor who normally does drama, but occasionally plays in a comedy who you truly enjoy?

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Anne


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charliechaplinfan
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Re: Cary Grant and Comedy

Post by charliechaplinfan »

Anne, I love Cary Grant doing comedy, when I think of him it's mainly as a comic actor, my preference is for his 30's/40s screwball comedies, as an actor, with a couple of exceptions, William Powell and Fredric March, I don't think anyone could touch him in screwball comedies. He is very good with kids in all of his films,as Father Goose, he seems to be having a ball. I haven't seen his films with Betsy Drake, I'm not overly keen on Houseboat or many of his films from his later career but his early career I love.

I love to watch serious actors do comedy, it makes it funnier and vice versa. I had Jack Lemmon marked down as only a funny man until I watched Glen Garry Glenn Ross ad he broke my heart. Tony Curtis is a straight actor in my mind with a good sense for comedy.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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JackFavell
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Re: Cary Grant and Comedy

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I really like Room for One More - I never saw it before it was on a few weeks ago.

I agree about Cary and his rapport with the kids, he does look like he's having fun, but he also never talks down to them.

I also like William Powell in ANYTHING, and Spencer Tracy really cracks me up in his later comedies like Father of the Bride, Father's Little Dividend, Adam's Rib, The Desk Set and Pat and Mike. I think I like the Father movies the best because he has a great slow burn, and really seriously plays the fool whose daughter can twist him right around her little finger. He's endearing.
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charliechaplinfan
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Re: Cary Grant and Comedy

Post by charliechaplinfan »

I've never seen Father of the Bride, isn't Elizabeth Taylor in that one, that's probably why I haven't watched it. I saw Fury the other day, Spencer Tracy is a marvellous actor.

I forgot to say that I love Cary in Monkey Business when he reverts to being a juvenile, he's great with Monroe, they go skating, I can't remember whether it's ice skating or roller skating that they do but they are really funny. Ginger Rogers is excellent as Barnaby's wife. What a great film. I'll give Room For One More a try. To answer Ane's question from before one of the factors in Betsy's favour was that she nursed him back to health after he was seriously ill, the longevity of their marriage, quoting Geoffrey Wansell was probably due to the fact that Betsy was very tolerant of Cary and Cary didn't want another failed marriage. Betsy I think was wife number 3.

William Powell is a bit more of a slow burn with me, I recognise he's great at what he does and in some films like One Way Passage and My Man Godfrey he's excellent but he doesn't always hit the stop with me. I think it's his type, it doesn't do much for me. He's like Fred Astaire like that for me, only my feelings about Fred change when he dances.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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mrsl
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Re: Cary Grant and Comedy

Post by mrsl »

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CCFan:

From your comment about Liz T., I assume you don't especially care for her, as I am with Brando and both Kirk and Michael Douglas, but sometimes, for the sake of the movie, you have to "gird your loins" as Stanley Tucci says in The Devil Wears Prada and watch. I can pretty safely say, you will love Father of the Bride, even with Liz. Think of it as 'way back when she was tender and innocent before she was even married for the first time. And she and Spence were great together as Father and daughter, so much more real than Steve Martin and whoever that girl was that played his daughter in the remake. Well, I looked her up, she was Kimberly Williams-Paisley, I wonder whatever happened to her, not that I really care because that is exactly my complaint about so many of todays' young entertainers, they make one hit record, or one or two movies, then they disappear instead of staying at working at making a career. Anyway, trust me :? you will love Father of the Bride, I promise.
.

Anne


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charliechaplinfan
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Re: Cary Grant and Comedy

Post by charliechaplinfan »

I don't care for Liz both as a person and an actress, I don't think it's because she's been married so many times, so many that I like have, she just doesn't come across for me, her beauty doesn't move me and her voice I find a little shrill. However I do like some of her films , Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Suddenly Last Summer and A Place in the Sun. I'll be looking out for Father of the Bride, if only to watch Spencer Tracy in fatherly mode.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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JackFavell
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Re: Cary Grant and Comedy

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I never liked her much either, except in a Place in the Sun and Giant, but I am coming around.

I think she had a real gift for comedy which no one ever mentions. She is so funny in Father of the Bride and also Little Women...she plays comedy as if it were tragedy and it works perfectly. She is so very serious. You can't teach actresses to do that! I wish she had done more comedy.
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Sue Sue Applegate
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Re: Cary Grant and Comedy

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Because of their Giant repartee, I can so envision Liz and Rock doing a comedy together and making it work. Something a la Lover Come Back.
You are so on target about her needing to have done more comedies--- "Cat on a Hot Steamed Canape" or "A Place Just For Fun"
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JackFavell
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Re: Cary Grant and Comedy

Post by JackFavell »

Ha ha! That would have been a blast!
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CineMaven
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Re: Cary Grant and Comedy

Post by CineMaven »

Here is a sample of Cary Grant doing comedy, at his droll...dry best:

[youtube][/youtube]
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charliechaplinfan
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Re: Cary Grant and Comedy

Post by charliechaplinfan »

By this time he's really perfected it into his persona hasn't he? He developed his flair for comedy to a point that we think he is just playing Cary Grant and perhaps he was.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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Re: Cary Grant and Comedy

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He gets paid lots of money, worked with some of Hollywood's most beautiful & charming women (Myrna Loy, Audrey Hepburn, Doris Day, Irene Dunne, Grace Kelly, Ann Sheridan, Ingrid Bergman et al). I think he makes it looks so deceptively easy, don't you?
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charliechaplinfan
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Re: Cary Grant and Comedy

Post by charliechaplinfan »

He makes life seem deceptively easy too. I don't think one could get flustered with the older Cary around, unlike the double take antics of his earlier screwball self, he's a man with two sides that wax and wane and are equally delectable. There was nobody quite like him.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
RedRiver
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Re: Cary Grant and Comedy

Post by RedRiver »

A positively brilliant performer. His timing, his instincts, were incredible. He said more with a look than could ever be related through dialogue. Acting is REACTING. Touching in drama. Thrilling in adventure. In comedy, he was almost incomparable.

HIS GIRL FRIDAY, MONKEY BUSINESS. BRINGING UP BABY goes without saying. Great actor. Great director. Any questions? He brings warmth and joy to family stories such as ROOM FOR ONE MORE and MR. BLANDINGS BUILDS HIS DREAM HOUSE; injects just enough silliness into GUNGA DIN to elevate it from routine action to priceless romp. He even manages some big laughs in NORTH BY NORTHWEST without altering the tone of the movie

One of old Hollywood's finest actors, he's left a legacy to be enjoyed by future generations. It's up to us, their parents and grandparents, to preserve it.
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CineMaven
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Re: Cary Grant and Comedy

Post by CineMaven »

Nice post Red, and I agree 100%.

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The journey from Archie Leach to Cary Grant was quite a journey. But the journey through life as Cary Grant must have been incredible.

Cary Grant was handsome, charming, dashing, funny; he had style, he was not afraid to look foolish. He handled comedy and drama with equal aplomb. He was natural, athletic. He could flip that charm and be coldly serious. Ooooh, what I wouldn't give to be any one of these actresses for a day on the set with Cary Grant. My favorite Cary Grant film is "THE AWFUL TRUTH."

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Cary < ( Sigh ) > Grant. He was one of a kind. OH, and we both share the same birth date: January 18th. He's a Capricorn. Well, no wonder...
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