CARY GRANT

Discussion of the actors, directors and film-makers who 'made it all happen'
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JackFavell
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Re: CARY GRANT

Post by JackFavell »

That's true! I like the deeply felt way he says, "Not of you, Red, never of you."
RedRiver
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Re: CARY GRANT

Post by RedRiver »

I had to leave off Gunga Din

Pity. GUNGA DIN is adventurous, hilarious and ultimately stirring. A wonderful George Stevens film.

Wendy J. Favell! As always, your titles reflect thoughtful, poetic stories. A little less silly than TOPPER or the famed Hawks classic. THE AWFUL TRUTH is funny. But as Lomm said, it's literate and sensitive. It's reality based comedy. One of the best. MR. LUCKY is so complete it defies categorization. Is it drama? Romance? A cool, quiet crime thriller? Yes, yes, yes!
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JackFavell
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Re: CARY GRANT

Post by JackFavell »

I like Cary's serious films. But I love Topper just as much! This really was a difficult task, paring Cary down to 10... I wasn't able to do it in 12 and I still left off some of my favorites.

Mr. Lucky was Cary's own favorite, and I can see why. It's got a dusting of his own dark past included. I just love it, it's romantic and funny and poignant.
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Re: CARY GRANT

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I saw an episode of TV's MR. LUCKY a few weeks ago. An almost unrecognizably young Jack Nicholson guest starred!
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JackFavell
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Re: CARY GRANT

Post by JackFavell »

If there's anything I like almost as much as the movie version of Mr. Lucky, it's the TV show Mr. Lucky. I keep forgetting to watch out for it on MeTV or is it AntennaTV?
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movieman1957
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Re: CARY GRANT

Post by movieman1957 »

I haven't seen "Mr. Lucky" in forever. Guess I need to change that.
Chris

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Rita Hayworth
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Re: CARY GRANT

Post by Rita Hayworth »

It would be hard for me to pick the top ten Cary Grant Movies - let alone 15 and even 20 for me. I pretty much (I'm repeating myself twice on this thread) that I've not met a movie that I did not like one bit. That's speaks Volumes of how good an actor he really is ... Only Angels Have Wings - when I first saw this movie; I was stunned of how well he acted in a serious drama role and along with Jean Arthur, Rita Hayworth, Thomas Mitchell, and Richard Barthelmess made it a very special film for me to watch.

I just love Cary Grant!
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Re: CARY GRANT

Post by RedRiver »

Cary was wonderful in serious fare. Those famous good looks masked an exceptionally talented actor!

Wendy, MR. LUCKY is on ME TV at 1:30 AM CST, Sunday Night (Monday morning.) It's part of the delightful Sunday Night Noir program that keeps Moira, myself and Sugar up late!
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JackFavell
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Re: CARY GRANT

Post by JackFavell »

I'm gonna half to start sleeping on the couch on Sunday nights, just so I can see that lineup. I looked up that schedule before but realized that my daughter is counting on me to get her up at 6:30 the next morning... and I need all the sleep I can get lately.
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CineMaven
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Re: CARY GRANT

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I’m a Cary Grant fan like the rest of you. And it’s not because he and I share the same birthdate as a Capricorn.

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I just watched him last night in “North by Northwest” and it reminded me of what an underrated actor he was.

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He’s a loose-y goose-y well-oiled machine. I don’t mean he is stiff and mechanical. I’m meaning that he has such command of his craft, he can dial it up or dial it down by degrees, by shadings, by notches. He can be serious, he can be silly. In fact I love that he doesn’t seem to take his persona so seriously and protective of it. He worked with both Bennett sisters. I wish he had a chance to work with Joan Bennett just one more time in the 40's in the height of her brunette glory. He's worked with a couple of his leading ladies several times, a testimony to their onscreen chemistry. I know there are so many actors that we all can name here, that just make it look...so...easy. They're so underrated they, sometimes, fly under the radar. Dana Andrews is one for me, and Cary Grant is another. In looking over others' lists I see some of my favorites included. I have only nine true favorite Cary Grant films that I would stop and watch whenever they are on. If I were a teenager back in the 30's / 40's I'd probably go see every one of his films. I'd probably be a drop out or ditch a lot of classes going to the movies to see all those great stars of the era. Below, I list my favorite Cary Grant films in no particular order other than the first film. If a person can't laugh at that film...then I dunno:

*"THE AWFUL TRUTH"
"HOLIDAY"
"IN NAME ONLY"
"HIS GIRL FRIDAY"
"NOTORIOUS"
"MR. BLANDINGS BUILDS HIS DREAM HOUSE"
"AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER"
"THAT TOUCH OF MINK"
"CHARADE"


Thanks for bringing Cary Grant to the forefront Lomm. I haven’t seen so many immediate responses to a thread here at the Oasis in a long time ( other than when the Moderators bring us a special guest writer. ) And may I also extend my belated Welcome to you on this message board. Enjoy your time here.
"You build my gallows high, baby."

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JackFavell
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Re: CARY GRANT

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Hey, Maven! You like In Name Only too? I''m so happy! Another crazy wife movie... but I love this one so much. I don't know why exactly, can't put a reason to it. Some folks would say it was hokey or too serious and melodramatic. I just find Grant and Lombard a terribly romantic, sweet couple. I like Cary's desperation, his yearning for a real relationship. He's quite fine, acting wise, again, under-rated. I like Lombard's working class heroine, a single mom! Each woman finally shows her true colors. I like how they flip the THE WOMEN stereotype here, with the outsider gal classier than the upper crust woman. Of course, Kay Francis is marvelous, one of the most villainous of the Hollywood Wives....although I think in a grudge match, Barbara O'Neill from All This and Heaven Too would take her down through sheer nuttiness.
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CineMaven
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Re: CARY GRANT

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[u][color=#000080]JackFavell[/color][/u] wrote:Hey, Maven! You like In Name Only too? I''m so happy! Another crazy wife movie... but I love this one so much. I don't know why exactly, can't put a reason to it. Some folks would say it was hokey or too serious and melodramatic. I just find Grant and Lombard a terribly romantic, sweet couple. I like Cary's desperation, his yearning for a real relationship. He's quite fine, acting wise, again, under-rated. I like Lombard's working class heroine, a single mom! Each woman finally shows her true colors. I like how they flip the THE WOMEN stereotype here, with the outsider gal classier than the upper crust woman. Of course, Kay Francis is marvelous, one of the most villainous of the Hollywood Wives....although I think in a grudge match, Barbara O'Neill from All This and Heaven Too would take her down through sheer nuttiness.
"...sheer nuttiness." HA!! JaxXxon - mi hermana. Yeah, I love those Crazy Wives. ( Recently saw Vera Miles in "Back Street" with John Gavin. Gosh she was a hard one. But then I saw her break in "The Wrong Man." Vera! Vera! Where for art thou dear Vera!! ) And I like "In Name Only." I've read Lombard advocated for her ol' 30's pal Kay Francis to get the role. I liked Grant & Lombard's chemistry with each other. And I liked little Peggy Ann Garner, and that she didn't play the part in an annoyingly child actress-y way. ( do I hear Virginia Weidler? ) Why oh why do I wish Cary Grant had been in "Mr. & Mrs. Smith"? Even though, 30's King & Queen Montgomery and Lombard makes total sense. And I kind of wish Grant & Lombard had made a comedy together. Sublime fantasy. I agree with all you wrote above, and yes, they did flip the Other Woman stereotype. I'm loving Kay. Yeah I try to see another's point of view. But I am weak enough to hate who the movies tell us we should hate. But see, we both enjoyed the recently aired "Pitfall." Jane Wyatt was wonderful, and Lizabeth Scott wasn't intentionally being a homewrecker. Wives don't have to be so movie crazy do they? Can't folks just fall out of love? Can't things just be nobody's fault?

( Uhh...that's me making my case for Jimmy Stewart in "VERTIGO." Try as I might to be objective and lord knows he becomes a crazy coot...before he becomes crazy, he was lovestruck and I guess that's where my heartstrings lie...in the longing. )

Hitchcock, what a master. He uses Cary Grant sometimes and James Stewart other times. I can't put my finger, my verbal finger on what Hitchcock gets when using Cary Grant and what Hitchcock gets when he uses James Stewart. It took me years to forgive Cary Grant in "Notorious." I didn't want him to be mean to Ingrid Bergman. But he plays repressed torture so well. Today's leading men should watch Grant's whole filmography and learn a thing or two or three or five thousand.

What am I talking about. There'll never be another.
"You build my gallows high, baby."

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Vienna
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Re: CARY GRANT

Post by Vienna »

Interesting point about when Hitchcock uses Cary Grant or James Stewart. But he's always right. I can only see Cary in To Catch a Thief, and James is so right for Rear Window and Vertigo. And Cary IS Roger O.Thornhill in North By Northwest.
Both great actors but very different.
Nice that Maven should recall Vera Miles in Back Street - great part for Vera and so unlike her usual roles. I love the scene where Susan Hayward sees her with John Gavin and realises what she is like.
Like Jean Arthur, Carole Lombard didnt make many dramas. She and Cary made a great team in In Name Only. Wonder why they didnt re-team.
We're lucky that Cary wasn't tied to one studio after his time at Paramount. Every studio must have wanted him!
I think it's time I watched Mr Lucky again. Haven't seen it for a while. An unusual character for Cary and Laraine Day is so lovely in it.
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JackFavell
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Re: CARY GRANT

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I have a theory about why or when Hitch used Cary, and when he used Jimmy. I'm sorry if this bores the pants off of you guys, because some of you have heard me say it before. It's a simple theory. I think we love to watch Cary MOVE, and we love to watch Jimmy THINK.

The Cary movies have less WATCHING. I mean, we WATCH Cary, but Cary does only little watching himself, and when he does, it's warranted...he's being followed or watched. Even by his own wife or girl. He's acted upon, yes both he and Jimmy are, but usually there's a misunderstanding about Cary's character. In the end, he's vindicated, but only somewhat. His flaws are glaringly exposed on screen. There's something wary and hurt about Cary, like a beaten dog whose gotten a bit rough around the edges. But he reluctantly steps in to be hero. Even in Suspicion he's the hero still, trying to do the noble thing, even though it's such a deluded way to do it. One can't imagine Cary NOT able to move, to act. You can only push him so far before he reacts. In fact, his quick reactions are sometimes the reason he gets into trouble. If he just waited for a moment, or didn't make a funny joke, he might not be out in that corn field fighting against an unseen enemy. Or his girlfriend might not have taken that job as an undercover agent. His wit gets him into trouble, now it's up to that wit to get him out of trouble.

The things that he's attracted to, his whole personality is what leads him toward, rather than away from danger. This is the only crossing point for the two actors that I can see. They both have a penchant for that spark of danger which makes them feel alive. But Cary comes to it from an adventurer's viewpoint, and Jimmy is an armchair adventurer. Jimmy is far worse, I think. He actually likes to play with people's lives, just like the villain. This is where movies have been going for years, and are still going. Where the villain and the hero are the same. And Hitch may have been the person who got us to make that leap. Because of Cary's personality, I believe.

In Jimmy's movies, we watch Jimmy watch others. So Cary is the action hero, where Jimmy is just the opposite. He's the inaction hero. He's usually trapped by weakness, infirmity, or even by his sheer dumb blindness and indecision. He creates grand theses, only to have them proven completely wrong. He is closer to evil, as far as I am concerned, because he seems normal. But somewhere deep inside, he just has to set up the situation that will get someone else into trouble. Then he's helpless to do anything about it. He's a busybody, and though it seems harmless, he always has to go that step too far, playing God. But of course, he isn't.

Gosh, Maven, I like how you tied all those movies together! Stream of consciousness Maven!

You make me positively drool at the thought of Cary in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I never ever thought of it before, but I'm stuck now with a picture in my head, like I was the other day watching Saboteur (my favorite of the lesser Hitch films), when Ben said that it was supposed to be made at a different studio, with Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. OUCH! My liking of the movie took a hit when I heard that, because now I will forever be watching it thinking of what those two consummate actors would have brought. Just like when I heard Melvyn Douglas was supposed to be Cary in Ninotchka. Hard NOT to hear those lines as if they were spoken by Cary. OY. His voice is all over that movie. I've only recently been able to appreciate Melvyn in the role again. Because what Cary brings is so effervescent, so light and humorous...we just love to watch him woo and win. He's won already, before the movie even begins. But with Hitch it was different.

Grant and Lombard SHOULD have made a comedy. Gosh, it's almost a crime that they didn't. But at least we have In Name Only, where they switch the female roles, and the hero is flawed. Again, Cary Grant's own natural character brought about this kind of change.

Pitfall changes the game again. In the span of 15 years, we go from Wife as the be all end all, in The Women (there's not even an appearance by Stephen, the husband). Then we have the Wife for whom marriage and (I suspect) childirth has twisted her into a harridan, whose husband simply wants the freedom and sweetness of a 'true' wife. What a judgment on women! Then somehow, we end up at Pitfall, where the wife is a good woman, the other woman is a good woman, and nobody is to blame, except maybe the hero....very modern.... but we are once again, right smack dab inside the hero... I feel a link to Jimmy Stewart here, but can't quite get it into words. Vertigo. If there hadn't been all those movies before...if there hadn't been a Kane, for instance, there would most certainly be no Vertigo, now considered the best most influential film in movie history. The two films are so similar. Incredibly great and yet....

Perhaps what I'm getting at is.....is it the masculinizing of the movies, after Hollywood got rid of all the female directors and writers, that puts us in the head of a guy every time? And we're still there. I don't know. We had Joan Harrison coming up, with none other than Hitch as her mentor. And Alma. And Ida. But still nothing really seems too different to me, from that noir we just watched. Earlier films seemed to at least address women. Maybe there will be some answers in the next installments of The History of Film, to help me figure out how we now have no bad guys at all, but also no women.
Last edited by JackFavell on September 10th, 2013, 7:32 am, edited 2 times in total.
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