CARY GRANT

[feaito]

Welcome dear Ali.

I'm glad everyone has enjoyed the clip. BTW, I must see TWA.

[charliechaplinfan]

What a lovely clip, Fernando, he was quite a Dad, I love what she said about slapping Deborah Kerr's face on the TV screen. I'm glad Jennifer brought out her book, at the same time as Dyan Cannon's, soften the blow so to speak. Jennifer herself looks more like Dyan.

[JackFavell]

I LOVE that Jennifer Grant wrote this book, and that they showed the clips of him dancing with her. I know the piece was meant for audiences who might not be as familiar with Grant, but man, I wish there was more of Jennifer and less of the author of the piece. Still, the tone of the piece was very respectful and loving. MAde me feel that Cary was such a true gentleman, outside of his persona in Hollywood, and a good man and father.

[charliechaplinfan]

I kind of felt priviledged that she shared that clip with us, such a treasured moment, she adored him you can tell. Reading between the lines and from what Dyan only half says in her biography it sounds like there was a time when Dyan couldn't care for Jennifer, although Dyan's parents stepped in what she doesn't say is that Cary stepped into the void. She certainly was still angry with him all these years later.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

I got that same feeling, charliechaplinfan. Cary certainly filled a void while Dyan was working on her career.

[mrsl]

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With the terrific thread that is devoted to Ben Johnson, with all the clips and photo shots (or whatever you call them), I thought a topic devoted strictly to your favorite star would be a good idea. When I saw Room for one More, even before it was over, I knew I wanted to write about Cary and his part in it, but I searched for him and found 372 references but no direct thread for him, so here goes, and I hope you will each add your own person as time goes by.

CARY GRANT:

Mr. debonair always intrigued me. He rarely wore anything but a suit in his movies, but occasionally he got down and dirty like in Father Goose with ripped jeans and a two day beard. Not that I liked seeing him that way, but at least I saw he was actually human. Over the years Cary, to me one of the most attractive of all Golden Agers, though I know many disagree, has made me laugh as in - Bringing up Baby, cry - as in Penny Serenade, want to cuss him out - as in The Pride and the Passion, and definitely made me swoon as in - An Affair to Remember. Like Cesar Romero, Cary's looks never failed him, even well into his 70's, and I believe he passed 80.

Cary played so many different kinds of roles, thank goodness he never tried Westerns - no, no, no. He created that suave distinguished gentleman for so many roles that to see him in jeans and chaps would tear me up. I guess if I really worked at it, I could make up a list of my 5 or 10 favorite Cary Grant movies, but as much as I adored him and Deborah Kerr in An Affair to Remember, (I'll be humming that song all night now!), my favorite CG role is People Will Talk (1951) as Dr. Noah Praetorius who marries his patient who is pregnant by her old boyfriend who left for the army. But although the baby is never born during the time frame of the movie, he is so sweet and considerate of his wife, we know he will be a terrific Dad. There is one scene which makes me laugh like a loon every time. Wife gives him an electric train set, and he and two friends set it up in the upper hall then hit the 'go' button. Everything is fine with their beep, beep-beep, beep-beep-beep signals, until someone misses a beep, then all XXX breaks loose and the 3 men argue and accuse each other like 5 year olds. The film is actually a drama but with Walter Slezak as a side kick, it does get funny now and then.

I may add to this later, but for now, do you have someone who is a special favorite of yours? Either add to this or make a separate topic following this.
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[mrsl]

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I'll be happy to ask the moderators to move mine if you tell me where it is. I knew I had posted about him previously but I did a search on 3 different threads and they all came up with 372 matches, but no main topic for him. The last thing in the world I would even think of doing is to steal someone else's thread. But, I do think it would be nice to maybe have an Index thread for this idea. I wonder what Jon would say. It would be similar to TCM's Films and Filmakers (including actors, not just directors).

BTW, I searched Movies and Features on TCM, The People of Film, and General Chat - 372 matches.

[moira finnie]

As requested, this recently created topic has been merged with another older thread devoted to Cary Grant.

I understand the frustration that searches on-site can generate, but one of the technical issues with this board is the fact that the internal search on the SSO too often returns multiple topics related to a topic that are not precise enough. This is not the fault of anyone researching using the search feature, but a limitation within this system's software.

It is often far more useful to perform a search for a topic using Google entering something such as "Cary Grant, Silver Screen Oasis" instead of using the search box on the main index page of the Silver Screen Oasis. In the future this system's limitation in this area is one part of the software here that would be a priority to correct. I apologize for any confusion created by this impediment.

Now let's talk about Cary, eh?

[JackFavell]

Gee, I think the search feature at this site was waaaaay better than the one over at TCM city!

While trying to find a picture of Archie Leach, Cary's dog, I came across a couple of ADORABLE photos of Cary and friends. Alas, I never found out whether either of these is Archie...

[pvitari]

Cary Grant -- triple SSO thread threat! ;)

And if he weren't already perfect, he loves dogs. That makes him more perfect than perfect.

[moira finnie]

Cary looks as though he is going to fly over the Andes with Rinty's help...or is it another dog? Either way, even canines seem to find the man appealing.

[JackFavell]

I completely agree, Paula! Any man who loves dogs goes up a notch in my book, putting Cary somewhere near godlike.



I think one of Cary's major charms is that you can absolutely see him getting down on the ground and playing with his dog, there was something appealingly unconcerned with appearance about him, despite the clothes and grooming. You can see he wasn't shy about crawling around on the floor or doing tricks. Perhaps he felt a kinship with animals who were paid for doing essentially the same thing he was?

This one's a cheat, it's from a photo shoot for Room For One More. You'd think they'd have kids in the picture, but I'm glad they don't. If Cary could train cats, he would float right off the earth, he'd be so perfect.

[charliechaplinfan]

Anyone see Wings in the Dark with Mryna Loy and Cary, he's an ace flyer and she gives him a guide dog, those scenes are priceless.

[Lomm]

Just picking the most recently posted to Cary Grant thread to post about him, maybe generate a bit of discussion.

Cary Grant is, without a doubt, my top male actor of all time. From his earlier, more comedic roles to the Hitchcock action adventure star, to his late romantic comedies with people like Doris Day, I don't think I've seen a Grant film I didn't enjoy. Some of the time, it was simply because of his presence, but it seems to me that he just really knew how to pick a role, once his career reached the stage that he could do so.

A few of my favorites, and apologies for the length of my "favorites" list:

• The Awful Truth - Very funny Cary Grant Irene Dunne divorce romp.
  
  Arsenic and Old Lace - I think this is the funniest Cary Grant has ever been. Totally over the top but it works. The presence of Peter Lorre makes it even better.
  
  Indiscreet - Cary is endearing as a man who hates the idea of marriage. The dance scene toward the end (when everyone but him is aware that he's not well liked at the moment) is a classic.
  
  To Catch a Thief - One of Hitchcock's best. Cary Grant plays an ex jewel thief out to clear his name after a string of robberies done in his style.
  
  Indiscreet - Cary Grant is endearing as a man who hates the idea of marriage. The dance scene toward the end (when everyone but him is aware that he's not well liked at the moment) is a classic.
  
  Charade - My favorite Hitchcock film that Hitch never did (it's a Stanley Donen film). Perfect stars (Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant), loads of fun, some real dramatic tension. This ranks close to my favorite film of all time, as my avatar might indicate. Audrey is my favorite actress and their chemistry is terrific.
  
  Holiday - Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant are stellar and have outstanding comic presence together.
  
  Bringing Up Baby - See above. This time with a leopard!
  
  Finally, and just to keep from listing every one of his movies, there's North By Northwest, and That Touch of Mink, two late career Grant vehicles that epitomize each of the styles he'd perfected by that point as a leading man (drama and comic).

[MissGoddess]

Hi, Lomm
I agree that Grant could do it all and effortlessly. I tend to like "cranky Cary" best, including movies like Charade, Notorious, Father Goose, People Will Talk and To Catch a Thief all of which allow him to be both funny and serious. I've read he disliked Arsenic and Old Lace but I do find him wildly funny. His facial and verbal reactions when he's on the phone trying to convey urgency in both this movie and Bringing Up Baby make for two of the funniest telephone scenes in movies. "Is this Zoo?" just breaks me up!!