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Cary Grant Monday, "His Girl Friday"
I actually caught His Girl Friday on Christmas Eve during its one-week run at Brooklyn Academy of Music, and it was a great way to unwind before the big day.
Cary Grant stars as Walter Burns, a fast-talking newspaper editor who persuades, uh, rather bamboozles his former star reporter/ex-wife Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell) into covering one last story – and of course, into not remarrying the cornball, I mean, the nice guy. His Girl Friday (1940) is the kind of screwball comedy where the dialogue is more spot-on than the storyline. I loved it! Plus, Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell’s verbal insults are priceless.
Cary Grant Monday, "Father Goose"
For those that don’t know, Cary Grant is quite possibly the only man next to Prince that can make me swoon. Perhaps it’s the accent, the urban sophistication, the swag, the accent…Simple plot: Grant plays Walter Eckland, a beach bum basically who’s coerced by a good friend in the Australian navy to monitor the air activity of Japanese aircraft in exchange for alcohol. Then comes a lady and kids and marriage, all classic elements for Cary flicks. Which is why I dig him soooooo much!!
Cary Grant Monday, "Charade"
Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn star in this “Charade” of sorts, where Grant has so many alias’ (Peter Joshua, Carson Dyle, Alexander Dyle, Adam Canfield and Brian Cruikhank) that at one point, I actually started to believe he was a bad guy. (We don’t do Cary as the bad man!). Nonetheless, Hepburn plays a widower (Regina Lampert) in search of a mad fortune her late-husband has supposedly left … somewhere, and in comes the real bad guys – and of course Cary to save the day. Loved it!
Cary Grant Monday, "Houseboat"
Okay, so it’s been a minute (a few months actually) alright, damn-near six months since I’ve done Cary Grant Mondays. In my defense, been busy with a little situation called relocating to New York City. So now that I’m slightly settled, I’m re-starting my ode to one of the smoothest actors to ever live. Imagine a man who is use to living by himself, a woman who can not cook or clean, and three very needy kids – all living together, on a houseboat no less. Can we say, drama?! I like the movie for what it was, nothing more than romance and comedy, and Cary of course.
That Touch of Cary Grant
Continuing with my love of Cary Grant movies, this morning I watched the 1962 film, That Touch of Mink. Ugh, this one … didn’t move me.
It’s about a Ohio woman (Doris Day) who moves to New York City and meets a wealthy bachelor (Grant) who eventually charms the pants off her – through a series of uber-romantic moves: travel to Bermuda, shopping at Bergdorf Goodman, being respectful and charming. Believe me, I’m as romantic as the next girl but for me – the on-screen chemistry between Cary and Doris wasn’t there. Though I chuckled a few times, and loved the sarcastic Audrey Meadows … ah, who am I? Oscar and Golden Globe adored this movie.
North By Northwest
Okay now I’m onto my third Cary Grant flick: the 1959 Alfred Hitchcock romantic suspense thriller, North By Northwest.
Though it was damn-near two-and-a-half hours long, I enjoyed it nonetheless. Scenario: case of mistaken identity in that Grant plays an advertising executive who’s thought to be someone, so he must outsmart the bad guys. Of course with the help of a beautiful lady played by Eva Marie Saint. Drama, fights, a cliffhanger you have to see to believe–classic Hitchcock.
The Philadelphia Story
Released in 1940 and garnering two Oscar wins, Katherine Hepburne plays Tracy Lord Haven, a beautifully spoiled socialite who’s about to marry George Kitteridge, an uber uptight exec – but on the day of the wedding – her ex-husband, C.K. Dexter Haven (played perfectly by Cary Grant) and Macaulay “Mac” O’Connor (James Stewart) has other plans for her. It’s one of the greatest love stories put out by MGM Studios. So I do hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
There’s Something About Cary Grant
Generally, I don’t go for older guys but there’s something about the late-actor Cary Grant I can not resist! There’s something about the man I just dig! He was confident, funny, suave. He just had that “It” factor man. Hollwood loved him too.
Alfred Hitchcock, who was notorious for disliking actors, said Grant was “the only actor I ever loved in my whole life.” This is why I’m on a mission to watch every single solitaire movie Cary Grant has starred, co-starred and/or cracked a smiled in.
And so it started five years ago when I saw my first Cary Grant flick in Leo McCarey’s An Affair to Remember, which was released four years after my mom’s birth (in 1957) and 18 years before mine – but I loved it anyway! It stars Grant as the handsome Nicky Ferrante who meets and falls for the beautiful nightclub singer Terry McKay (played wonderfully by Deborah Kerr) while on a cruise ship from Europe to New York. Tempting fate and despite being involved (ugh, engaged to other people) they both agree to reunite at the top of the Empire State Building in six months – if they still feel the same. Ahhh. Anyway, I won’t spoil the rest of the movie for you – you simply have to see it.
Though I’ve seen An Affair at least a half dozen times, I still cry like a big ass baby at that damn finale…
