dual personalities

Tag: Cary Grant

June 26, 2023

Postcards from the weekend

by chuckofish

Did you have a good weekend? Mine was fairly quiet, the highlight being going to church with the wee twins at 8:30 a.m. so they could attend the children’s worship service and then going to daughter #1’s house for bagels afterwards.

Mr. Smith was living his best life, frolicking in the backyard with the twins…

…and everyone signed Lottie’s cast.

Meanwhile back in Maryland, Katiebelle started swimming lessons…

…and Idabelle watched the passing parade with vim and vigor.

I watched some PGA golf and read another D.E. Stevenson book. I went to an estate sale in a house that had once belonged to a family I went to church with growing up and whose daughters went to my school. It had since turned into Grey Gardens and was a wreck. Kind of Quite creepy. But daughter #1 got a book and her usual discount from Lamar.

I also watched Father Goose (1964), Cary Grant’s second-to-last movie. You remember–it’s about a guy during WWII who is forced to work as an airplane spotter on a remote Pacific island and then is saddled with a prim teacher and seven little girls to look after. It won an Oscar for best screenplay written directly for the screen.

It is nice to see Cary playing against type, scruffy and annoyed. I remember my mother took my little sister and me to see it when it was originally released, probably because she thought we would enjoy the little girl element and she got to see Cary Grant. I liked it then and I enjoyed it the other night. It is a good example of the kind of movie Hollywood was very good at making in the 1960s but cannot make now to save their lives.

June is almost gone–enjoy the last week!

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December 3, 2014

“Who Sir? Me sir?”*

by chuckofish

I have been very busy at work since Thanksgiving and yesterday I had an allergy attack that sent me into a tailspin of sneezing and nose-blowing. Zut alors! And I had two meetings off-campus. It was not pretty.

So, as you may have noticed, my blogposts are somewhat lacking in content this week. Today I will just note that the TCM star of the month is Cary Grant! So go crazy setting your DVR in December.

Grant,_Cary_(Suspicion)_01_Crisco_edit

They will be showing a few of my favorites: Gunga Din (1939), The Awful Truth (1937), The Philadelphia Story (1940) and Houseboat (1958).

I’m not sure why they don’t seem to be showing one of the best Christmas movies ever, which also happens to star old Cary Grant: The Bishop’s Wife (1947)–but you can be sure I’ll be watching it sometime this month.

What is your favorite Cary Grant movie?

*Cary Grant in Houseboat

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December 10, 2013

“The main trouble is there are too many people who don’t know where they’re going and they want to get there too fast!”*

by chuckofish

Cary Grant, David Niven and Loretta Young

Cary Grant, David Niven and Loretta Young

The Bishop’s Wife (1947), directed by Henry Koster, is a wonderful black and white Christmas movie that you may have missed. We discovered it on television back in the 1970s and have loved it ever since. Of course, it is right up my alley, being about an Episcopal bishop (David Niven) who is trying to raise funds to build a Cathedral. And there is Cary Grant as an angel–talk about great casting–who comes in answer to the bishop’s prayer for “help”. According to IMDB, Grant was first cast to play the bishop and Niven the angel, but when the original director was replaced, Koster decided they should be switched. A brilliant move. The resulting film was nominated for Best Picture, Director, Film Editing, and Music. It only won for Best Sound. It also boasts a great script by the playwright Robert Emmet Sherwood from the novel by Robert Nathan.

It was re-made in 1996 as The Preacher’s Wife with Denzel Washington as the angel and Whitney Houston as the wife. I have not seen this version, but I know they’re not Episcopalians. Sigh. It isn’t cool anymore to make movies about Episcopalians I guess. C’est la vie.

Well, I highly recommend this terrific Christmas movie from 1947. You should definitely make room in your busy holiday schedule for this treat.

* The Bishop’s Wife (1947)

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February 4, 2013

As Valentine’s Day approaches…

by chuckofish

I recently saw a post on another blog about the best screen kisses. This got me thinking, because, of course, I didn’t agree with the ones they had chosen. I won’t get into that, but I did think it was a good idea for a post, especially with Valentine’s Day fast approaching. You’ll want to line up your DVD viewing for February.

John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara about to lock lips in "The Quiet Man".

John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara about to lock lips in “The Quiet Man”.

So here are the best screen kisses (in my opinion):

1.

"The Adventures of Robin Hood"

“The Adventures of Robin Hood”

The BEST: Errol Flynn and Olivia de Haviland in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). When Robin challenges Marian, “Then you do love me, don’t you? Don’t you?” we are right there with her answering, “You know I do.” It’s been 75 years since this great movie was made, and nothing surpasses it for its romance and handsome leading man and lady! Captain Blood (1935)–also with Errol and Olivia–is equally wonderful, but they only kiss once and she slaps him!

2.

John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in "The Quiet Man"

John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara in “The Quiet Man”

The Quiet Man (1952) actually features several world-class kissing scenes, but John Wayne and Maureen in the rain is pretty special. You can tell they really enjoy kissing each other. John and Maureen were always a good fit.

3.

"Breakfast at Tiffany's"

“Breakfast at Tiffany’s”

Another kissing-in-the-rain scene, this time with Audrey, George and Cat. Eat your heart out, Ryan Gosling.

4.

"Philadelphia Story"

“Philadelphia Story”

Jimmy Stewart and Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story (1940). Who knew that Jimmy Stewart would steal the sexy-show from co-star Cary Grant? I remember my mother pointed this out to me many years ago–something about his hands and what he was doing with them. Hmmm. It’s always the quiet ones, right?

Honorable mention:

"North By Northwest"

“North By Northwest”

Okay, we’ll give Cary Grant a hat tip for North By Northwest (1959) with Eva Marie Saint. He doesn’t look too uncomfortable in this one.

"Gone With the Wind"

“Gone With the Wind”

And even though Gone With the Wind (1939) is not one of my favorite movies, who can deny that Clark Gable knew how to kiss? Atlanta is burning and he is parting with Scarlett on the bridge–wow. Back then they really knew how to set up the scene and stage the actors to optimal effect. He looms over her, powerful and manly; they kiss. And then he leaves!

Best acting while kissing:

"Pillow Talk"

“Pillow Talk”

Rock Hudson, God love him, and Doris Day in Pillow Talk (1959) go away for the weekend–so risque, so great. And then she finds out who he really is. Ooooooh!

So what have I left out?

Because I felt like I should have something since 1961, but nothing came to mind, I decided to check out one of the kisses that was mentioned several times in the comment section of the other blog. The blogger had asked for readers’ suggestions, and several people mentioned North and South. I did some checking and discovered it is a BBC four-part adaption of the 19th century novel by Elizabeth Gaskell (not the Civil War soap opera from the 1980s). I watched it last weekend (4 episodes) and, boy oh boy, what a find!

Hello, Richard Armitage!

north south

Let’s just say he is totally wasted as Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit.

In conclusion, I give you the famous Montage of Kissing Scenes from the wonderful Cinema Paradiso (1988), which includes Errol and Olivia at least twice!

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