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Cary Grant: The Complete Filmography - Watching All Of His Movies (3 Viewers)

Josh Steinberg

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#23 - Once Upon A Honeymoon (1942)
Viewed on April 2, 2016
Viewing Format: MOD DVD-R (Warner Archive)

The first pairing of Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers, working under director Leo McCarey, is a strange but enjoyable movie. Contemporaneously set during World War II, Rogers plays burlesque dancer masquerading as a socialite who is about to marry an Austrian Baron (played by Walter Slezak). Grant plays a reporter who is convinced that Slezak's character is actually a Nazi agent, and is determined to prove it. He meets Rogers, but she does not initially believe what he says. But Slezak is indeed helping the Nazis, and is instrumental in helping them annex Czechoslovakia and Poland. When Rogers finds out that Grant was indeed correct, the two flee, and fall in love as they seek passage back to America. The film mixes some almost screwball comedic moments with some serious war drama. The blending of styles is at times a little strange, though not necessarily offputting. There will be very serious scenes (for instance, in one, Rogers decides to give her papers to her Jewish maid so that the maid and her family can escape the country before they are identified and placed en route to the gas chambers), and then the film will swing back to the more comedic. The movie works, but the drama at times is undercut by the comedy, and the comedy at times loses momentum because of the dramatic scenes. Grant has made other films that have attempted to straddle the line between the serious and the ridiculous, and some of those other attempts were perhaps more successful at it than Once Upon A Honeymoon was. Still, don't get me wrong - it's an enjoyable movie.

The transfer on Once Upon A Honeymoon was better than those for Crisis and Dream Wife, but is still clearly an older master. Nonetheless, it's completely watchable, and generally more pleasing than those other titles to watch. (In terms of the picture quality on the Warner Archive discs, I may have watched the very worst of the bunch first.) I didn't have any trouble understanding the audio either. While it would be nice to have these titles in better shape, given the choice between the current WA discs or nothing at all, it's a no brainer (they're worth watching).

Despite the at times uneasy blending of comedy and drama, Once Upon A Time has a lot to recommend. Grant and Rogers have excellent chemistry here, ten years before Monkey Business. (Is there anyone that Grant does not have good chemistry with?) Leo McCarey's direction is strong, and the film keeps moving along. If it works better than it sounds, it's because the director and stars work so well together. This still comes recommended, especially if you're able to catch it during a Warner Archive sale. It probably goes without saying, but I would happily buy a Blu-ray version of this movie.
 

Josh Steinberg

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#24 - Topper (1937)
Viewed on April 3, 2016
Viewing Format: DVD (Artisan)

Watching Topper, I couldn't help but think of Beetlejuice. Tim Burton must have seen this movie before making that one. The story is somewhat similar. A rich couple (Cary Grant and Constance Bennett) get into a car accident, and awake to find that they're ghosts. They come to the conclusion that they're stuck as ghosts because they haven't done anything good enough to get into heaven, nor bad enough to go to hell. So they decide to try to do some good by helping their friend Topper (Roland Young) find some happiness. Topper is a bank president married to a nagging wife (Billie Burke, quite the opposite of Glinda) who has lost his sense of fun and contentment. When Topper buys Grant's old car on a whim, the ghosts reveal themselves to Topper, and once the shock has worn off, proceed to take over his life. Soon they have him drinking and partying, but alienating his wife. And it turns out being a ghost isn't as fun as it first seemed. Grant and Bennett must somehow solve their friend's problems as well as their own, if they're ever to find peace.

Topper is a delight. You can see the full "Cary Grant" persona coming out here for one of the first times. His blend of confidence and charm works perfectly for his ghostly predicament. Only the ghost of Cary Grant could be charming and persuasive enough to convince a live grumpy person to go have fun. Bennett is equally delightful as his wife, and Young makes Topper a very enjoyable character. (So much so that he would return for two sequels, which do not feature Grant.) Norman Z. McLeod directed; he made some of my favorite Marx Brothers movies (Monkey Business and Horse Feathers) and my very favorite W.C. Fields film (It's A Gift), so it was exciting to see him working with another of my favorite screen legends.

The movie is in the public domain, and the DVD from Artisan was pretty rough. It looked very dupey and washed out for great deals of the movie, detail was always lacking, the sound was thin, and overall, the disc had an unpleasant video look to it. Nothing about the presentation resembled the look of a film print. And the sad thing is, David tells me that this is the best version that's out there. I wish someone like Olive would rescue this, as they did with Penny Serenade. This is too good of a movie to be out in such poor quality. (The edition I have also includes Topper Returns, but I did not watch it.)

Topper is a fun movie that remains charming to this day. It has great characters, a fun script, very nice comic direction, and is just a joy to watch. The movie really deserves to be reissued in a version more worthy of its many charms, but even in less than optimal condition, Topper is still very much worth seeing.
 
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Robin9

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#23 - Once Upon A Honeymoon (1942)
Viewed on April 2, 2016

Despite the at times uneasy blending of comedy and drama, Once Upon A Time . . . .

The first time I saw this film was in a re-run theater. When the lights went up I noticed another film fanatic I knew quite well. He came over to me and said " An uneasy mixture of comedy and film noir."

I think you're both right. The concentration camp scenes make a jarring contrast with the comedy elements. I haven't seen this film for at least twenty-five years.
 

Robin9

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I also like Crisis which I think of as one of his 'smaller' films. Always been a fan of Paula Raymond who plays his wife.

When I first saw this film, I fell in love with Paula Raymond whom I'd never seen before. I've seen her in a few other films since then, but she's never made the same impression on me. In fact, she makes no impression at all!
 

Nelson Au

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I've known about Topper but I never have sat down to watch it. I don't think I have a copy, but for some reason, seem to think I do. I will have to find a copy and check it out.

A package from Amazon arrived yesterday with several new to me Grant titles, including the Olive releases of That Touch of Mink, Operation Pettycoat, Father Goose. And I have the DVD, but decided to add the blu ray of An Affair to Remember, the DVD of Bringing Up Baby and Kiss them for Me. I'm expecting Monkey Business later today to arrive.

I had a tough time deciding what to see first between Operation Pettycoat and Mink. I had seen Operation years ago, so I went for Mink. And I followed up with Mr. Blandings because I really wanted to see that above all. Finally having had a chance to watch Mink completely from start to finish, it wasn't what I thought it was about, by today's standards, it's kind of a surprise. I'm sure it was not a secret wealthy men would have mistresses at the time of this film, but these two characters aren't married. Grant almost comes off as a sugar daddy, but Day isn't having any of that. They both are very attracted to each other, it just didn't feel right. I enjoyed it for the most part. ( I wondered if the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair with Brosnan and Russo had been a little influenced by this film. I doubt it as its more in common with the McQueen original. ) Gig Young and Audrey Meadows I thought stole the show, and nice of Grant to lobby to have her in the cast. John Aston was comically creepy.

This morning I read a Vanity Fair article on Grant that I found in looking for info on The Touch of Mink. It was an article about the film on Grant we discussed earlier, A Class Apart. It said Grant wasn't fond of Mink.

It's always fun to watch Mr. Blandings. I seem to prefer Grant pre 1960 where he's in his prime. I think he said he felt in Charade like Hepburn was too young to be paired with, so he adjusted the dialogue to reflect that. Perhaps that is why Mink wasn't as favored in his mind, though Day isn't exactly a spring chicken. It was a little jarring to see Mink because three years earlier in North By Northwest, he looked younger, even with the salt and pepper hair.

Funny that by coincidence, PBS was airing Penny Serenade. I haven't seen that either. I sampled a short scene before putting Mr. Blandings on. I didn't want to spoil that movie if I ever get to see it. It looked heavy. The print looked like a Public Domain copy with a scratchy audio track.
 

Matt Hough

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I remember reading in Doris Day's autobiography that she had similar feelings about That Touch of Mink. She liked Grant, but she found him remote and uninvolved and thus didn't warm to him. Didn't seem to matter with audiences since it and Lover Come Back were the top box-office comedies of the year, both starring Day and making her the number one box-office star of 1962.
 

classicmovieguy

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I remember reading in Doris Day's autobiography that she had similar feelings about That Touch of Mink. She liked Grant, but she found him remote and uninvolved and thus didn't warm to him. Didn't seem to matter with audiences since it and Lover Come Back were the top box-office comedies of the year, both starring Day and making her the number one box-office star of 1962.
They both preferred to be photographed on the same side of their face, which posed a few problems as well. Cary is one of the very few leading men Doris spoke of in less than glowing terms.
 

Robin9

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They both preferred to be photographed on the same side of their face, which posed a few problems as well. Cary is one of the very few leading men Doris spoke of in less than glowing terms.

I've read Doris's autobiography and I've seen television shows about her where she discusses her career. She doesn't criticize Cary Grant. She says he was a very private person who stayed in his dressing room and didn't socialize with the other cast members. In one TV conversation, she specifically says "and I respect that . . . "

Her autobiography is first class and I recommend it to all movie buffs and music lovers.
 

Nelson Au

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I indulged in Operation Petticoat last night. I had not seen it in so long, I hate to admit I totally forgot the plot and story. Having seen Destination Tokyo so recently, it was a nice pairing. I enjoyed it, possibly more because of having seen the earlier film so recently. I had read that Tony Curtis was inspired by Cary's film Destination Tokyo to join the Navy, so it was interesting that he was able to use his fame in films to get Operation Petticoat made and be able to work with his hero Cary Grant. Funny to see Dick Sargent co-star with him here prior to Mink. And to see Marion Ross and Madlyn Rhue prior to later successes.

Josh, your enthusiasm for Father Goose has me curious to see that. But it looks so different from his usual, I'm resisting. :)
 

Josh Steinberg

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Josh, your enthusiasm for Father Goose has me curious to see that. But it looks so different from his usual, I'm resisting. :)

It both is and it isn't. A lot of the scenarios he faces aren't too far different from things that happen in Houseboat and Operation Petticoat, the big difference is that Grant's character is drunk and cranky instead of polished and smooth. But the character has also had some bad breaks in his life, and the movie is in many ways about his character finally waking up and starting to care about life again, so I think by the end of the movie, he's become more like the Grant we're used to seeing. So it was cool for me to see him in a movie where his character had a real arc and didn't stay the same from start to finish.
 

ahollis

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Father Goose is a favorite of mine. The chemistry between Grant and Leslie Caron is good but again the age difference is evident. I enjoy the put upon Grant and this one is his best. I enjoy the opening title song completely and completely puts you in the mood for the film.
 

Josh Steinberg

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Ok, you guys have convinced me to see Father Goose. I can relate that any artist doesn't want to be catagorized in one style or genre, so he should be able to do a variety of work. And as the viewer of the art, we should be able to appreciate that.

Even if it's not one of your favorites, I think at the least you'll come away having spent an enjoyable two hours watching a fun movie. When the movie came out, apparently it was not very successful in its initial run because audiences weren't as interested in seeing Cary Grant not acting like Cary Grant. However, I read that when the movie started showing on television, it really found its audience there - probably because people could just discover it without committing to leaving the house and opening up the wallet - and its popularity has grown since. In the "Evenings With Cary Grant" book I read, someone who worked on the film (possibly one of the writers or co-stars, sorry I don't have the book in front of me) mentioned that it worked out to be one of the most popular things that person ever did because he saw more television royalty checks for payments for his work on Father Goose than anything else he had done.

Nelson, if you absolutely hate it, I'll watch "Spock's Brain" three times in a row or something for penance. :)
 

RMajidi

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The temptation might be to think: "Well I've seen Cary Grant do drunk before in 'North By Northwest'".

As hilarious as his forcibly intoxicated scenes were in Hitchcock's classic, his characterisation in 'Father Goose' is an entirely different kettle of fish - both portrayals magnificent in their own way.

"...pay the two dollars"
 

bujaki

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Josh, I hate you:D. You just made me spend $100 on Amazon to acquire all 6 Grant titles released by Olive. Now, I had seen 5 of them on their original release, and I must say that Olive's releases are not the best, but we'll see no better.
Watching these films again, upwards of 50+ years later, I can certainly appreciate the sexual innuendos that escaped a child's mind, especially while reading Spanish subtitles. I don't think I had seen these films again since then (except for Father Goose), so it's a real pleasure to revisit them and admire so many of their qualities as a mature adult.
The only one I did not see upon first release is, of course, Penny Serenade. This is the one film that I've seen multiple times over the years (even in 35mm) before it descended into PD hell. I used to like it as a child and as a young man. After marriage and children, my wife and I grew to dislike it more and more for its philosophy that a marriage can only succeed if there are children to solidify the relationship. So while admiring many other aspects of the film, I simply can't fully endorse it. My opinion, of course. And I used to cry and cry and cry over it. Oh well.
 

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