Love Hollywood Style: Cary Grant.

Cary Grant was married five times. He wed Virginia Cherrill on February 10, 1934. She was best known for her role as the blind flower girl in Charlie Chaplin's City Lights (1931). She divorced Grant on 26 March 1935, following charges that Grant had hit her.

In 1942, he married Barbara Hutton, one of the wealthiest women in the world, and became a father figure to her son, Lance Reventlow. The couple was nicknamed "Cash and Cary", although in a prenuptial agreement Grant refused any financial settlement in the event of a divorce. After divorcing in 1945, they remained lifelong friends.

On December 25, 1949, Grant married Betsy Drake. He performed with her in two films. This would prove to be his longest marriage, ending on August 14, 1962. Drake introduced Grant to LSD, and in the early 1960's he related how treatment with the hallucinogenic drug (legal at the time) at a prestigious California clinic had finally brought him inner peace after yoga, hypnotism and mysticism had not helped him. Grant and Drake divorced in 1962. I later saw her in a interview where she said that.. she thought that he never loved her.. I thought it was so very sad to hear..

He eloped with Dyan Cannon on July 22, 1965 in Las Vegas. Their daughter, Jennifer Grant, was born prematurely on February 26, 1966. He called her his "best production" and regretted that he had not had children sooner. They divorced in 1968.

On April 11, 1981, Grant married Barbara Harris, a British hotel public-relations agent, who was 47 years his junior. They renewed their vows on their fifth wedding anniversary. (Fifteen years after Grant's death, Harris would marry former Kansas Jayhawks quarterback David Jaynes in 2001.)

Barara Harris, Cary Grant and daughter, Jennifer.

Jennifer Diane Grant (born February 26, 1966), actress and the only child of actors Cary Grant and Dyan Cannon.

Her parents divorced when she was two years old. The reasons given for their divorce were that her father was unable to find his "perfect wife", also there was a 33-year age difference. Jennifer had a close relationship with her father for the rest of his life. Because her father did not want her to become an actress, she tried other career options:

As a teenager she worked as a: babysitter, stock clerk at the Village store in Pacific Palisades, grocery store checkout cashier at the Rainbow Grocery in Malibu, and waitress at the Pioneer Boulangerie restaurant in Santa Monica.

After graduating from Stanford University in 1987 with a degree in American Studies, she worked for a law firm, and followed that with a job as a chef at Wolfgang Puck's Spago restaurant in Beverly Hills.

When her father died in 1986, he left her half his estate, worth several millions of dollars, the other half of the estate went to her stepmother Barbara Harris Grant, with whom Jennifer has a close relationship.

In 1993, seven years after Cary Grant's death, she played her first acting role in the Aaron Spelling television drama Beverly Hills, 90210, in the role of Celeste Lundy.

She appeared as a guest star in TV shows including: Friends, and later appeared in several movies. In 1999, she was the lead actress in the WB television sitcom Movie Stars.

In 2011, her memoir, Good Stuff: a Reminiscence of My Father, Cary Grant, was published. Good Stuff is a portrait of her relationship with her father. The title refers to a favorite expression of his, said when things were going well.



She was married to Randy Zisk for three years, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1996. Grant has volunteered as an actress and mentor with the Young Storytellers Foundation. Grant gave birth to a son, Cary Benjamin, on August 12, 2008.

Video: Cary Grant receiving an Honorary Oscar.

Fighting Caravans(1931).

Fighting Caravans(1931). A Western film directed by Otto Brower and David Burton. Cast: Gary Cooper, Lili Damita, and Ernest Torrence. Based on the 1929 novel Fighting Caravans by Zane Grey.

Fighting Caravans was remade three years later as Wagon Wheels, a low-budget production using stock footage from, Fighting Caravans. Cast: Randolph Scott and Gail Patrick in the lead roles.

Every character's name was changed in the remake except that of Clint Belmet, played by Cooper and Scott.

The story begins with Clint Belmet, sentenced to 30 days in jail. His partners, Bill Jackson and Jim Bridger talk a beautiful Frenchwoman named Felice, into telling the drunken marshal that Clint had married her the night before.

Clint and Felice, join the wagon train caravan carrying freight from Missouri to Sacramento, California during the civil war and before the railroads had been built.. Soon after, Felice, finds out that Bill and Jim, had lied to her... she really did not need a man to join up with the wagon train.

In a stopover, they learn that the Indians are causing trouble on the trail, Clint offers to guide the wagon train. Once on the trail, Felice's wagon goes out of control downhill and Clint comes to the rescue. After, Felice starts talking marriage, Clint, gets nervous and leaves.

He later finds out that the Kiowas and Cheyenne, have been talked into the warpath by crooked traders and are planning an attack the wagon train. Clint, Bill and Jim rush back to stop the Indians attack at the river crossing. Clint, saves the wagon train with some barrels of gunpowder, but his friends are both killed. The wagon train continues on to California.

This is a 'B' western/romance and there are some scenes that did reminded me of silent films.You might want to pass on this movie unless you are a Gary Cooper or a early western fan. Which I'm both, so I enjoyed the film..

Please click here to watch Fighting Caravans(1931) in full.

Lili Damita (July 10, 1904 – March 21, 1994) was a French actress who had appeared in 33 movies between 1922 and 1937. She was educated in convents and ballet schools in France, Spain and Portugal.

At 14, she was enrolled as a dancer at the Opera de Paris. She performed in several silent films before being offered her first leading role in, Das Spielzeug von Paris (1925) by director Michael Curtiz, whom she married in 1925 (they divorced a year later).

She was an instant success, and Curtiz directed her in two more films: Fiaker Nr 13 (1926) and Der Goldene Schmetterling (1926). Damita also performed in, (Die Grosse Abenteuerin(1927), The Queen Was in the Parlour(1927).

In 1928, at the invitation of Samuel Goldwyn she went to Hollywood, making her American debut in a film titled, The Rescue.

Her other films include: The Cock-Eyed World (1929), the semi-silent, The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1929) and This Is the Night (1932).

A comedy film directed by Frank Tuttle. It based on the play Pouche (1923) by Henri Falk and René Peter, and the English language adaptation, Naughty Cinderella (1925), written by Avery Hopwood. Cast: Lili Damita, Charles Ruggles, Roland Young, Thelma Todd, Cary Grant, and Irving Bacon. It was a remake of the 1926 film, Good and Naughty with Pola Negri.

This was Cary Grant's first motion picture. The story begins...While having a night of fun in Paris with her lover, Gerald Gray. Claire Mathewson loses her skirt in a limousine door, arriving home only in her slip, Claire is met by her husband Stephen, a javelin thrower who is supposed to be in Los Angeles for the Olympics.

Gerald and Claire insist the trip was to find Gerald a wife. Stephen, hires the down on her luck Germaine, as Chou-Chou, a glamorous actress. After watching them together, Claire becomes jealous, demanding that Germaine leave Venice. Germaine, refuses to give up her wonderful vacation. This Is The Night, the first of the Screwball comedies that Cary Grant becomes famous for later on. The humor is wonderful and Cary is very funny in this film. It may remind you a little of the silent film format.

In 1935 she married her second husband, Errol Flynn, with whom she had a son, Sean Leslie Flynn (born 1941). Following the marriage, she retired from the screen. The couple divorced in 1942. (Barbara Hershey portrayed her in the TV film My Wicked, Wicked Ways (1985) based on Errol Flynn's biography.)

Dueling Divas Blogathon: In Name Only(1939).

In Name Only(1939). Cast: Cary Grant, Carole Lombard and Kay Francis. Based on the 1935 novel Memory of Love by Bessie Breuer. This movie was intended to be a reunion for Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, but following the failure of Bringing Up Baby at the box office, Hepburn left RKO after being named "Box Office Poison". Carole Lombard was brought in as her replacement.

Alec Walker, finds himself trapped in a loveless marriage, to a woman who married him only for his money. When he meets Julie, a widow and her daughter Ellen, he quickly falls in love with her.



His wife Maida, has Alec's parents convinced that she is the perfect wife, so when, Alec asks for a divorce, Maida, says that she will sail to Paris to stay with his parents, hoping to prolong the divorce.

Alec, follows Julie to New York, where he proposes to her, Julie accepts. After, returning home on Christmas Eve, Maida promises Julie, that she will never give Alec a divorce, and if he files for one, she will sue Julie for alienation of affections and have her daughter testify in court against her.

After which, Alec and Julie decide to go their own way. It is not long before Alec, becomes very ill with pneumonia. When the doctor says that his only the hope is to be with with Julie, she comes up with the lie that Maida has agreed to a divorce. Maida tells Julie, that she wants all of the Walker family's money and Alec's parents happen to overhear her. Now what will happen to Maida, after she is exposed for the Gold digger she is?

This is the perfect movie to celebrate dueling divas. The performances are wonderful and Lombard, is absolutely gorgeous. I think another good reason to see this film, is to see Kay Francis performance as Maida, Cary Grant's vindictive wife, which is great fun to watch. Lombard's fans won't be disappointed either with her heart-breaking performance.

Both actress break new ground in this classic film, In Name Only(1939). Carole Lombard brings it down a notch from her sexy blonde of screw-ball comedy fame to perform a straight dramatic role. Kay Francis, plays the woman you love to hate. She should have received an academy award for her performance.

Wedding Present (1936)

***
Country: US
Director: Richard Wallace

Whatever screwball comedy is—and there is nearly as much uncertainty about its definition as there is about film noir—it was the dominant strain of American film comedy from about the mid-1930s until the start of the Second World War. During those few years literally hundreds of such films were made. "But for every screwball comedy that we remember fondly today; there are at least ten that would make us grind our teeth over the witless shenanigans of unfunny farceurs," writes Andrew Sarris in "You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet." Those of us who dote on screwball comedy, while almost certainly more forgiving than Sarris of the imperfections of the ones that miss greatness, still recognize what he means. Being the most commercial of the arts, the movies have always been the most imitative. Once a novel type of film like screwball comedy catches on, it quickly tends to become formulaic, then imitated until the genre becomes degraded and interest in it wanes. So it's always a pleasure to discover a screwball comedy that, while no Bringing Up Baby or It Happened One Night, nevertheless delivers enough pleasure to make it worth seeking out, especially when the film features one of the acting icons of the genre. Such a film is the 1936 screwball comedy Wedding Present starring the man who graced so many of the best films of this type, Cary Grant.

Grant plays Charlie Mason, a big-city newspaper reporter who is engaged to another reporter on the same paper, Rusty Fleming (Joan Bennett). Charlie and Rusty are two of those cynical, wisecracking, conniving reporters who populated the frenetic newspaper movies that flourished in the 1930s, a type of film whose comedic period is bracketed by The Front Page (1931) and its screwball remake His Girl Friday (1940). The first part of the film shows us just how much professional rapport Charlie and Rusty have, as they shrewdly inveigle a reclusive European prince into giving them an exclusive interview, then fly off to locate a sinking ship lost off the coast in the fog. They seem like a perfect working team after one thing—a scoop at any cost. But their personal relationship is a great deal more complicated, for as in so many relationships in screwball comedy, romance and antagonism are seldom far apart.

Two things get in the way of their romance. First Rusty, fed up with Charlie's chronic irresponsibility, which has led to their marriage being postponed repeatedly, calls off the engagement. Then when Charlie is unexpectedly appointed city editor, he undergoes a total personality transformation, becoming a cold professional with no appeal for Rusty. In the meantime Rusty has gotten engaged to the kind of obviously unsuitable mate always found in comedies of this kind, a staid author of best-selling self-help books (apparently such things existed even in 1936), a stuffed shirt whom Charlie immediately pegs as "a phony." With everything in place, the machinery of classic screwball comedy shifts into high gear: Charlie has a sudden change of heart and resigns, saying "I've got to be a human being again," then, with the help of choleric mobster Smiles Benson (William Demarest) and his dim-witted henchman Squinty (Edward Brophy), sets out to win Rusty back.

Cary Grant appeared in thirty movies before making The Awful Truth (1937), the film that movie historians generally identify as the debut of the self-created screen personality we know as Cary Grant. Even though it would be another year before that personality emerged fully, Wedding Present contains enough of that familiar persona that it can rightly be said to anticipate The Awful Truth and all the other comedy films Grant made for the next twenty-five years. The urbanity we associate with the Cary Grant screen image is missing from his Charlie Mason in Wedding Present; the character is, after all, a working journalist, not a suave man of the world. But the manic exuberance of later pictures—seen in its most extreme form in movies like Topper, Arsenic and Old Lace, and Howard Hawks's Monkey Business—is present here in full force. So is the streak of nonconformity found in so many of the roles he later played. The outlandish stunt Charlie devises to win Rusty back, like a good deal of the convention-flaunting behavior in screwball comedy, would today probably get him arrested, committed for seventy-two hours' observation, and given a prescription for lithium.

As a young man Grant honed his physical performance skills as a member of an acrobatic troupe, and in this picture his controlled use of his body to create characterization is an essential part of his performance. (About the only familiar Cary Grant physical mannerism not found in Wedding Present is his well-known double take, an indication that at this point the Cary Grant screen persona was still under construction.) Of Grant's use of body language in his acting Andrew Sarris writes, "It was not just a matter of the pratfalls and somersaults Grant performed throughout his career, but innumerable bits of business that tilted this part of his body and that in some speedy flash of behavioral vaudeville." Sarris goes on to describe a shot in The Awful Truth which he calls "a shot more than any other that provides the visual cue for the screwball era," in which Grant sprawls on a sofa in "a posture of infantile irresponsibility." A comparison of Sarris's detailed description of Grant in that scene to the scene in Wedding Present in which Charlie lounges on a chair in his publisher's office just before being unexpectedly promoted to city editor reveals that Grant's posture in the two scenes, and what it conveys about his character's impudent attitude toward the others in the room, are nearly identical. And Wedding Present predates The Awful Truth by a year.

Another scene that shows Grant's skill at nimble physical comedy and that anticipates later performances is his drunk scene—always an opportunity for actors to show off their chops—in a bar with William Demarest near the end of the film. This is the scene where Charlie, egged on by Demarest, concocts his intricate scheme to disrupt Rusty's wedding to the self-help writer and get her back. (What would a screwball comedy be without the prospect of a last-minute rescue of the hero or heroine from an ill-advised marriage?) It's impossible not to compare the way Grant plays this scene with the way he plays the scene near the beginning of North by Northwest where he is forcibly given liquor then sent on a hair-raising ride down a twisting mountain road in a sports car. In both scenes he shows the same sense of giddy exhilaration and the same detached reaction to what he's doing, a combination of amusement and wonder, as if he half believes it's all happening to someone else.

The presence of Cary Grant might be inducement enough to watch Wedding Present, but the film has other points of interest as well. As Rusty, Joan Bennett has a relaxed rapport with Grant and shows a delightful flair for light comedy, her manner often reminiscent of Myrna Loy. Neither platinum blonde as earlier in her career nor dark brunette as she became a year or two later and remained for the rest of her career, Bennett wears her hair in her own natural honey blonde color, and the effect is most becoming. William Demarest brings his expertise in expressing comic frustration to his part as a perpetually disgruntled gangster. The direction by Richard Wallace, an alumnus of Hal Roach and Mack Sennett, is professional without being showy (he directed the excellent 1938 comedy The Young in Heart, which I wrote about a couple of years ago) but does have a memorable early use of split screen that looks ahead to a similar scene in Pillow Talk (1959). This comes when Charlie and Rusty have a telephone conversation from their separate beds, with Grant on one side of the screen and Bennett on the other. There's no line dividing the two images, just a slight blur in the middle where they barely overlap. Filmed from exactly the same distance and camera position, Grant and Bennett look for all the world as if they're sitting side by side in bed together.

Several things do separate Wedding Present from the very best examples of screwball comedy, though. At times the film strains too hard to maintain its high-spirited tone. Then there is some awkwardness in its narrative construction. The first half resembles the newspaper comedies of the day with the emphasis on the funnier aspects of this cut-throat business, while the second half shifts the focus to the relationship problems of Charlie and Rusty. (Compare this to the way Howard Hawks thoroughly integrates these two strains in His Girl Friday.) Charlie's two complete reversals of personality during this second part seem a psychologically dubious contrivance, and the pacing here is a bit too rushed. Still, if you have any empathy at all with screwball comedy, you shouldn't find it difficult to see past the film's shortcomings and enjoy it as a fast and funny example of screwball, boosted by the radiance of Cary Grant giving a preview of the greatness to come.

Alternate Best Actor 1937: Results

5. Claude Rains in They Won't Forget- Rains does his best and puts a great deal of effort in his performance, but his character unfortunately is paper thin.

4. Victor Moore in Make Way For Tomorrow- Moore gives a moving quiet performance of a man who witnesses society pass him by.

2 . Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in Way Out West- There is no reason to separate them as together they create the greatest comedy duo ever, and show well there unique talent together in this film. ( In the overall rank I merely put them in alphabetical order.)

1. Cary Grant in The Awful Truth- Grant gives an entertaining and enjoyable performance that is a terrific example of his abilities as the lead of a romantic comedy.

Overall Rank:

1. Robert Montgomery in Night Must Fall
2. Cary Grant in The Awful Truth
3. Oliver Hardy in Way Out West
4. Stan Laurel in Way Out West
5. Fredric March in A Star is Born
6. Ronald Colman in Lost Horizon
7. Victor Moore in Make Way For Tomorrow
8. Charles Boyer in Conquest
9. Paul Muni in The Life Emile Zola
10. Freddie Bartholomew in Captains Courageous  
11. Claude Rains in They Won't Forget
12. Paul Muni in the Good Earth
13. Roland Young in Topper
14. Cary Grant in Topper
15. Edward Norris in They Won't Forget
16. Spencer Tracy in Captains Courageous 
17. Jon Hall in The Hurricane

Next Year: 1974

Alternate Best Actor 1937: Cary Grant in The Awful Truth

Cary Grant did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Jerry Warriner in The Awful Truth.

Cary Grant never received an Oscar nomination for a comedy role not even for this role in this film which won Best Director, and both his leading lady Irene Dunne, and his supporting foil Ralph Bellamy were nominated, but he was not. Interestingly enough when they teamed up again for the weepie Penny Serenade Cary Grant was nominated and Irene Dunne was not. For whatever reason even when the film was as popular with the academy as this one, they never cared for Grant in a comedic role. They only could accept him as a nominee when he was being serious which certainly is too bad.

Cary Grant here is in prime form as the husband of a soon to be divorced couple. It is not that Jerry and Lucy (Irene Dunne) hate each other that brings them to this point but rather odd behavior from both of them leads both to believe there is infidelity going on. They get the divorce that will take place after a grace period during in such the two seek other romantic interests, and the film is pretty much set up as first Jerry sabotaging Lucy's attempt with the simple southerner Dan (Bellamy), than afterwards Lucy sabotages Jerry's attempt with an heiress.

Grant has quite a bit of fun with his role in his half of the sabotage, as he purposefully moves against her rather simple beau. He does this with simple jabs at him, and rather small gestures that always seem to say that Dan simply is not in the same league as Jerry. Grant is extremely good in just being the being the most cunning one in the room as he constantly does his best to humiliate Lucy, and ruin her chances away from him. His timing is always terrific, and his energetic never falls short of bringing to life the humor of any scene.

Grant though is equally good though in the scenes where he forced to be the one who gets the shorter end of the stick, when Lucy gives him an ample taste of his own medicine. His reaction to her behavior that is quite a bit similar to his earlier behavior to her is excellent as the two of them switch places. His reaction of a sort of bemusement as well as sometimes complete surprise at the extent she goes to prevent him. Grant's reactions are always quite amusing as Jerry is taken aback by Lucy's behavior which is only mirroring his own.

I would say though most important aspect of his performance as well as Dunne is of course there chemistry. In that they both bring to life their relationship in just the right fashion. Firstly their divorce, and their game of ruining each other's romantic affairs are always kept lightly comedic by both actors, never in any way making it seem unpleasant. Equally to their credit though they always manage to put just the right degree of weight in their performance. 

This is not that either actor makes the situation at all serious but the two bring about the idea that the two are a married couple that do actually love each other. Both show their reactions to properly betrayal and neither make it as so they are completely heartbroken, but the two do stress the idea that they do care even behind all the humor. It is rather subtly portrayed by both behind their more comedic reactions, the two have just the right emphasis in the scenes together that the two still have a connection with one another.

This connection is the reason why both of their best moments really come in their silent looks they give to one another. They are both terrific in conveying that the two absolutely do know each other far too well, and when one or the other are pulling a trick the two actually are quite genuine in their response, even though they can be quite funny as well. Grant and Dunne simply make the most about the relationship between the two, and really they are able to make the ending properly a forgone conclusion.

I should say Cary Grant's performance on its own is a charming performance that is very enjoyable to watch, but what does make it special is his chemistry with Irene Dunne's terrific performance. The two together make this film the delight that it is because of how well the play off each other in every one of their scenes. Alone though this is not Cary Grant's very best performance in this genre but it is still an entertaining one that shows his great abilities as a romantic comedy leading man.

Alternate Best Actor 1937

And the Nominees Were Not:

Oliver Hardy in Way Out West

Stan Laurel in Way Out West

Cary Grant in The Awful Truth

Claude Rains in They Won't Forget

Victor Moore in Make Way For Tomorrow

Alternate Best Actor 1947: Results

5. Cary Grant in The Bishop's Wife- Grant never falters in his portrayal of a just about perfect character. He brings a great deal of charm, and wit to the role that makes it an absolutely winning performance.

4. Robert Mitchum in Out of the Past- Mitchum gives a strong commanding performance that perfectly fits his world weary on screen persona.

3. Rex Harrison in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir- Harrison is terrific in his role bring both mysterious as well as quite humorous in the role of the titular entity.

2. Charlie Chaplin in Monsieur Verdoux- Chaplin finds just the right tone to brings the life his cynical but also humorous serial killer who treats his murders as just a normal job.

1. Richard Attenborough in Brighton Rock- There was no question here of who was the very best of year with Attenborough tremendous performance as a young thug. Attenborough gives a striking performance that never strives from the harsh truths of his character.

Overall Rank:

1. Richard Attenborough in Brighton Rock
2. Ronald Colman in A Double Life
3. James Mason in Odd Man Out
4. Charlie Chaplin in Monsieur Verdoux
5. Rex Harrison in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
6. Robert Mitchum in Out of the Past
7. Cary Grant in The Bishop's Wife
8. David Niven in The Bishop's Wife
9. Edmund Gwenn in Miracle on 34th Street
10. William Powell in Life With Father
11. John Garfield in Body and Soul
12. John Payne in Miracle on 34th Street
13. Michael Redgrave in Mourning Becomes Electra 
14. Dana Andrews in Boomerang!
15. Victor Mature in Kiss of Death
16. Robert Young in Crossfire
17. Gregory Peck in The Paradine Case
18. Gregory Peck in Gentleman's Agreement

Next Year: 1965

Alternate Best Actor 1947: Cary Grant in The Bishop's Wife

Cary Grant did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Dudley in The Bishop's Wife. 

The Bishop's wife is an enjoyable and heartwarming tale about an angle who helps a Bishop (David Niven) who has become distant from his wife (Loretta Young) while attempting to get a Cathedral built.

I must say one great joy of doing these alternates is getting to revisit performances by actors who were constantly snubbed by the academy. Cary Grant is the biggest who was nominated only twice, was not nominated for this performance despite this film received five nominations tied for the second most of the year, including picture and director. I suppose Grant just never was the Oscars cup of tea after all Grant was only nominated for an decidedly non Cary Grant role in None But the Lonely Heart, I suppose they figured they rewarded enough of Grant for his performance in the weepie Penny Serenade.

Cary Grant here portrays the angle who helps the titular character finds his way, and bring him back to properly appreciating what he has. In a way you could actually say that his role is an expanded version of Clarence from It's A Wonderful Life, although Dudley here is far more confidant of an angle. In fact he is quite sure of himself as he should be as he absolutely knows how to handle the situation. He knows exactly what to do at every point of time, never failing to fulfill what needs to be done for the good of the bishop or anyone else he happens to simply pass by.

Grant really does portray his character on basically one note. Now this is not in the negative of being a one note performance since Dudley would be portrayed incorrectly if he showed a very wide range of emotion he is practically a perfect character therefore he should be portrayed in a very much contained fashion.The funny thing was originally Niven was going to be Dudley and Grant the Bishop, well that in a way shows what works so well about Grant's performance, Niven would perhaps seemed a bit devious in the role, whereas Grant finds the perfect tone for his character.

Grant uses just the right degree of his unique and quite remarkable charm. It is in a low key style for Grant and does not use it to the almost controlling fashion, here though Grant uses his charisma to make Dudley properly otherworldly. There is something truly special in Grant's little smile, and twinkle in his eye that effectively conveys the wondrous quality of this angle. He does not overplay the perfection of Dudley too much, because he shows in such a quiet way. His performance never makes Dudley boastful or prideful but in a way appropriately meek and quite likable in his style of just being so helpful.

It is not the most complex of roles but Grant is absolutely spot on with his performance all the time making Dudley the likable presence he should be. Dudley never seems like a phony or saccharine character either, Grant always manages to make every one of his character appropriately heartwarming without every overplaying him or underplaying him. He fulfills his role all the way through. Now by the nature of the character he is not an especially complex character, even his later scenes where he shows that he may be in love with Young's character, Grant plays that as genuine but still part of Dudley plan to make the Bishop realize what he has been missing. Nevertheless Grant makes the absolute most of his role, and achieves something quite special with the role that could fallen quite short in lesser hands.

133. Bringing Up Baby

133. (07 Jul) Bringing Up Baby (1938, Howard Hawks)* 94



Essentially so much funnier than almost all other comedies, it's surprising when so much as ten seconds go by without Bringing Up Baby landing a laugh. Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant are at their comedic best. They're keenly aware of the inherent hilarity in the script and accomplish quite a feat in creating dimensional characters in a screwball this wacky. Howard Hawks likely couldn't have had more fun making this. He sets up each elaborate gag and twist as if it's a labor of love.

Alternate Best Actor 1947

And the Nominees Were Not:

Cary Grant in The Bishop's Wife

Richard Attenborough in Brighton Rock

Robert Mitchum in Out Of The Past

Rex Harrison in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

Charlie Chaplin in Monsieur Verdoux

Photo of the Day: Cary and Grace

Here are two of my favorite stars, Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in To Catch A Thief

Happy Sunday Everyone!

Great On Screen Couples: Cary Grant and Carole Lombard

Ok for the few people in blog land who may not know this...Cary Grant and Carole Lombard are my favorite actor and actress ever. I love them more than any other actors and actresses. And while I think Irene Dunne is Cary's best on screen partner, due to the three wonderful films they made together (The Awful Truth, My Favorite Wife and Penny Serenade), Cary and Carole had some great chemistry of their own. True they only made one full film together in 1939's In Name Only, they co-starred early in their career in The Eagle and The Hawk with Fredric March, but they shared no scenes together. Also just learned from VP81955 that Cary had a role in one of Carole's earlier films, Sinners in The Sun and they do share the screen together. Must track that down to watch that one. Thanks VP!

So it is with In Name Only, one terrific romantic drama from the golden year of 1939 that showcases my two favorite people working their magic. Cary is Alec Walker, a wealthy New Yorker in a loveless marriage to Maida (the amazing Kay Francis) who meets the beautiful and caring Julie Eden, a widow (played by Carole) with a young daughter. Alec and Julie hit it off immediately but Maida will not let him out their marriage. She will hold onto Alec even if it makes him miserable.

So this is a true romantic tear-jerker with an love triangle that just won't give an inch, especially by Maida.
Top notch drama and it's great seeing Cary and Carole in a film together. A nice change of pace of Carole in one of her few dramatic roles. She proves she can hold her own with the Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburns. Her pairing with Cary is just wonderful to see. I mean I would have loved for them to team up again for a screwball comedy but sadly that would not happen.

In Name Only is one of my all time favorite films. If you have never seen it, watch it immediately.

Notes:

This movie was intended to be a reunion for Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, but following the failure of Bringing Up Baby at the box office from the previous year, Hepburn left RKO being after deemed "Box Office Poison". Carole Lombard was subsequently brought in as her replacement.

"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie onDecember 11, 1939 with Carole Lombard, Cary Grant and Kay Francis reprising their film roles.

Filmed on location in San Marino, California

Pawsome Pet Pictures: Cary Grant

Since it is Cary's birthday today, I figured it would be a perfect time to post a pic of him and a pet and this is a good one....Happy Birthday Cary!

Mr. Lucky (1943).

Mr. Lucky (1943). Directed by H.C. Potter. Cast: Cary Grant and Laraine Day.

A night watchman stops and talks to a sailor who has rowed up to the dock from the fog. The sailor then stops him from questioning a lonely young woman who seems to be waiting for someone. The story now begins in a flashback:

Gambler Joe "the Greek" Adams, has a couple of problems. First, he and his friend Zepp have received draft notices to join the army to fight in World War II. One of his other friends, Joe Bascopolous, who has just died had been declared unfit to serve. So, one of them can dodge the draft by taking his identity. They gamble for it and Joe wins.

The next problem is, he does not have the money for his gambling ship. He comes up with an idea to run a "charity" casino, despite the suspicions of socialite, Dorothy Bryant.

Eventually, Joe wins her over by teaching her, Australian rhyming slang, for example "tit for tat" (hat), "twist and twirl" (girl), and "trouble and strife" (wife). Later, he renames his gambling ship in her honor.

On the day of the charity ball, Joe receives a letter addressed to Bascopolous, written in Greek. Curious, he takes the letter to a Greek Orthodox priest for translation. It turns out to be from Bascopolou's mother, who wrote to tell her son about Germans invading their village.

At the charity ball, Joe's men come up with a plan to steal the money. Joe has a change of heart and tells "Crunk", that all the money is going to war relief. But Zepp, overhears what he says and forces him at gunpoint to keep the money. Dorothy, catches them red handed and to protect her, he knocks her out. Joe, then kills Zepp, but.. not before getting himself shot and escapes through a window.

Joe, sends the money back to Dorothy, then loads up his ship with war relief supplies.

Later, Dorothy is shocked when a policeman informs her that Bascopolous is dead. Then she sees the photograph of the dead man and it isn't Joe. When the name of the ship Bascopolous is mentioned, she knows where to find him. She rushes to the dock, just as the ship is leaving for Europe. She begs Joe to take her with him, but he turns away. The ship, is torpedoed and sunk on the return trip. Dorothy visits the dock each night, waiting for her Joe to return.

Fun Fact:

Writer Milton Holmes said that his story was inspired by a real 1936 event, where a nightclub owner staged a one-night gambling benefit at the Beverly Hills Hotel to raise $40,000 for a church. In his original story, the character of Joe dies at the end.



I really wanted to see a noir type movie with Cary Grant, starring in it. It is hard at first to see Grant play a heartless gambler, but.. he plays the part perfectly. The love story maybe a little fluffy at times, for a film noir, but.. it was still enjoyable to watch.

Florence Bates (April 15, 1888 – January 31, 1954) was an character actress who often played grande dame characters in her films.

In 1939 she was introduced to Alfred Hitchcock, who cast her in her first major screen role, Mrs. Van Hopper, in Rebecca.

Bates performed in more than sixty films over the next thirteen years. Among her credits are Kitty Foyle, The Moon and Sixpence, Mr. Lucky, Heaven Can Wait, Mister Big, Since You Went Away, Kismet, Saratoga Trunk, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Winter Meeting, I Remember Mama, Portrait of Jennie, A Letter to Three Wives, On the Town, and Les Misérables.

Jennifer Diane Grant.

Jennifer Diane Grant (born February 26, 1966), is an actress and the only child of actors Cary Grant and Dyan Cannon. Her parents divorced when she was only two years old. Jennifer had a close relationship with her father for the rest of his life.

Because her father did not want her to become an actress, growing up she worked as a babysitter, stock clerk at the Village store in Pacific Palisades, grocery store checkout cashier at the Rainbow Grocery in Malibu, and waitress at the Pioneer Boulangerie restaurant in Santa Monica.

After graduating from Stanford University in 1987 with a degree in American Studies, she worked for a law firm, then landed a job as a chef at Wolfgang Puck's Spago restaurant in Beverly Hills.

In 1993, seven years after Cary Grant's death, she landed a role in the Aaron Spelling television drama Beverly Hills, 90210, in the role of Celeste Lundy. She appeared as a guest star in the TV show Friends, and later performed in a couple of movies. In 1999, she was the lead actress in the TV sitcom Movie Stars.

In 2011 her memoir Good Stuff: a Reminiscence of My Father, Cary Grant was published.



Jennifer gave birth to a son, Cary Benjamin, on August 12, 2008.