Tuesday, November 22, 2011

MY FIVE FAVORITE MOVIES OF CARY GRANT

Cary Grant (1904-1986) in my humble opinion is the patron saint of all leading man. Sure, there were actors out there that might have had more of an acting range, but Cary could make any movie he was in seem great. It took a lot of work for him to get the scenes just right, but when the audience sees the finished work on the screen, he made it look so easy. That is a person who has a great understanding of his craft.

In my personal opinion, here is my five favorite Cary Grant films:

5. MR. BLANDINGS BUILDS HIS DREAM HOUSE (1948)
I never fully appreciated this comedy until I became a home owner, but Cary Grant expresses the frustration of building a dream house with great hilarity. He works well with Myrna Loy as his long suffering wife, and his character in the film is the kind of a neighbor I would want. I just would not want to live in his house!


4. SUSPICION (1941)
Cary Grant teamed with Alfred Hitchcock in this compelling tale of a secretive husband possibly trying to kill his wife (Joan Fontaine). Grant showed a different side of himself in this movie. The audience could not really tell if Cary is a good guy or a bad guy in this film. You don't really know what kind of person Grant is until the end of the film. The ending will surprise and maybe even upset some, but that is what Alfred Hitchcock films were all about.

3. PENNY SERENADE (1941)
If you want to watch a real tear jerker then watch this film. My grandfather got me into this movie as a teenager, and I am not embarrassed to say the film makes me cry every time. The movie is about the trouble a couple (Grant and Irene Dunne) are having trying to have a baby. Grant was robbed when he did not win an Oscar for this performance. Now that I am a proud parent the film means even more to me now.


2. NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
This film marks the last time Cary Grant would work with Alfred Hitchcock, and what a movie it was! The movie is on the long side, but Grant plays a man who loses his identity to the point that it truly pulls you into the movie. The movie has everything from witty Grant dialogue to suspense that literally jumps out at you. One of the most memorable scenes is Grant running away from the crop duster. Grant literally takes the audience across country, and he tries to prove who he really is.

1. ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (1944)
This film is not only my favorite Cary Grant movie, but it is my favorite comedy of all-time. Only Cary Grant, under the direction of Frank Capra can make two murdering aunts hilarious. Grant goes from a mild mannered author in the beginning of the movie to a manic and crazed person by the end of the film. Even though Cary is the focal point of the movie, the supporting cast of Raymond Massey, Peter Lorre, and Jack Carson add charm to the movie as well. This is a good film to watch at Halloween - it is not too spooky but good clean fun. You don't even have to be a classic movie fan to love this film, because the comedy is timeless like all of Cary Grant's movies...

14 comments:

  1. Though Cary is not my favorite actor, I do love him alot (he's one of my top 5). However, 2 of his films are on my top 20 list...Penny Serenade and An Affair to Remember.

    Gary Cooper is one of my 3 top guys, and even though I adore Coop, I have long said that I think the wrong man won in 1941. Cary's performance in Penny Serenade was the superior performance. As one who has had fertility issues and adoption roadblocks, that movie is a treasure to me. I sob every time!! (Have you ever seen Room for One More...with his then-wife Betsy Drake? It's another one where he plays paternal, and he does it beautifully!!)

    I used to wonder why Cary didn't receive an Oscar nomination for Suspicion, then I realized it was the same year as Penny Serenade. He was great in both of them.

    Oh, his facial expressions in Arsenic and Old Lace are hilarious!

    And beyond all that, Cary aged beautifully!!! Dashing, distinguished, and handsome all his days.

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  2. I saw "Rear Window" on the big screen a couple of weeks ago. A lecture on Hitch went with the event and the lecturer showed clips from other movies. When Cary Grant showed up in a scene from "To Catch a Thief" I positively melted. I haven't seen him on the big screen since I was a kid watching "Father Goose" and "Walk Don't Run". It's something I want more of.

    These are 10 of my favourite Cary Grant performances: North by Northwest, Bringing Up Baby, The Talk of the Town, His Girl Friday, Holiday, Notorious, Pillow Talk, Only Angels Have Wings, Suspicion and, the first time I saw him, Father Goose. Cary Grant is an absolute joy to watch in anything.

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  3. Cary is my favorite actor! His range was remarkable. Penny Serenade still makes me tear up.

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  4. Lobosco,
    I'm quite fond of Mr. Grant!
    I like your choices. My top 5 would include

    Bringing Up Baby
    Suspicion
    The Philadelphia Story
    To Catch A Thief
    Houseboat

    Happy Thanksgiving!
    Page

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  5. Happy Thanksgiving to you too! I am thankful that there are so many classic movie fans that share my love of great movies too.

    I love seeing everyone's Cary Grant list too. Keep them coming!

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  6. LOVE Penny Serenade. I wish they would put that one out on a good quality DVD. Probably Irene and Cary's best together. Really enjoy all of thsoe other films too, I sort of with they let Cary Grant kill Joan Fontaine at the end of Suspicion. I think they worried it would hurt his career, but I think it would've helped maybe.
    Thanks for sharing and Happy Thanksgiving :)

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  7. My 5 would be (as of now): NOTORIOUS, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, BRINGING UP BABY, THE AWFUL TRUTH and HOUSEBOAT (where he is marvellous with the children)! and I simply love ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS!
    I like that run he had in the 50s: Cary was ideal with Deborah Kerr, Sophia Loren, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn (how can I leave out CHARADE), Doris Day and with Ingrid Bergman again in INDISCREET !

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  8. It goes to show you how great Cary is he did not like working with Frank Capa, Sure can't tell it.

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  9. "Cary could make any movie he was in seem great." Perfect description of this wonderful actor, Lobosco. Your list is very interesting, particularly so to me because it runs the gamut of his talent. Two of my favorites are so completely different. Arsenic and Old Lace is Grant at his funniest. Penny Serenade is Grant at his portrayal of pathos. He was indeed a versatile and marvelous actor. He did another movie with Ethel Barrymore - he was a cockney neer-do-well, very unusual for him, and darned if I can remember the name! That was another example of his ability to play almost anything!

    I really enjoyed this!

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  10. I remembered the Grant movie I talked about, Lobosco! None But The Lonely Heart! He was so good in that!

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  11. I haven't seen "Mr Blandings" (yet!) but my choice would be

    Arsenic and Old Lace

    The Awful Truth

    The Bishop's Wife (Seen for the first time recently.)

    Suspicion

    North By Northwest - covered of my film site here:

    http://classicfilmsreloaded.com/north-by-northwest.html

    But of course they are all (mostly) great!

    Thank you!

    Bryan James

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  12. Don't forget "Talk of the Town" with Jean Arthur and Ronald Colman!! "Father Goose" is really a good one, too.

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  13. My all-time favorite movie of my favorite actor of the 30s and 40s is 1939's "In Name Only," starting my favorite actress of those same times, Carole Lombard, in an uncharacteristically serious drama with Kay Francis being the woman who won't grant Cary a divorce so that he and Carole can be together. The acting is phenomenal, the story poignant, and they actually make a handsome and believable couple.
    My next favorite is, of course, The Philadelphia Story with Kate Hepburn. And love Mr Blandings, as well.

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  14. My top five Cary Grant movies are: 1. Bringing Up Baby (one of the greatest movies I've ever seen!), 2. North by Northwest, Notorious, 3. Charade and 4. Awful Truth.

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