The Cary Grant List

[domino harvey]

I probably hated Singapore Sue maybe a little less than y'all but it's definitely not any good. I was more offended by how lame the two songs were and how the actors singing them had no presence or even decent voices-- who picked these two out of the crowd?! Grant is whatever. I was more amused to learn that like Charles Bickford, Millard Mitchell apparently always looked old

[therewillbeblus]

Yeah, I had the same reaction. It would've been bad, but maybe two-star bad if it weren't for those musical numbers which made me desperately want to return to the unfunny Grant shenanigans - and at only ~10 minutes, it's almost impressive how unbearable it was to sit through them

[senseabove]

Romantic engagements (and I don’t mean deep romance, but broad sloppy tests of intimacy between Hepburn and practically every character she comes across) are recontextualized away from a final objective of achievement and instead reveal their intentions in fleeting goals of being seen and heard and forming identity based on harmonic tones wherever they can be found, often in the queerest of places...What a way to demonstrate how confounding it is for one to unlock their emotional parts and self-actualize against both norms and their own internal barriers? The dance between self-consciousness and confidence is never as pretty as it’s depicted on film in this era, and thanks to this movie for breaking the mold....

a.k.a. the adolescent hyperfixations that follow from "I think I might be bisexual? but I SWEAR I still like girls"— conveniently displaced here to the objects of fixation, as Cold Bishop highlights. Thanks for pointing out CB's write-up!

And for good measure, here's my rebuttal of the Sylvia Scarlett reclamations in the 30s List Project thread

It gives me no great pleasure to say so, but I dutifully watched Sylvia Scarlett as promised and hated it...

Well, there's not much to say to that... I'll venture that it's the contrivance of a fairy tale as much as it is of Hollywood—put a snout on Sylvester's squealing petit jambon in the park, for example, and it's almost ready to be rotoscoped—but I doubt that'll do much to sway you. Maybe you should just give me a list of movies you hate as much as this and Saint Laurent, though? It'll be handy next time I wanna take a shortcut to finding a movie I love.

The good news for me is that everyone is obliged to watch SS for the purposes of this list anyway! Like it or not, it's the role where Archie Leach né Cary Grant [sic] discovers that he can bring back a little wheedling duplicitousness to his paramount [sic] suavité.


As for Singapor Sue, yeah, blech. I just watched it after reading Kael's mention of it. The only other thing of possible note is that Grant's eyebrows are plucked to such a thin, comically expressive line they rival Lana Turner's in The Three Musketeers.

[therewillbeblus]

I decided to revisit Sylvia Scarlett a few hours after finishing it (for some reason, as I was out birding, I couldn't shake the film from my mind and was compelled to start it over) and I liked it a lot more- it's just so unapologetically eclectic, but as a fumbling evolution forward rather than mix of tonal returns. It's fun to watch a movie that's posturing at screwball so often and either softening its chaos in the face of implicit dramatics or undercutting it with swift edits that require rewinds to comprehend its expeditious agility that runs counter to any traditional cinematic rhythm of gag-pitch and delivery (i.e. the police encounter that lands them in prison, where we know "why" Hepburn would not want to show ID, but everything happens to quickly and without the systematic order of operations that should begin with establishing cause for a scene, that by the time they're trading quips behind bars, I'm feeling drunk from the whiplash of more than just the speed; from a refusal to abide by film logic).

It's worth mentioning Grant's perf (this is, after all, his thread), where he is not suave even when posturing in that direction, has an at-times incomprehensible cockney accent he has no interest in playing down to communicate any charm, and plays himself as asexual by contrast of all the sexual elasticity going on elsewhere. He's a jester enjoying the game, and even when he does seem to engage in romance, he's much more interested in having a laugh by himself at others' expenses than indulging in any sexual or romantic union that would necessitate seriousness.

[therewillbeblus]

Ladies Should Listen isn't a great pre-code comedy, but it does showcase Grant's emerging talents to break free from his dramatic charisma into a versatile actor who can respond with range to screwball-comic chaos (I'm not sure which film came first, but Grant seemingly jumped into multiple comedic leading-man roles in '34 after either supporting or headlining dramas beforehand- not that they were all so serious). While a good chunk of these gags fall flat, this is a great example of a film that Grant carries as far as he can. Take a late-act joke about counting to ten in Spanish- Grant's "Don't let him get to 'ten'" anti-punchline made me crack up despite the line itself being an eye-roller, simply because of how he delivers it with enigmatic charm. Explaining why something's funny is a fool's errand, but the response being equal chances wit and ignorance is the real joke and all that stands between a laugh-less film and one that's not-bad with peaks and valleys. Moments like these almost make up for the 'Chile' puns at the start... Also, I love the Letterboxd reviewer who claims they haven't seen the film but rags hard on the title, somehow appalled at sexism existing in 1932 but also failing to read the plot description for the clear the double meaning.. that a female switchboard operator overhearing alerting drama jumpstarts the manic intrusions.

I also watched Walk Don't Run, Grant's last perf, and boy did it stink. I can appreciate the idea to remake The More the Merrier with the twist of Grant playing Coburn's part, and Grant's definitely exuding some admirable energy here, but there are just so many gags that fail due to the comic timing of everyone else involved. Hutton's awful and ruins every scene he's in, but Walters himself could have choreographed the bits better with anything but lazy direction. It's a shame to see Grant enjoying himself without an ounce of support to make a mildly-decent movie out of this mess.

[soundchaser]

Well, I can safely say that She Done Him Wrong is not an Indicator disc I’ll be picking up when it comes out, and based on the...strength of this one, I probably wouldn’t be interested in a hypothetical Mae West box set either. She is incredibly aggravating here, as if every bad 30s movie cliché had come to life and decided to bludgeon the viewer over the head. Maybe she’s the reason they’re clichés in the first place, but I want nothing to do with them. Forgive me for being late to the party here. (And her singing? Good Lord.)

To the matter at hand: Grant is none of the clichés you’d expect — he’s almost nebbish in his role as the head of the local temperance league, and his nervousness is visible in just about ever scene. There are little glimpses of his charm (which I suppose is what I’m going to glom onto for the rest of this project), but we’re still miles away from The Awful Truth or Holiday. I understand that filmmakers didn’t really know what to do with him yet, and it really shows here. There’s one bit where he gives West what I can only assume is meant to be a lustful look, but he just can’t pull it off, so all he does is wiggle his chin a little. It’s almost laughably unsure of itself, and I don’t think that was intentional. To be fair, his character is sorely underwritten, and he’s only in four or five scenes to West’s six million (how was this only an hour and change?), but I’m sure he’ll do more with less later on.

The movie itself isn’t any good, even if it was inexplicably nominated for Best Picture, and Grant’s performance isn’t much better. Maybe others will have better luck than I did.

[knives]

Mae West is pretty awful across the board with her pissing match with WC Fields being the closest I’ve come to tolerating her. West herself liked to claim she discovered Grant and helped make him a star, though I never bought it given how Blonde Venus predates her work with him and how it is an open secret that the Grant character is a Leo McCarey impression starting with their first pairing.

[therewillbeblus]

Well, I can safely say that She Done Him Wrong is not an Indicator disc I’ll be picking up when it comes out, and based on the...strength of this one, I probably wouldn’t be interested in a hypothetical Mae West box set either. She is incredibly aggravating here, as if every bad 30s movie cliché had come to life and decided to bludgeon the viewer over the head. Maybe she’s the reason they’re clichés in the first place, but I want nothing to do with them. Forgive me for being late to the party here. (And her singing? Good Lord.)

I watched it yesterday and hated it too for the same reasons. Mae West gives one of the most irritating perfs I've ever seen- I'd seriously rather listen to nails on a chalkboard for 66 minutes. I'm No Angel is supposed to actually be kinda funny, so I'll go into it with low expectations, but thank god they only overlap twice.

Anyone interested in Grant's worst perf should look no further than The Howards of Virginia. I honestly tuned out the plot for most of it because it's one of the most boring films I've seen (and I try my hardest never to use the "b" word, though I have no energy to make an effort to a film this bad) but Grant's miscasting and, well everything that he does here, goes against all of his strengths. I'm not sure aiming to be a completist for Stars projects is worth it after the last week of dogs- but I'm past the point of no return.

[senseabove]

I'm No Angel is definitely better than She Done Him Wrong, though having seen the latter in a theater and the former on my couch, I think these films benefit from audience camaraderie a lot.

I doubt Hot Saturday will rock anyone's list, but it's an enjoyable enough pre-code, with at least a glimmer of the Grant to come: he plays the rake, with that special pre-code combination of horny and yet still somehow decent in the end, in residence at his country house outside a small town. He throws a swell, boozy party for the local set, and Nancy Carroll ends up at his house very late after fleeing her scoundrel boyfriend's rough advances on the lake. Unfortunately, when the rake's chauffeur drops her off eaaaarly in the morning, her nosy neighbors notice, and rumor spreads that she's a hoe, ruining her reputation. Carroll is noteworthy and enjoyable, and Grant has a twinkle of Grantness, though he's still not really comfortable in his skin or prominent enough to warrant consideration for our purposes. The movie's also slightly notable for introducing Grant and Randolph Scott to each other, though there's no onscreen interaction between the two for eager minds to over-interpret. This is in the Universal pre-code DVD set, if you have that laying around. Worth a watch if pre-code's your thing, but I wouldn't go out of my way for this thread's purposes.

[therewillbeblus]

I too liked Hot Saturday but almost entirely for how technically impressive it was, the camera swooning across scenes to find optimal placement through gusts of inspired movement, yet refusing to resign in complacent form. It was just gorgeous to look at. Also I really liked the ending which shamed a character for temporary doubt with permanence- I can’t exactly call it a left-field reveal but the finale still surprised me by playing into the ‘you snooze you lose’ philosophy of multiple ‘right’ people for each other, that smashed the traditionally oversimplified and romanticized ‘one sole mate’ ideal in its execution.

[Matt]

It’s equal parts amusing and excruciating to watch you all torture yourselves with Cary Grant’s worst movies. Doing career surveys really can test the limits of affection for the subject. But I do hope you will all carve out 78 minutes for Kiss and Make-Up, a romantic comedy every bit as frivolous, broad, and silly as its 1934 vintage would lead you to expect, but for me the one where Cary Grant begins to solidify his unique comedic persona. It’s usually Topper that gets this designation, but I think that might be because this film was out of circulation for so long (making its home video debut only in 2006), whereas Topper achieved public domain ubiquity on video and TV. (Pauline Kael mentions Kiss favorably in her big piece on Grant, but I imagine she saw an archival print somewhere as part of her research.) I’ll have to do a rewatch before I post any further thoughts on it—it’s on YouTube or in the various Universal Grant DVD collections. It’s no Twentieth Century or It Happened One Night, but I think it can respectably claim to be a part of the flowering of screwball comedy in 1934.

[therewillbeblus]

Devil and the Deep only has a brief throwaway Grant part, but the film earns major points for Charles Laughton's protean perf of psychological decline. If he was just playing the jealous husband going insane, this wouldn't be nearly as impressive, but some of his rants come off as pathetic admissions of his low self-esteem in public settings. There's a great scene where he emasculates himself in the presence of his wife and her lover by commenting on Cooper's good looks and overall winning social-better characterization vs his own inferiority, as if that's a status that's deserved- even if part of him will fight against it throughout the narrative. It's rather daring to make this abusive and dangerous character pitiable for brief pockets of time amidst the crazy, and so the film becomes better than it has any right to be based solely on this character's unpredictability signifying horror with doses of humanity squeezed in forcefully.

[Pavel]

I've been making my way through the early films, too, but most of them are so dull I can't even muster a few words to say about them. This Is the Night is the least terrible of the ones I've seen so far, but despite a premise full of comedic possibilites, I only laughed once. Grant's feature debut, but a more substantial role than some of the ones that would follow. According to Wikipedia, Grant hated the role and it made him want to quit acting until he was talked out of it.

[soundchaser]

I do hope you will all carve out 78 minutes for Kiss and Make-Up, a romantic comedy every bit as frivolous, broad, and silly as its 1934 vintage would lead you to expect, but for me the one where Cary Grant begins to solidify his unique comedic persona...

Well, I watched this one tonight, and I sort of see what you mean about Grant solidifying his persona here, but he still comes across as slightly wooden and uncomfortable. (Although not as much as in She Done Him Wrong.) His general comic timing isn’t quite there yet, either — for example: he’s too late in cutting off his new wife’s Spanish lover’s litany of names, so the joke falls flat on its face. This may be a failure of direction, but Grant would eventually figure out how to play these scenes more naturally regardless. I think it’s worth comparing him with Edward Everett Horton, who is so settled into his comedic role by this point in his career that he can’t help stealing any of the scenes he’s in. (Now there’s a contender for a future List Project.) I wasn’t crazy about the whole thing, but it *is* worth it to hear Grant attempt to sing... and, more importantly, Horton sing a love song to corned beef and cabbage.

[mizo]

Edward Everett Horton...(Now there’s a contender for a future List Project.)

[therewillbeblus]

The Woman Accused gets another shrug from me, but holy hell, it's worth watching just for the ending where Grant goes totally off-brand (well, future brand)

Spoiler

flying into a rage and mercilessly whipping Jack La Rue, as he screams in horror!

It's a pretty wild, skin-crawling moment, even if it only lasts a few seconds. Def some pre-code shenanigans that wouldn't fly a few years later

Gambling Ship is amusing to watch the studio test Grant as a gangster (a "good" gangster, of course) and he definitely seems to be enjoying himself trying on this hat, even if the film around him isn't quite as consistent. When it works, it works though- and there's definitely some fun to be had amidst the (less frequent that usual for this early period, at least) lulls.

[therewillbeblus]

Once Upon a Honeymoon has a lot of potential but Ginger Rogers and her evil beau don't hold a candle to the Grant scenes and it doesn't wind up working as a collective whole. The film does however have a hilarious ending precisely because it's so flippantly dark, incongruously lightening the mood as

Spoiler

the Nazi villain is drowning and the heroes convince the captain to turn the boat around to save him, only for the captain to laugh and turn back around after Rogers gives him an excuse with the info that he can't swim!

[senseabove]

Well whaddaya know, dom and I agree on one!

the Talk of the Town What. The. Fuck.

Seeeeeeeriously. I mean, look, I'm a big fan of Richard Brooks in general and of Sylvia Scarlett and Death Takes a Holiday in particular. I like my underdog, "spirit not the letter of the law" liberal propaganda very heavy-handed. I love movies that blend wildly incongruous modes. The trick to both of those is not pretending your audience is too dumb to know what you're doing. Stevens, however, directs this six feet into the ground by treating the premise like it's a wrong-man thriller, the plot like it's high moral drama, and the characters like it's a screwball, while also pretending no one watching it could possibly ever have been wrongfully accused of eating a cookie they watched their sibling sneak from the plate while grandma's back was turned. It's a screwball script that I imagine could've worked beautifully in Leisen's hands. Instead, while it has a few moments of great blocking and camerawork and some genuinely funny moments—"Cultured—it's a cultured kiss." or "You can't do it with a name like Leopold..."—the rest of it is just absurdly ponderous, completely incapable, for example, of deciding whether Grant's late-film motivation is screwbally facetious mockery, dramatically severe self-doubt, or thrillingly risky conspiracy. The pinnacle of absurdity might be when

Spoiler

Lightcap's black valet gets multiple soft-edged, teary-eyed close-ups while watching his master shave the over-emphasized symbol of his staunch, mature manhood, his goddamn Van Dyke beard, in preparation for debasing himself by *shudder* dancing with a floosie just to get some evidence.

[dustybooks]

I was completely baffled by The Talk of the Town as well, and the scene you mentioned in your spoiler is one of the most awkward and painfully protracted moments I can remember sitting through. I do remember enjoying Grant a lot in it, though, for what that's worth.

[HinkyDinkyTruesmith]

I love The Talk of the Town! I rewatched it three times last year. I love everything about it, not just the firmly controlled central thesis that the temperature of democracy needs to be vigilantly watched, not just the excellent blocking and performances, but also including the jarring emotionalism of Rex Ingram, the three or four different generic strains, the didactic moral and political philosophy. In fact, if one more person decries it I will go full Robin Wood and declare that if you don't like The Talk of the Town, you don't like cinema.

[therewillbeblus]

Guess I'll bump it up on my watch list then to find out sooner rather than later if I like movies

[Rayon Vert]

I don't like cinema.

[knives]

Put me in with truesmith for what that accounts for. I don’t think it’s the best, but it’s super memorable particularly for Grant’s odd performance. His favorite borscht is something I can’t get out of my head for some reason.

[Matt]

I often get The Talk of the Town (Stevens, 1942) mixed up with The Whole Town's Talking (Ford, 1935, also with Jean Arthur) and People Will Talk (Mankiewicz, 1951, also with Cary Grant). They all sound all right, with casts and writers and directors I generally like, so I have to keep re-watching them to remind myself which of the two it is I hate and which is the one I like. It always surprises me that the only one I like is the one without Cary Grant. It's no surprise that I don't like cinema, though. Shit, my first Blu-ray purchase of 2021 is a box of Andy Milligan movies. Which now makes me imagine how much The Talk of the Town would be improved if someone in it just started going wild with a meat cleaver.

[knives]

There’s a Milligan box?