Sunday, January 18, 2009

Happy Birthday, Cary Grant!

If there ever was a man who was born to model the tuxedo, it would be Cary Grant. Yes, Sean Connery as James Bond was pretty good, but Cary beat him to the punch. I can't help but to think Sean watched North By Northwest in order to pick up on some things.

Just like all those kids in the 1960's making a big deal about burning bras and protesting the Vietnam War when their grandparents and/or great grandparents had already lived it up during the Roaring 20's.

It is very hard to pick a favorite Cary Grant movie and he sure had a knack for picking some good ones to work on.

Cary started out with romantic and screwball comedies throughout the 1930's like Bringing Up Baby with Katherine Hepburn and His Girl Friday with Rosalind Russell. I have to admit it though, Rosalind upstaged him in this movie. Another film in which I think he was upstaged was I Was A Male War Bride co-starring Ann Sheridan.

The movie that prolonged his career and showed he could do dramatic roles would be Suspicion co-starring Joan Fontaine. This also happened to be the only movie in which an actor or actress won an Oscar in an Alfred Hitchcock directed film when Joan won for Best Actress.

Perhaps his most famous scene is when he was chased by the crop duster. I also think in terms of pure excitement, this is his best movie.

In my opinion, his most underrated movie perhaps because it was done in a low-key manner would be An Affair To Remember.

Much has already been written and said about Cary, so I won't waste anymore space about it. We will still be talking about him 100 years from now. That is the true definition of a classic.

So to Cary Grant, Happy Birthday!

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