Classic Hollywood From A to Z – C Is For Cary Grant

classic hollywood from a to zThis weeks edition is brought to you by my awesome sister, Shannon. She’s the funnest person I know and a great blogger in her own right. You can find her at This Girl Friday.  Take it away Shannon!

Hello!  I’m here to talk to you about Cary Grant.  Good thing, too, ’cause Mel couldn’t do him justice.  Can you believe it?  She doesn’t even think he’s dreamy!  I’ll let you in on a not-so-secret:  He sends me.  Anyway, where to begin?  (And where to end, for that matter, for I could ramble on about Mr. Grant endlessly…he’s my number one heartthrob).  But Cary Grant is more than handsome.  More than charming.  More than suave and debonair and the perfect gentleman.  He’s a darn good actor too.

 Archibald Alexander Leach was born in Bristol, England in 1904.  His family was relatively poor, but seemed happy enough, until one day Archie’s mother left, never to return.  (It was only after he was already a major Hollywood star that he learned she’d been in a mental institution for years and spent his time thereafter taking care of her.)  At the age of sixteen, Archie set out on his own and joined a traveling circus as a stilt-walker.  His experience with the circus and his acrobatic skills served him well as an actor, for Cary Grant’s (as he soon became) earlier work in the 1930’s often had him cast in a comedic role that played off his physicality.  The backflips in Holiday and the jiu-jitsu in The Awful Truth are all him!  I personally love Cary Grant’s comedic period.  He shined in these roles, having a knack for physical comedy and perfect comedic timing.  Yet Grant adapted over his near-fifty-year career as an actor and proved himself to be equally adept at dramatic roles.  Hitchcock counted him as a favorite leading actor and cast him in four films over the years.  I could go on and on, like I said.  But as always, the best way for you to discover an actor’s talent, in this case that of the dashing Cary Grant, is by watching his films.  And you can’t go wrong by watching his movies, no matter which genre you choose from.  Cary Grant remains one of the greatest actors of all time and his body of work attests to that.

It is difficult for me to choose films to recommend, since there are so many good ones!  Do I choose my personal favorites or do I choose to follow the un-official guide to classic films and simply mention the “you gotta see this before you die” ones?  How ’bout I mix it up?

I recommend:
The Awful Truth
Gunga Din
My Favorite Wife (a lesser known one I like)
Bringing Up Baby
Arsenic & Old Lace
Notorious
Room for One More (another lesser known one I like)
To Catch a Thief
North by Northwest
Monkey Business (although this is now known as a Marilyn Monroe movie, it really showcases his comedic talents in a later role)
Charade

4 Comments

  1. Ad Addict! June 30, 2013 at 1:42 am

    I am also a huge Cary Grant fan. They certainly don’t make movie stars like they used to, right? I love the fact that he had great comedic timing as well as a real dramatic presence. Plus he’s absolutely dreamy! I really liked him in “His Girl Friday” Thanks for this great blog post! Looking forward to the rest of this series. 🙂

    1. Melanie July 13, 2013 at 6:13 pm

      They certainly don’t! And thanks! I can’t wait to share all my classic favorites!

  2. Shannon July 2, 2013 at 7:34 pm

    I can’t believe I forgot to list “His Girl Friday”!

  3. Carlo April 29, 2017 at 11:32 am

    This reminds me of my childhood. Thanks for sharing 🙂

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