Ah, Cary Grant… Recently I re-watched Arsenic and Old Lace and had such a blast – I mean, I always do. The Cary Grant day must be something to be excited for, then, right? Well… I would be lying if I said that the films I watched today got close to Arsenic…
Hot Saturday (1932), dir, William Seiter
Hot Saturday is not a very well- known movie, it is only a bit over 70-minutes long, but it does have some interesting elements to it. It is a story of a small town where everyone knows everything about everybody – if something happens on Saturday, it’s going to be the talk of the town on Sunday. Nancy Carroll plays a bank teller everyone is in love with, Cary Grant plays a local playboy. Soon, rumors about the two spread among the community and cause a lot of harm to Nancy and her true love…
The subject of a woman being shamed and ostracized because of narrow-minded community is an interesting one to explore, and both Carroll and Grant are very charming and charismatic, but this is pretty much all Hot Saturday has to offer. Sadly, I ended up feeling pretty „meh” about it.
In Name Only (1939), dir. John Cromwell
In In Name Only, Cary is paired up with Carole Lombard. Now, that surely means a good time, especially when we first see her on the screen fishing, in full butch mode. But then… it all goes wrong. This is essentially a love triangle story and a not very thrilling one at that – which is unbelievable, impressive in a way, considering the three sides of this triangle are Cary Grant, Carole Lombard, and Kay Francis – how do you mess that up? I think a problem is that the film insists on being melodramatic and pompous, instead of approaching the subject in more comedic, sassy fashion that would make all these stars shine. Carole’s sad energy made me feel a bit uneasy, to be honest. A shame, really.
Gunga Din (1939), dir. George Stevens
Oh dear. Oh dear. This movie is on the 1001 Movies You Must See List, it is always brought up when discussing 1939 as „Cinema’s Greatest Year”, it influenced like every blockbuster ever… and yet I did not really enjoy it at all.
I am just going to say it right away, I cannot look past the racism (there is SO MUCH brownface in Gunga Din, and Indians are basically portrayed as savages) and the very obvious glorification of imperialism. I know, I’m a snowflake and I am ruining the world because racism used to be okay (yikes!) – so be it. But also the film is simply too long and the jokes are not funny enough to not bet tiring.
But Cary is charismatic and handsome, and the acting and the relationship between the main actors is actually very good. Plus, several action sequences, camera work are quite stunning. I wish I could enjoy it all fully.
The Pride and the Passion (1957), dir. Stanley Kramer
Unfortunately, the last film I watched did not make up for the previous and I knew it wouldn’t as soon as I heard Frank Sinatra’s Spanish accent. Oof. I think it’s be best if I just not say anything else about The Pride and the Passion, another hard-to-get-through-and-for-some-reason-two-hours-long Cary Grant vehicle.
I can’t believe the „meh” Hot Saturday ended up being my favourite of today.
Swingin' at the Seance 