Room for One More (5 stars)

Room for One More, a sweet and tender movie from 1952, stars the very dashing and distinguished Cary Grant and his then-wife, Betsy Drake. (Betsy was the third Mrs. Cary Grant, and they were married for a little over ten years...the longest of any of his five marriages.)   I reviewed this film over a year ago when I first started my blog---it was the 4th post I ever did.  However, with it being Mother's Day, I've enjoyed a re-watch---which found me going from 4 to 5 stars---so I thought a re-write of that post was in order.

The movie is based on a book of the same name and is based on the real-life experiences of the author. It is a touching movie, which got me misty-eyed on three occasions. It is rather a different role for Cary Grant...he plays paternal here, and I think he does it beautifully.  He and Miss Drake were in the early years of their marriage in this movie, and the chemistry between them is terrific.

The story is about George and Anna Rose (George is called "Poppy" through almost the whole movie...even by his wife.) George and Anna have three elementary-aged children, but Anna's heart is extremely tender, and when the head of The Children's Society expresses a need for homes for older children, Anna promises to talk with her husband about the possibility of them taking one.

Before long, Jane comes to their home. Jane has known the pain of parental neglect and, therefore, is hurting and afraid to trust anyone. With a sullen attitude, she joins the Rose family...on a two-week trial. However, by the end of the two-week period, ALL in the family (including Poppy) have grown to love her and do not want to let her return to the Children's Home.

Shortly thereafter, Anna hears of a young orphaned boy in need of a place to go for summer vacation. George says they already have more children than they can afford, so he is adamant that they cannot take the boy. However, when he goes to the boy's school to inform them of that, he is appalled to discover the treatment the boy has been getting. He has braces on both legs, which means he sticks his legs into the aisle; the teacher, however, punishes him for that, making him sit under her desk. After discovering that, Poppy decides that his family WILL, in fact, open their home to little Jimmy John.

The remainder of the movie chronicles how foster care worked to make Jane and Jimmy John a functioning and loved part of a family. It really is very sweet movie. No major dramatic moments...just several comical moments and some very tender ones. For Cary Grant fans, Room for One More is a definite must-see!! It is out on DVD, so you ought to be able to track it down.  Plus, it is on the TCM schedule For Sunday, July 29th, at 1:45 pm (ET).

Happy Birthday, Cary Grant!!!

Today is the 108th birthday of one of the world's most beloved actors---the incredibly dashing and distinguished Cary Grant.  (January 18, 1904-November 29, 1986)

Born in England with the name Archibald Leach, Cary Grant is one of the most iconic names there has ever been.  Even those who do not profess to know much about classic films know who he is. This beloved actor is firmly entrenched on my all-time favorite actor list.  I totally adore him.

My absolute favorite of Mr. Grant's films is Penny Serenade, the beautiful 1941 tearjerker for which he received an Academy Award nomination.  In this lovely film, Cary teams up with Irene Dunne and plays paternal, a role at which I think he excelled. (Reviewed HERE)

Rounding out my five favorite Cary Grant films are:

2.  An Affair to Remember  (with Deborah Kerr---reviewed HERE)

3.  Room for One More  (with then-wife Betsy Drake---reviewed HERE)

4.  In Name Only  (with Carole Lombard)

5.  Notorious (with Ingrid Bergman)

It was nearly impossible to stop with five films; truly, I could have listed another half dozen which I love, but I am forcing myself to list only five.  (Two of those five films are in my top 20 favorite films of all-time!!)  However, I realize these are all dramas and that Cary was quite the comedic actor as well.  Since I far and away prefer drama to comedy, his dramatic films are, obviously, my favorites, but in the name of being fair, I will list a few of his comedies which I adore.

1.  The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer  (with Myrna Loy and Shirley Temple)

2.  Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House  (with Myrna Loy)

3.  Father Goose (with Leslie Caron)

So, Mr. Cary Grant, here's to you on your 108th birthday!  You were a wonderful actor and a gallant gentleman, and you will always be one of my absolute favorites.  Thanks for making so many beautiful movies!!

Crisis (3 stars)

Crisis, from 1950, is a political intrigue/medical drama starring Cary Grant and Jose Ferrer.  This is a Cary Grant film I had never even heard of until I saw it on the TCM schedule last month.  I missed it then, but they happened to air it again earlier this week, so I set the DVR.

While on vacation in an unnamed Latin American country, American surgeon Eugene Ferguson (Grant) and his wife find themselves caught up in the political unrest which has long been brewing.  The country's tyrannical leader, President Farrago (Jose Ferrer), has many enemies...many who want to see him dead or removed from power...so when the man is discovered to have a brain tumor requiring immediate surgery, there is no local physician he trusts to attend to him.  As a result, Farrago's soldiers kidnap Dr. Ferguson and his wife as they are getting ready to depart the country.

Though furious at being detained, Dr. Ferguson stands up to the soldiers and the president himself;  he insists he wants the freedom to come and go...without spies...without any following...and while he is at one of the local bars, he makes the acquaintance of the revolutionary group's leader.  After explaining how the country has endured years of hardship under Farrago's tyranny, he makes no secret of the fact that he wants Dr. Ferguson to botch the operation so that Farrago dies.  But can Ferguson---who as a physician has pledged to save lives---even consider doing such a thing?  And if Ferguson won't willingly do it, is there anything the revolutionaries can do to force his hand?

Since I missed Crisis when it was on TCM back in December, I was thrilled to see it on the schedule again this month.  With high hopes, I settled in to watch it a couple nights ago, and much as it pains me to say it, I have to admit to being a bit disappointed. While I'm giving this film 3 stars, the first 70 minutes were, for me, difficult to get through.  The plot was painfully slow-moving, and I nearly gave up several times; I hung in there, though, and was rewarded with an interesting and exciting final 20 minutes. So, the 3 stars are for those last minutes.

I enjoyed seeing Cary Grant in this kind of role, and I definitely believe all Grant fans will want to see this film.  It is out on DVD, so it ought to be fairly easy to track down.

Happy viewing!!

Walk, Don't Run (3 stars)

Walk, Don't Run, from 1966, is a fun little romantic comedy starring Cary Grant, Samantha Eggar, and Jim Hutton.  This film, which  marks Cary Grant's final film appearance, is a remake of 1943's The More the Merrier (reviewed HERE), with Cary taking on the Charles Coburn character (with a different name and in a different setting.)

Arriving in Tokyo two days earlier than expected, English businessman William Rutland (Cary Grant) is unable to find lodging.  With the '64 Olympics scheduled for the Japanese capital, all hotels are booked, and try as he might, Rutland cannot find accommodations for himself.  While at the British Embassy, he spies a "roommate wanted" sign on a bulletin board, and within minutes, he finds himself at the referenced address.  The apartment belongs to one Christine Easton (Samantha Eggar), who very emphatically tells Mr. Rutland that she is not at all interested in sharing her apartment with a man; however, Rutland won't take "no" for an answer, and he ends up moving in.

The next day, Mr. Rutland makes the acquaintance of an American Olympic athlete, Steve Davis (Jim Hutton), who is also without lodging arrangements since he arrived earlier than expected.  In due time, Rutland has sublet half of his half of the apartment to Davis, and he then takes it upon himself to play cupid for his two roommates...which will take a little doing since Christine is engaged to another.

This film is cute, but, for me, it can't hold a candle to the original. There were a couple scenes common to both films---such as Rutland getting locked out of the apartment when he went to get the milk and him losing his pants while making his bed.  An interesting feature of the film is that Cary Grant's character whistles and hums some familiar tunes--namely, the themes from Charade and An Affair to Remember.

Cary Grant aged fabulously, and though he is in his early 60's here, he looks amazing.  Plus, he is as funny as always.  I didn't much care for the others, though.  Samantha Eggar's counterpart was Jean Arthur, and Jim Hutton's was Joel McCrea, both of whom I like much better than this film's stars.  Perhaps that was part of the reason I didn't like this film nearly as much as I like the original.  There was fabulous chemistry in The More the Merrier...between all three stars, yes, but the chemistry between Coburn and McCrea was incredible.  They played off one another like two little boys; sadly, I did not see that kind of chemistry between Grant and Hutton.

Without question, though, this is a film which no Cary Grant fan will want to miss; after all, it's his final movie appearance.  After viewing this one, however, be sure to watch The More the Merrier so you can compare the two.  The film is out on DVD and should be very easy to track down.

Happy viewing!!

Born to Be Bad (2 stars)

Born to Be Bad, from 1934, is a pre-code drama starring Cary Grant and Loretta Young.  While there is a 1950 film of the same name, starring Joan Fontaine, Zachary Scott, and Robert Ryan (reviewed HERE), this film is not the original of that.  Though the two films have the same name, they are two completely different movies, with completely different storylines. This film is quite short...running time is only 61 minutes.

Letty Strong (Loretta Young) is a single mom of a seven-year old boy named Micky.  Having had her son when she was fifteen years old, Letty has been on her own ever since.  The boy is quite a juvenile delinquent...smoking, skipping school, and running with a rough crowd.  One day, while roller skating, Micky gets hit by a milk truck, and though he wasn't badly injured, Letty instructs him to pretend that he was so that he will get a large settlement.

Malcolm Trevor (Cary Grant) is the man who hit Micky, and at his trial, it comes out that Micky wasn't injured at all, that he has been faking it.  The judge deems Letty, who encouraged her child to lie, an unfit mother and removes the child from her care.  Malcolm, feeling somewhat responsible for all that has happened, asks the court to give him and his wife custody of the boy.  Letty, meanwhile, is determined to get her son back...no matter what it takes, no matter who gets hurt in the process, no matter if she has to seduce Malcolm in the process.  How it all plays out is the balance of the film.

This was not a film I enjoyed at all.  While I am a huge fan of both Cary Grant and Loretta Young, I absolutely did not like either of them in this.  Loretta was beautiful---maybe more beautiful than ever---but her character was totally unlikeable; never for a minute did I like her, care about her, or want her to succeed.  And Grant's character...well, he started off as a decent guy, but he very quickly became someone I couldn't root for or care about.  (I can't say more without giving away the rest of the story.)  Oh, and I never really cared about or liked the little boy either.  So for me, when I want a "sacrificial mommy movie," I'll go with the 5-star Stella Dallas or Madame X.

If Born to Be Bad sounds like a film you are interested in seeing, it is available on Net Flix instant viewing.  I've also seen it on TCM's schedule fairly regularly.

Happy viewing!!

An Affair to Remember (5 stars)

An Affair to Remember is an incredibly beautiful, romantic movie, starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. It is from 1957, which means Cary Grant is aging a bit, and let me just say, like fine wine, he aged well. He looks SO dashing and distinguished with a touch of gray at the temples.

The story is about Nickie Ferrante (Grant) and Terri McKay (Kerr), who meet aboard an ocean cruise. Although they are both engaged to others, they have not yet taken the plunge to marry, and they are immediately drawn to one another. By the time the cruise is over, Nicky and Terri are deeply in love, but they wonder if their romance was strictly a shipboard romance or if there is a future for them.

Upon disembarking, Nicky and Terri decide that they will go their separate ways for six months, and at the end of the six months, if their love for one another is still alive, they will meet at the top of the Empire State Building ("the nearest place to Heaven" in New York City) and begin to plan for their future together.

At the end of the six months, their love is, indeed, alive and well, and as each one is enroute to the rendezvous spot, tragedy strikes, preventing their reconciliation.

I can't reveal anymore than this, for to do so would spoil y'all's viewing pleasure. Suffice to say that this is a beautiful movie, one I consider one of the most romantic of all time, and it always brings me to tears....at exactly the same point EVERY time I watch it.

For your information, An Affair to Remember is a remake of the 1939 film  Love Affair, starring Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne. I have seen both versions, and I far prefer the remake. Of course, that is partly because not long before seeing Love Affair, I watched the wonderful 1944 thriller, Gaslight, in which Charles Boyer played a murderous husband. Therefore, every time he uttered a word in Love Affair (in his delightful French accent), I kept seeing the murderous husband in my mind, so I couldn't accept him as a romantic lead. I've since come to the place of getting past that, and I actually enjoyed him in All This and Heaven Too (with Bette Davis), so I'm thinking it's time I gave Love Affair another try. Anyhow, y'all might want to see both versions and see which one you prefer.