Hitler's Blacklist

Adolf Hitler had a blacklist during WWII of actors and actresses that made movies or statements against his power. Movies that I have seen that would make a Hitler Blacklist are:

"Once Upon A Honeymoon" with Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers.

"The Mortal Storm" with James Stewart, Margaret Sullivan and Robert Young.

"The Best Years of Our Lives" with Dana Andrews, Myrna Loy, and Teresa Wright.

"Lifeboat" with Tallulah Bankhead, John Hodiak, Hume Cronyn and directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

These movies made Hitler mad and got a lot of these well loved actors on the Blacklist of the worlds most hated criminal. James Stewart was always a war hero, but to think of such a list and to think that he was on it, makes him so much more of a hero. Both on screen and off. <3

4th of July

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!!! :) 

The Philadelphia Story

Earlier today, I was watching The Philadelphia Story with James Stewart, Katharine Hepburn, and Cary Grant. The movie is so well crafted and I love all of the characters. The "drunk" scene might be my favorite, but also the amazing woman that Katharine Hepburn was. She was such a strong woman, smart and could carry her own. Just as tough as Bette Davis :)

4th of July

It's almost the 4th of July, so here is my favorite picture of fireworks in the movies :) Yeah, I think you know the one I mean.

Studs from yesterday

Here are some of the good looking guys I could think of to post. If you can think of more or would like to see someone on the stud list, let me know ;)

Farley Granger:

James Dean:

Gregory Peck:

Cary Grant: 

Gary Cooper:

Richard Carlson:

John Laurie:

Tom Brown:

Dennis Morgan:

Montgomery Clift:

James Stewart:

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
Released Date: June 4, 1948
Director: H.C. Potter
Actors: Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Melvyn Douglas, Reginald Denny, Sharyn Moffett, Connie Marshall, Louise Beavers, Ian Wolfe, Harry Shannon, Tito Vuolo, Nestor Paiva, Jason Robards Sr., Lurene Tuttle, and Lex Barker

     My apologies, it has been a long time since my last blog. And I was really starting to missing it.
     I have been watching the lovely Myrna Loy in a whole bunch of movies this week, and last. I have enjoyed every minute with her and her wonderful costars. I have loved her pairing with William Powell, but I must say that she works well with just about anyone. And you can say the same about Cary Grant. I have also been reading two books about the two main actors. One about Cary Grant and one about Myrna Loy. Grant said that Loy had a very mild temper. And only showed anger when she got a line wrong during filming. He said that she would walk about the room saying "Oh Shucks" because cussing was not in her vocabulary. Myrna Loy is a great roll model and one that deserves recognition. I would truly recommend any movie with Loy or Grant in them but they are wonderful together as well. Check out this film and also another one called The Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer. 

     Mr. and Mrs. Blandings live in a tiny apartment with their two children. Jim Blandings (Cary Grant) wakes up every morning with his wife Muriel (Myrna Loy). They get ready for the day at the same time. And in their tiny apartment, they share a bathroom between the four Blandings. It has been the same struggle for fifteen years, to go about and get ready while everyone else does the same. Jim's best friend, Bill Cole (Melvyn Douglas) comes over to let Muriel know the price to fix up the place. After all they need more space. While Jim is at work, he discovers that it would be cheaper to go ahead and just buy a new house instead of fixing up the old apartment. So off to Connecticut they go. They find a fixer upper that Mr. Blandings is ready to fix. Everyone is saying to just go ahead and start from scratch. Thousands of dollars later, the house is ready to be lived in. However, their are thousands of problems along the way. Both funny and real issues that need to worked out before they turn their house into a home. Jealousy, money issues, pipe issues, flooding, door jams, missing windows. But can a couple survive all of the bickering? Take a chance, take a look at Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. 

     

Monkey Business

Monkey Business 
Released Date: November 7, 1952
Director: Howard Hawks
Actors: Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Marilyn Monroe, Charles Coburn, Hugh Marlowe, Henri Letondal, and Robert Cornthwaite

     I would have to say, that even though Ginger Rogers is older in this movie, she only looks older. Meaning, that there is a scene where she has to act younger, and she does, without any problems. And so does Cary Grant. But Ms. Rogers also shows us an amazing part where she puts a half full water glass on her forehead and  she maneuvers herself to a sitting down position and then to a laying down one as well. It is very cool.

     Dr. Barnaby Fulton (Cary Grant) is a scientist and is trying to find a formula to make people younger. Which he is trying to make into a pill form for a chemical company. A monkey that is used to see if the experiment works, gets out of his cage and makes the concoction himself. And it works. Dr. Barnaby tries it on himself and becomes a teenager again. Miss Lois Laurel (Marilyn Monroe) is Dr. Fulton's secretary and gets to "take a ride" with Dr. Fulton while in a teenager frame of mind. Then Dr. Barnaby has his wife come in and try the potion herself. Mrs. Edwina Fulton (Ginger Rogers) becomes even younger because she takes double the dose. And gets a man that is in love with her, to feel that Edwina will divorce her husband which means Hank Entwhistle (Hugh Marlowe) a chance. Does that happen? Or will the couple stay together? Watch and see. This movie is very funny and will have you laughing all the way through. 

North By Northwest

North By Northwest
Released Date: September 17, 1959
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Actors: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Jessie Royce Landis, Leo G. Carroll, Josephine Hutchinson, Philip Ober, Edward Platt, and Martin Landau

     Everyone has been mistaken for someone else. That is a part of life. Whether it is that you look like someone, or maybe you just have one of those faces. But can you imagine being mistaken for someone that is not even real? Let me take that one step further, could you imagine being mistaken for someone that not only isn't real but will put your life in danger? This movie is amazing, Alfred Hitchcock directed it, so that would be enough said. But we can throw in the amazing Cary Grant and also James Mason. This movie also takes us to amazing places in America. Like the UN (United Nations) and Mt. Rushmore. This movie is also rather funny because Jessie Royce Landis plays Cary Grant's mother, and she is only seven years older than Mr. Grant.

     North By Northwest begins us following a man, Roger O. Thornhill (Cary Grant) from a building to a cab and then to lunch with some friends. When he realizes he needs to call his secretary for business, that is when everything goes haywire. Kaplin, Mr. George Kaplin is the name that is called and Thornhill makes the mistake of what looks like answering this call from a bell boy that works at the restaurant. Mr. Thornhill is shown where the telephones are, and then gets himself stuck between two men with guns. Now it is a race of the clock to make these men realize that he is NOT George Kaplin. And what makes that more difficult is that, again, Mr. Kaplin is not even real. And then men that capture him don't believe him. This movie really is a fun and exciting thriller and will keep you on your toes.

     I would naturally say that I love this movie because of the great Alfred Hitchcock and I am also a huge Cary Grant fan. But I would recommend this to anyone that loves fast, exciting movies. :)

     

The Philadelphia Story

The Philadelphia Story
Released Date: December 26, 1940
Director: George Cukor
Actors: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, and Virginia Weidler

         The Philadelphia Story went from stage play, to movie and then onto a radio program known as the Lux Theaters. Katharine Hepburn played the same roll as Tracy Lord in all three adaptations. She ended up owning the rights to the story bought by the famous airplane pilot Howard Hughes, which Miss Hepburn admitted to sleeping with the pilot to get the rights. Miss Hepburn got to pick the actors in the movie version and at first wanted Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy. Both men were busy and could not take the parts. The second choice group took the roles which were Cary Grant and James Stewart. James Stewart ended up winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar award that year. His father owned a shop in Indiana, PA which was located on Philadelphia Street. The Oscar had misspelled Philadelphia with another a instead of e.

        This movie is based on a wealthy woman named Tracy Lord. She is married, at first to Cary Grant's character, one C.K. Dexter Haven. They divorced and Tracy ends up engaged to another man. Upset and wanting his woman back, Mr. Haven ends up going to the wedding to hopefully win her heart back. Macaulay Conner, played by James Stewart is a writer for a magazine and thinks at one point, that he has fallen in love with Tracy Lord. Macaulay Conner was hired to make Tracy Lord angry. A comedy and Romance, this movie takes you through ups and downs, hits and swimming, marriage and divorce, and so many laugh out loud moments that will keep you entertained.

        Tracy Lord is a swimmer in the movie and at one point she takes a dive in her family owned pool. Usually back in those days, and even today, actors will use a double to do most athletic move but Katharine Hepburn was a very active woman and did her own dive in this movie. She was mostly known for her golf skills and was actually told that she could have gone pro. Although she does not golf in this movie, it is a very neat piece of information and one that makes her a very cool actress. This movie was made to save Katharine Hepburn's career and also James Stewart's as well. Cary Grant, however, was doing fine in his career and did not need saving. But the movies made a huge splash and ended up making this a movie that most fans of any of those actors say is their favorite.

Arsenic and Old Lace

Arsenic and Old Lace
Released Date: September 23, 1944
Director: Frank Capra
Actors include: Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey, Jack Carson, Peter Lorre, Josephine Hull, and Jean Adair

When you are a young child, you usually have fears about your parents or any of your family. I use to think that when I went to bed at night, my family would grow antlers and run around outside becoming one with the animals. I use to wonder if they would ever tell me about their weird ways. But can you imagine having two sweet, old aunts that murder people and that is their biggest secret?

Cary Grant is the main character in this movie and is very funny in it. His quick whit and humor make the movie that much more special. Everything about this movie is hilarious and if I ever found out a secret like that from my own family, I fear it would not be as funny. The little old ladies are very sweet and mean well. But their ways of being sweet and helping out their community is, well dwindling the population by a dozen.

Cary Grant did not like this movie, he thought that the acting was over the top. And maybe it is, to our standards but it very funny none the less. The movie has a great cast. And with Halloween coming up, I hope that this is one film you will find a way to watch. The movie is set on Halloween too.

The little old ladies, and as funny as this movie is, live next to a grave site. One of the tombs that Cary Grant stands near has the name Archie Leach, which is Cary Grant's real name. He has two brothers in the movie, one is a scary fellow who Cary Grant tries to act tough towards and ends up saying a very funny line: "when I come back, I want you gone" and as he runs out the door he says "wait for me." Another funny line, that I think you would enjoy is, one from another brother. He has clearly lost his mind at one point in his life. He goes by the name Teddy Roosevelt and he honestly thinks he is. But the Reverend from the movie sneezes and Teddy says "my I must be catching cold" his sweet aunt replies "no dear, it was Reverend Harper that sneezed."

I hope you all enjoy this movie as much as I do. :) Please watch and let me know what you think.