Posts tagged as:

Comedy

Dinner at Eight (1933)

by Bill on July 17, 2010

Directed by George Cukor Producer David O. Selznick, having had great success with his star-studded blockbuster Grand Hotel, decided to do it again. If it worked once, why not twice? And so we have 1933′s Dinner at Eight, packed with stars (many the same) and with a similar story idea. As often happens, though, the [...]

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Jean Arthur and John Wayne

by Bill on February 19, 2010

After having it on my computer for about two months in a half-finished state, I’ve finally posted my take on A Lady Takes a Chance (1943). It stars Jean Arthur and John Wayne and, yes, it’s a romantic comedy. It’s not, however, the best romantic comedy. It’s pretty mediocre. However, both Arthur and Wayne are [...]

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Leopards and actors and Cary Grant

by Bill on August 2, 2009

I rewatched for the nth time (I’ve lost track) Howard Hawk’s Bringing Up Baby (1938). Apart from being great fun each time I watch it, this time was a bit different having read Marc Eliot’s book, Cary Grant: A Biography, and having previously watched Cary Grant: A Class Apart (a documentary on the second disc [...]

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This cockeyed caravan: Preston Sturges defends fluff

by Bill on July 28, 2009

I watched Sullivan’s Travels (1941) yet again last night because, as the main character John L. Lloyd ‘Sully’ Sullivan (Joel McCrea) says: “There’s a lot to be said for making people laugh. Did you know that’s all some people have? It isn’t much, but it’s better than nothing in this cockeyed caravan.” The words, of [...]

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Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

by Bill on July 26, 2009

Directed by Frank Capra There are good comedies and there are great comedies. Arsenic and Old Lace is a great comedy. It achieves greatness through all the elements that make any great film: wonderful script and wonderful performances. In many ways, in making the movie Frank Capra had only one job: don’t get in the [...]

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What Topper meant to Cary Grant

by Bill on July 19, 2009

Although the movie Topper, despite it’s summer success in 1937, could hardly be considered a big movie, not in the Hollywood terms we usually speak of, it was a key movie in the career of Cary Grant (and for those people who came to love the movies of Cary Grant) because of what it did. [...]

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The Pink Panther 2 (2009)

by Bill on July 16, 2009

Directed by Harald Zwart This movie suffers from comparisons. As discussed in my review of Steve Martin’s first The Pink Panther, it gets compared to the Peter Sellers’ movies and that actor’s performances as Inspector Clouseau. This second Steve Martin film, The Pink Panther 2, suffers from the same fate but also from comparisons to [...]

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The Cheyenne Social Club (1970)

by Bill on July 9, 2009

Directed by Gene Kelly Bawdy in the tamest of ways and as generically western as they come, the western-comedy The Cheyenne Social Club still has something going for it. Two things, actually: Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda. Despite being a western in an almost early TV fashion (meaning not very inventive or, frankly interesting), the [...]

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Harvey (1950)

by Bill on July 4, 2009

Directed by Henry Koster “Years ago my mother used to say to me, she’d say, ‘In this world, Elwood, you must be’ – she always called me Elwood – ‘In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.’ Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote [...]

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The Terminal (2004)

by Bill on July 4, 2009

Directed by Steven Spielberg I hate flying mainly because I hate airports. I hate airports because I hate waiting. So the idea of a movie about waiting in an airport didn’t immediately appeal to me. As it turns out, The Terminal is one of my favourite movies of the year. I think director Steven Spielberg [...]

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