Showing posts with label Cary Grant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cary Grant. Show all posts

Sunday, May 28, 2023

The Classic Film Collective: Topper by Thorne Smith

This was originally published in the former The Classic Film Collective Patreon.


 

Constance Bennett (Marion Kerby)
Cary Grant (George Kerby)
Roland Young (Cosmo Topper)
Billie Burke (Mrs. Topper)


One of the most beloved screwball comedies to come out of the thirties, Topper (1937), directed by Norman Z. McLeod, stars Constance Bennett and Cary Grant as a pair of free spirited ghosts who show middle-aged bank executive Cosmo Topper (Roland Young) what it really means to live. During their lifetime, Marion and George Kerby (Bennett and Grant) happily spent their days enjoying lavish parties, plenty of booze and wild road trips through the countryside. On one tragic day, George’s erratic driving causes them to have a fatal head-on collision with a tree. They shed their bodies but their spirits remain on earth in various degrees of visibility. As ghosts in limbo, their mission to ascend to heaven is to take Topper under their wing. They draw him away from his humdrum life with his uptight wife Mrs. Topper (Billie Burke) and the madcap adventures begin.


Topper (1937) was an adaptation of Thorne Smith’s 1926 novel of the same name. Born out of the prohibition era and the Jazz age, Topper is chock-full of fun alcohol-fueled escapades. Smith mostly wrote comedies and Topper and its sequel Topper Takes a Trip were his best known works. Topper pokes fun at the lifestyles of the upper and upper-middle class families while also driving home the simple but potent message that life is worth living.


At the heart of the novel is the opposition between hedonism and sensibility. Cosmo and Mrs. Topper live their lives as as though it were a “summer of Sundays”. Topper himself is caught in between. He wants to live life but the people who surround him view passion and enthusiasm as personal failures. As though there was a thing as too much enjoyment. Marion and George Kirby are described as “the fastest young couple in town” whose journey culminated in “a gay life and a quick death.” I love this line in particular which compares the Kerbys to the social set that the Toppers belonged to:

“The Kerbys had not belonged to his set, the solid substantial, commuting set, but had gathered round them, from all parts of the country, a group of irresponsible spirits, who would suddenly appear in a swarm of motors, riot around the town and countryside for a few days, and then as suddenly disappear in a cloud of dust and a chorus of brazen horns.”


Throughout the book, the dichotomy between living and just existing becomes the story’s strongest theme. Just existing is considered a form of death and characters who are truly living can either be physically dead or alive. Topper’s journey is referred to as an “incredible vacation,” a way for him to break out of his shell and tap into his inner joy. The Mrs. Topper character in particular serves as a warning that being “half alive” is no real way to live. Here are some quotes from the book that explore the theme of living vs. dying:


“For the first time Topper’s established routine of living gave place to a disorderly desire to live.”

“Mr. Topper came to regard himself as a corpse, without, however, enjoying a corpse’s immunity to its surroundings.”

“Any creature, man or beast, who has the capacity and desire to enjoy life deserves that enjoyment.”


Although in the book the Kerbys don’t need to help Topper to get into heaven, they do make it a mission to help Topper come out of his shell. The Kerbys in the film are ghosts who, when fully visible, inhabit the world of the living as members of society but when invisible cause absolute chaos when invisible. In the book the Kerbys are described as “low-planed” spirits. High planed spirits don’t live on earth nor can they make themselves visible. Low-planed spirits can store up “ectoplasm” (???) to achieve varying degrees of “thickness”. It’s all a very bizarre way to describe ghosts but in a way this works especially when it translates to a visual medium like film.


If you remember from the film, at one point George Kerby disappeared and you may have wondered: where did Cary Grant go? In the novel, George goes off on a seaside adventure leaving Marion behind to galavant with Topper. The scenes where Marion and Topper get into some riotous fun together, sans George, is a way for Topper to have a makeshift affair without committing actual adultery. Marion proclaims she’s no longer married now that she’s dead and Topper is embarrassed when hotel staff come to investigate reports of an unregistered woman in his room. A little tantalizing but never crosses the line which makes the film censorship friendly in the age of Hays Code enforcement. Having an emotional affair with Marion becomes a more important element of the book while in the film it's treated as a light flirtation.


The butler Wilkins, played by Alan Mowbray, who is constantly judging Topper and siding with the more sensible Mrs. Topper, isn’t in the book at all. Instead, Topper’s constant companion at home is his beloved cat Scollops. There are several running jokes about how the Toppers suffer from indigestion (“dyspesia”), how Mrs. Topper insists that Topper always enjoys a good leg of lamb for dinner, the predictability of which annoys Topper. The book also includes three other ghosts that aren’t in the film: the Colonel, his wife Mrs. Hart and their dog Oscar, who struggles to become fully visible and instead can only be seen in partial form.


I’m impressed by how the screenwriting team Jack Jevne, Eric Hatch and Eddie Moran transformed Thorne Smith’s story into an enjoyable 1-1/2 hour screwball comedy that allows the triumvirate of Bennett, Grant and Young shine. The novel takes a while to get to introduce the Kerbys and there are so many stories with Marion and Topper gallivanting around that the more concise approach the film takes allows the story not to lose steam as it does quite often in the novel. Unfortunately the author never lived to see the film adaptation in 1937 because he died at the age of 42 in 1934. Or perhaps, his ghost attended the premiere? We’ll never know.


Topper by Thorne Smith is a bit of a mixed bag but still quite enjoyable. I read Modern Library’s 1999 paperback edition.

Thursday, June 23, 2022

Hot Saturday (1932)


Bank clerk Ruth (Nancy Carroll) is a prized date for a "hot Saturday". Fellow bank employees Archie (Grady Sutton) and Connie (Edward Woods) have their eye on Ruth. But they're about to face major competition with rich playboy Romer (Cary Grant). He's invited the bank employees and all their friends for a weekend party at his lakeside mansion. It's an opportunity for Romer to get some extra time with the beautiful Ruth who attends the party with Connie. When Ruth rejects Connie's advances, he plants a false rumor that Ruth slept overnight at Romer's mansion. Aided by Ruth's archnemesis Eva (Lilian Bond), the rumor spreads like wildfire causing chaos. Her old love interest Bill (Randolph Scott) wants Ruth to marry him, much to the delight of her parents Ida (Jane Darwell) and Harry (William Collier Sr.) but what will happen once he finds out about Romer?

Directed by William A. Seiter, Hot Saturday (1932) is a vivacious jazz age drama that explores sexual politics and how rumor and scandal had devastating effects on women in society. This is Cary Grant's first leading role. It's an unusual characterization of a wealthy playboy. Romer is a genuine guy throughout. He has no machinations and his character doesn't have to overcome any moral failings to win the girl. Romer genuinely likes Ruth. This contracts with Connie, played by Edward Woods of Public Enemy fame, who isolates Ruth and comes close to sexually assaulting her. Nancy Carroll plays into the sweetheart role as a young middle class woman who gets caught up in a bad situation. Randolph Scott's character doesn't appear until half way through the movie. Bill has the appearance of being a nice guy but he ends up being just as toxic as the rest of them. It's interesting that both the playboy and the nice guy do not meet our expectations of their roles in the story. 

This film is a pre-code but it lacks some of the spice that comes with movies from that era, especially ones that deal directly with sex and morality. Carroll does the typical undressing scene that we've all witnessed in many a pre-code (she also partially undress her teen sister Annie, played by Rose Coghlan but the camera moves away so we don't see anything). Ruth sleeping with Romer is boldly suggested a few times throughout the story. She's also put in various precarious positions where she is vulnerable to sexual assault. Otherwise, it's a very tame pre-code film.

For those who love the era, Hot Saturday (1932) is a time capsule of early 1930s frivolities. Cary Grant's character Romer is driven by a chauffeur in this car with what almost looks like a rumble seat. Romer and his date sit with their laps covered by a partial hood which the chauffeur has to lift it up to let them out. (If anyone has more details on this car please let me know!). It's fascinating to look at but seems quite dangerous. At Romer's lakeside mansion party, he has a custom made hot dog/milkshake cart which is wheeled around the party to serve the guests. Carroll wears a variety of fun outfits including cloche hats and secretary style blouses and dresses.

Hot Saturday (1932) is available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber. It includes subtitles in English, a reversible cover (see both sides below) and commentary from film historian Lee Gambin. The commentary was really fascinating. There is a lot of cultural context given and some really interesting insights into how the film portrays the societal mores and gender politics of the time. There were times I didn't agree with Gambin's perspective. He notes that Edward Woods comes off as a good guy in the role of Connie and then he takes an unexpectedly dark turn. As a woman I knew from the very first scene that Connie was up to no good so his character's story arc was no surprise. This is definitely a movie that women and men will interpret differently.







Thank you to Kino Lorber for sending me Hot Saturday (1932) for review!

Sunday, May 12, 2019

Sylvia Scarlett (1935)


This post is sponsored by DVD Netflix.

"I'll be a boy and rough and hard. I won't care what I do."

Bookkeeper Henry Snow (Edmund Gwenn) is in a terrible jam. To pay off his gambling debts he's been dipping into the company finances. When his coworkers catch wind of Henry's transgressions, he's desperate to escape Marseilles for London in an effort to avoid jail time. It seems risky to take his daughter Syliva (Katharine Hepburn) with him. What if they're caught? Sylvia, who refuses to be left behind, cuts off her long braids, dresses like a man and adopts the name Sylvester Scarlett. While on the boat to England, Sylvester and Henry meet con artist Jimmy 'Monk' Monkley (Cary Grant). Monk has a way about him with his cockney accent and ability to charm anyone out of their hard earned cash. The trio join forces to con well-to-do Londoners. While Monk and Henry are perfectly content to live as criminals, Sylvester wants to earn income the old-fashioned way, through honest work. They meet Maudie (Dennie Moore), the maid to a wealthy family and when Sylvester spoils the plot to steal the household jewels, the four to head to the seashore. It's here that Sylvester meets Michael Fane (Brian Aherne) a curly haired artist who makes Sylvester wish she was Sylvia again. When Michael's girlfriend Lily (Natalie Paley) shows up, Sylvia must decide whether to continue as Sylvester or to transition back to Sylvia to win Michael's affections.

Directed by George Cukor, Sylvia Scarlett (1935) was produced by Pando S. Berman for RKO. The story is based on Compton Mackenzie's novel The Early Life and Adventures of Sylvia Scarlett published in 1918. That story is the sequel to Sinister Street, published in 1914 and offers the origin story of the Michael Fane character. In 1919, Mackenzie followed up Sylvia Scarlett with the novel Sylvia and Michael. Sylvia Scarlett was adapted to the screen by author John Collier and screenwriters Gladys Unger and Mortimer Offner. According to the AFI:

After Collier had completed his draft, Cukor brought in Gladys Unger and Mortimer Offner to tone down the sexual implications of the story and to write a ten-minute prologue and a fifteen-minute ending that would make Sylvia a more sympathetic and comprehensible character.

Sylvia Scarlett was the first of four films pairing Hepburn and Grant. Both actors are well-suited to their parts. Hepburn is perfect as Sylvester/Sylvia and Grant, who was on loan from Paramount, was in his element as the playful con artist. The film was also an auspicious debut for actress Dennie Moore who doesn't get on screen credit but plays a substantial role as Maudie the flighty maid who dreams of being a singer.

The film was not well received both by critics and by audiences. It was a box office failure and lost a significant amount of money. Hepburn later became branded as "box office poison" until her comeback with The Philadelphia Story (1940) which also stars Cary Grant. Sylvia Scarlett was a pet project for both Hepburn and Cukor. They tried but failed to make amends with producer Berman who was disappointed with the final result.



Sylvia Scarlett suffers from a convoluted plot that doesn't hold the viewer's interest or attention. However, I still really enjoyed the film and found that I was willing to deal with the messy storyline to get at all of the subversive goodness. I've always been drawn to stories that explore gender dynamics, sexual politics and identity and in this regard Sylvia Scarlett delivers. Contemporary audiences will be more apt to appreciate the film's exploration of gender identity. It's truly ahead of its time. We're also more likely to cast a discerning eye on the gendered representations of women as weak and emotional and men as tough and carefree and how the film both relies on those stereotypes and attempts to break them down. I'm not one for remakes but Sylvia Scarlett seems like a prime candidate for a 21st century makeover.




Disclaimer: As a DVD Nation director, I earn rewards from DVD Netflix. You can rent Sylvia Scarlett on DVD.com.

Monday, March 19, 2018

Cinema Shame: The Grass is Greener (1960)



Anyone who knows me knows I love Robert Mitchum. He's my favorite actor. Bar none. So why did it take me so long to watch him in The Grass is Greener (1960)? Well I was getting around to it. It's been on my to-be-watched list for years. There aren't many Mitchum comedies so maybe I was saving this for a rainy day. When I was working on my Cinema Shame list for 2018 I decided I was finally going to sit down and watch it. Perhaps I should have kept waiting.

The Grass is Always Greener is a genteel British comedy starring four Hollywood heavyweights: Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons. Earl Victor Rhyall (Cary Grant), his wife Lady Hilary (Deborah Kerr) and their two children live in a sprawling British estate that the Rhyalls can't afford to keep. Even their butler Trevor (Moray Watson) has little to do and offers to take a pay cut, which they refuse. To make ends meet the couple harvest mushrooms and opened their estate, with all it's antique furniture and art, as a museum open the general public. One day, an oil rich Texas millionaire, Charles Delacro (Robert Mitchum), wanders into the private part of the estate and meets Hilary. He is enchanted by her and her by him. The two begin an affair. What Hilary doesn't know is that her husband Victor is on to her but let's her travel to London to see Delacro, under other pretenses of course, hoping she'll wise up and come back to him. Hattie Durant (Jean Simmons), Victor's old flame and Hilary's London friend, gleefully gets caught up in the love triangle. She's a glamour queen, with too much time on her hands, who hopes to steal Victor away from Hilary. Will Hilary go back to her old life of growing mushrooms in a museum with her first love or will living a life of plenty with the handsome new stranger win her over?

The Grass is Greener was directed and produced by Stanley Donen. This is one of many films in the 1960s Donen worked on in Europe including Once More, with Feeling (1960), Surprise Package (1960), Charade (1963), Arabesque (1966), Two for the Road (1967), Bedazzled (1967) and Staircase (1968). Donen and Cary Grant own the company Grandon Productions which produced Indiscreet (1958) and The Grass is Greener.  After their film Indiscreet, Donen and Grant bought the rights to
the British stage play by Hugh Williams and Margaret (Vyner) Williams which premiered in 1956 and had a successful run in the West End. Stage actor Moray Watson played the part of Trevor the butler in the production and was the only actor from the original cast to appear in the film adaptation.

Grant initially turned down the role of Victor. Actor Rex Harrison came on board. When Harrison's wife Kay Kendall became ill, she died soon after, he had to drop out and Grant stepped in. According to Grant biographer Marc Eliot, Grant insisted the movie be shot in London so he could spend time in his home country. Deborah Kerr had been avoiding the cool English lady roles but wanted to appear again with Grant, Mitchum and Simmons. Mitchum had been in London filming The Sundowners, along with Kerr, and stuck around to make this movie.

The cast members were quite familiar with each other. In addition to The Sundowners, Mitchum and Kerr appeared together in Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957). Simmons and Mitchum appeared in She Couldn't Say No (1952) and Angel Face (1953). Simmons and Kerr were in Black Narcissus (1947) and Young Bess (1953). Kerr and Grant were in Dream Wife (1953) and An Affair to Remember (1957). For Grant and Mitchum, however, this was their only film together. Off screen they were polar opposites which worked for their on screen personalities. But inevitably they clashed on set. Grant worried that Mitchum's coolness made him look uptight and Mitchum worried that Grant's dialogue heavy role made him look like a man of too few words. Which it did on both counts. Mitchum biographer Lee Server points out that Grant and Mitchum were served poorly by the material. The same could be said for Kerr and Simmons. In his interview with Stanley Donen, author Marc Eliot remarked "Donen remembers the film as a milestone of sorts, marking the end of a certain type of sophisticated British comedy, before the antic humor of Peter Sellers arrived and dominated the English cinematic 1960s.

The cast and crew were made up of some of the most talented names of the era. There was original music by Noel Coward. Simmons wardrobe was designed by Christian Dior (and Kerr's by Hardy Amies). Moray Watson struck me as familiar but I couldn't quite pinpoint him. When I looked him up I was pleased to see that he also played one of my favorite characters, the Brigadier, in the British mini-series The Darling Buds of May.





Unfortunately, The Grass is Greener was a bore. Not even the amazing cast, beautiful sets, a mid-century aesthetic I so adore and Simmons' gorgeous Dior wardrobe could have saved this for me. The allure of having not seen the movie all these years outweighed any pleasure I experienced actually watching it.  Perhaps for me the grass seemed greener on the other side when it really wasn't. The movie wasn't a complete loss though. Staring at Robert Mitchum didn't hurt (and yes I'd pick him over Cary Grant any day). Any scene with Simmons was a delight because she added much needed levity to the story. Also the duel scene was quite fun, even if it was because Grant, Mitchum and Watson wore thick-rimmed glasses, a style of the era I'm obsessed with.



The Grass is Greener (1960) is the second of eight films that I am watching for the 2018 Cinema Shame challenge. Check out my original list and stay tuned for more reviews! Special thanks to my good friend Frank who loaned me his Olive Films Blu-Ray copy of The Grass is Greener.

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