Film Pairing — Cary Grant Times Two

With the possible exception of To Catch a Thief, these two films may be the best of the Cary Grant films, certainly of those with suspense at the core.  Romance, humor and danger are an entertaining mix for a double feature to snuggle up to some chilly night. In fact, it is such an obvious pairing I’m almost embarrassed to pair them.

Cary Grant And Eva Marie Saint

North By Northwest — As you would expect there is disagreement about which of Alfred Hitchcock’s films is his greatest. This one is toward the top of my list. By fluke, a Manhattan advertising executive (Cary Grant) is mistaken for a CIA agent. He is kidnapped and marked for death by a smuggler, played by James Mason. Grant’s character escapes and the chase begins — trains, planes, cornfields and national landmarks. Enter a love interest.  Eva Marie Saint portrays the smart (smarter than the usual Hitchcock blonde), beautiful, if not devious, damsel in distress.  Martin Landau is strong in a supporting role.  And I always like to see Leo G. Carroll. As usual, watch for Alfred’s trademark cameo                      

Cary Grant And Audrey Hepburn

Charade — A slightly darker film, but not all that dark, Charade is decidedly more of a mystery. A man is murdered, thrown off a train.  His widow (Audrey Hepburn) soon realizes she had no idea who her husband really was. Unfortunately for her, his unsavory cohorts believe she has the money her husband stole from them. And they want it back. When a handsome and charming stranger (Cary Grant) enters her life, she believes he’s there to help her.  Is he?  Stanley Donen directed this 1963 film based on a short story, “The Unsuspecting Wife,” by Peter Stone and Mark Behm. The strong supporting cast includes Walter Matthau, James Coburn and George Kennedy. There are many good reasons to watch this film. One is the score by Henry Mancini. The other is Charles Lang’s stylish cinematography.

As a number of critics have pointed out over the years, Charade seems like a Hitchcock film. If it were, it would be among the legendary director’s best. This alone makes it an interesting double bill. The opening credits on both films are also worth watching.  

Incidentally three years ago, Life Death and Fog polled visitors to vote on their favorite Hitchcock movies.  Click here for this blog’s top ten by the master.

Libations: With the Hitchcock film, try a Gibson. This is the drink he orders on the train. It is really a gin martini, usually served with a small, silverskin onion. Stirred, not shaken. With Charade, we need to drink in the spirit of Paris.  Perhaps now that it’s legal in the U.S., some absinthe.  For those who want to keep a clear head in order to keep track of Grant’s identities, mix tonic, lemon, citrus bitters, and rock candy for a great mocktail.

Film Pairings — Crime That Will Tickle Your Funny Bone

Let’s take a break from those tough guy movies. Skip the cars tumbling in slow motion, the nail-biting suspense, the sly, nasty twist at the end, the blood-splattering shootout.  Let’s get silly. Crime can be fun and funny.  How about an evening of murder and crazy old ladies?

Arsenic and Old Lace.  No groans, now.  When was the last time you saw it? Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) and his childhood sweetheart and new wife, played by Priscilla Lane, visit Brewster’s crazy relatives.  The grave digging brother and the geezer-killing aunts — they meant well — there is an entourage of great character actors from the era — Peter Lorre, Jack Carson, Raymond Massey, James Gleason and Edward Everett Horton — playing cops and ominous visitors.  This is clearly a farce, full of coincidences, near discoveries, missing bodies, doors opening and shutting just in time as well as clever lines. The movie no doubt benefited from the play it was based upon, which had a long and successful run on Broadway before making it to the silver screen.  Grant throws himself into his comedic role in this highly-rated vintage comedy, still popular among contemporary viewers. Arsenic and Old Lace will lighten your mood and make you suspicious of your kindly old aunt who makes her own wine.

Then if you want to do more silly, let’s call in the British.  They know silly.  Even dark silly.  Eleven years after Arsenic and Old Lace was released, The Ladykillers came out. It met with immediate success and, like its American cousin, remains a popular rental today. British actress Katie Johnson is an eccentric elderly woman — the theme of the evening — who runs a boarding house in London and is a constant pest at the local police station. But instead of her being a crazy old murderess, she is the surprisingly resilient, clearly batty, intended victim.  Seems as if a gang of thugs rent a room from her, ostensibly for their string quintet to rehearse.  String quintet, smingquintet.  The real reason we have Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers and a cast of incredibly fine British actors meeting in at the boarding house is that there is a bank to be robbed and they need a place to plot out their strategy.  The robbery is successful, but that’s only the beginning.  Greed and paranoia take over. Misunderstandings, double-crosses and accidents abound, much to our guilty pleasure.

You might want to avoid Elderberry wine this evening, but why not go for something light and fun anyway.  Celebrate with some spritzers — even you are a serious oenophile — especially if it is a warm summer night. Tonight is not the night for a furrowed brow.