Blu-ray Review: Houseboat
Planned as a vehicle for Cary Grant and his third wife actress-writer Betsy Drake, 1958’s Houseboat was to be their third film together after 1948’s Every Girl Should Be Married and 1952’s Room for One More. However, by the time the film was made, Grant was infatuated by Sophia Loren. He had Drake replaced with […]
4K UHD Review: North By Northwest
I’ve always considered Alfred Hitchcock one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema. As such, I find it impossible to say which of his more the fifty films is the best. However, I can say that 1959’s North by Northwest ranks somewhere near the top. Both entertaining and suspenseful, the film marked Hitchcock’s […]
Blu-ray Review: Room for One More
Featuring Cary Grant in his most “domestic” role, Room for One More is based on a popular early fifties book of the same name. George “Poppy” Rose (Grant) lives with his wife Anna (Betsy Drake) their three children and various stray pets. George is sweet with the children, if occasionally overwhelmed by all the activity […]
Blu-ray Review: To Catch A Thief (Paramount Presents Edition)
[Editor’s Note: Elements of this piece appeared in a review for an earlier release of this film–RW] Few would argue director Alfred Hitchcock’s status as a master of suspense. However, his 1955 effort, To Catch a Thief can hardly be considered among the best in his suspense cannon. However, with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly […]
Blu-ray Review: Holiday (Criterion Collection)
Based on a play by Philip Barry, Holiday is the third film starring Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn and their third with director George Cukor. Released in 1938 around the time Katherine Hepburn was being called “box office poison,” she gives one of her more heartfelt performances. A romantic comedy, Holiday has a surprisingly serious […]
Blu-ray Review: Notorious (Criterion Collection)
[amazon_link asins=’B07JVF7M7M’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’moviegazett03-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’7834fec7-a8bb-4a6e-9d09-ecd7256263f7′]Directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, Notorious is not only one of the most stylish films ever made but is one of the greatest suspense yarns ever committed to celluloid. Buoyed by a great cast, and a well-rounded script by Ben Hecht (Design for Living) Notorious represents filmmaking at its […]
Blu-ray Review: The Philadelphia Story (Criterion Collection)
[amazon_link asins=’B074R56JR6′ template=’ProductAd’ store=’moviegazett03-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’d95f1c6b-4bdb-11e8-8fc7-f1ed17ed0822′]Based on the 1939 play by Philip Barry, adapted for the screen by Donald Ogden Stewart and an uncredited Waldo Salt, The Philadelphia Story is a high point for three Hollywood legends–Cary Grant (Operation Petticoat), Katharine Hepburn (Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner) and James Stewart (It’s a Wonderful Life)–and a […]
The Grace Kelly Collection (DVD)
[AMAZONPRODUCTS asin=”B00JF81XBS”]Though her career only spanned six years and eleven films, Grace Kelly is considered one of the most iconic, fashionable stars in cinematic history. Just shy of what would have been Grace Kelly’s 85th birthday, Warner Brothers has released The Grace Kelly Collection, a DVD compilation of six of her most notable and memorable […]
Operation Petticoat (Blu-ray)
A late career vehicle for Cary Grant, the light service comedy Operation Petticoat isn’t one of the versatile actor’s best pictures, but it did give him a chance to work with Tony Curtis, who had offered up his own very funny, parodistic “Cary Grant” turn in Billy Wilder’s Some Like it Hot earlier that same […]
Blu-ray Review: That Touch of Mink
Released in 1962, That Touch of Mink is the only film Cary Grant and Doris Day ever made together. The pairing came late in the careers of both, as they would each be finished making movies within the next six years. Cary Grant would appear in just three more films after this one, and Doris […]