Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise (2020)

 

Scott Eyman is becoming one of my favorite film historians. After reading his biography of Cary Grant, I am even more of a fan. This biography is a gripping read that I always hated to put down. It is incredibly well-written, very informative and always fair when examining its subject. 

One of the main points this book makes is that the persona of Cary Grant was a creation of Grant himself. While it did not fully resemble the man who was born Archie Leach and would later bear the name of Cary Grant, it was the creation of the star not the studio. As well as digging into Cary Grant and his movie career, this book also greatly discusses who Archie Leach was. Probably the highlight of this book is the early chapters discussing Archie's life before becoming Cary Grant. As most writings about the Hollywood star tend to focus on his movie career, this is where I learned the most about the man born as Archie Leach. These early chapters are not only very well researched and informative but also where Scott Eyman's writing is at its best. We feel completely engrossed in this bygone world of English Music Halls and American vaudeville. The picture painted of a very vivid picture of this world, and it is easy to understand how it shaped Archie Leach, well into the years he would be known as Cary Grant. 

As well as starting strong, this book also finishes very strong. Most movie star biographies tend to wind down when the reach the years when the star retired. That is far from the case here. Eyman digs heavily into these years painting a very vivid picture of an older man, who finally find much of the peace and joy that he looked for through much of his life (especially due to the love he felt for his daughter Jennifer). These chapters give us probably our greatest understanding of who the man is. 

Though the middle section may not be as strong as the start or finish, it is still quite well worth the read. This is especially true because of the chapters when it talks about Grant's working and personal relationships with his three favorite and possibly best directors, Alfred Hitchcock, Howard Hawks and Leo McCarey. The book provides a very well-researched look into the making of his best work. It also provides a very smart and well-written critical examination of his filmography as a whole. Eyman argues that Grant's reluctance to take risks with many of his roles, hurt his career at times causing him to make inferior films while passing up movies that would have been perfect for him. At the same time Eyman is not short in his praise of Grant's best work, acknowledging that his best films are true cinematic masterpieces of the highest order.  

This book is highly sympathetic to Grant and often times paints a positive picture of the man. However, this does not mean that it overlooks or excuses Grant's worst flaws. Still for every story about his ego or selfish behavior, there are two more about how he took chances with newcomers he believed in or how much he truly loved his daughter. 

This is a must-read biography.    

Michael's Christmas Movie Guide: The Bishop's Wife (1947)

 

One of the best Christmas movies ever made. 

This film has a storyline that is simply hard to resist. Around Christmas time a bishop (David Niven) is spending all his time focusing on building a new church. The stress and overwork are making him increasingly unhappy and distant from his beautiful wife (Loretta Young). In a time of desperation, he says a prayer for guidance and an angel (Cary Grant) appears to help him. However, when the angel makes his wife the happiest, she has been in a while, he starts to suspect the angel is trying to steal her away from him.

This film did not come about easily. The original director was William A. Seiter, who my fellow Laurel and Hardy fans might know as the director of the classic Sons of the Desert (1933). However Samuel Goldwyn did not like how the film was progressing and replaced him with Harry Koster as the director. The angel was originally going to be played by David Niven, and the Bishop by Dana Andrews, and Tersea Wright as the wife. However Tersea Wright had to leave due to pregnancy. The wife was to be played now by Loretta Young. However she was under contract to RKO. Dana Andrews was traded to RKO in order for MGM to get Young. The Bishop part was given to Cary Grant. However it was discovered that Grant would work better as the angel, so Niven and Grant traded roles. On top of all this the preview did not go well. Goldwyn was unhappy with Leonardo Bercovici and Robert E. Sherwood's script, so Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett were hired to refine the script, both without receiving credit. The film did well with critics, but less so with an audience. Because of this the title was temporary changed to Cary and the Bishop's Wife. Adding Cary Grant's first name to the title somehow did increase the box office results somewhat.

Even with all those issues to overcome, this turned out to be a near perfect movie. Everything in this film works near perfectly. The fantasy element is wonderful and this whole movie comes off as a wonderful Christmas themed fairy tale. The film only gets more magical as the more times you watch it. The romance is simply wonderful. This may be one of the most touching romances in movie history. The chemistry between all three leads is fantastic and there is never a single scene about the romance where it is not 100% believable. The humor is delightful. While the film may not always be laugh out loud funny, it does always keep a smile firmly on your face. There are also a few really good laugh out loud moments. What really makes the movie work though is the little moments that are simply charming. There is such a sweet an irresistible charm to scenes like the ice-skating scene and the choir scene, that gives one that heartwarming Christmas feeling. 

This is a film that always gives me a great feeling of joy every time I watch it.