I don’t mind gay, not gay, whatever - I try to understand the importance of a person’s celebration of coming out, I truly do. And I get the feeling of liberation from one who no longer feels ashamed of what/who they are.
As a person with spina bifida and a neurogenic bowel I had my share of accidents and subsequent bouts of bullying and being made fun of while growing up. Shame followed.
Fast forward 45 or so years to late onset Crohns...and I felt LIBERATED walking out of CVS with my depends, knowing I had a “real” excuse (denial being what it is bc somehow I felt I should control a neurogenic bowel...🤷🏻♂️).
But I don’t throw it in faces, demanding respect and demanding people to bow to me, fly a poop flag, or tell poop stories wearing depends to children.
And THAT is what I cannot abide with the current state of things.
It is a gem. It's been a long time since I have seen it, and memory can be creative, but my impression is that when Grant yells the "suddenly gay" line, he also does a little upward jump. Maybe it's just that I think that at that moment, he should have.
Gay. In its older sense, it's such a wonderful word, isn't it? It's an inherently Christian word. Leave it to the Devil to corrupt the best words.
Nice work, Doctor, working in the You're the Top reference. I may be the only reader who spots it, but I do appreciate it.
It's possible I read about the movie in this blog not long ago, but recently I did read somewhere about James Cagney's final movie as a star, One, Two, Three. I love that movie. I have never understood its obscurity. It's a screwball comedy if a movie ever was, and probably the last good one.
No. I think that his role as the wound-too-tight ship commander was perfect. Being ex military I thought his role was evocative of a few numb skulls I met in the day.
I see. It's a reference to my reference to James Cagney. Go read the thread again, please, Doug. You'll see why I thought you were referring to Cary Grant.
Yes, I agree, Cagney was wonderful in that. ( I wonder how billing was worked out between him and Henry Fonda? I haven't seen that movie since the 1950s. )
Cagney is an example of how multitalented the older stars often were. He was a great dramatic and comic actor, as well as a great dancer. I imagine you can still find this on YouTube: the golden seven minutes in which Cagney and Bob Hope, in character as George M. Cohan and Eddie Foy, respectively, dance on the banquet table top. It's actually ridiculous to suppose that it could have happened in real life, but movies' ability to capture such things justifies their existence. Bob Hope said he and Cagney rehearsed that scene for six weeks. Both men were in their fifties. Cagney also played guitar and spoke Yiddish.
Those are some of my favorite movies. I rarely watch any movies made past 1970, even less made after mid 1990’s. The movies made later are not as good and I know too much about actors/actresses in them to separate who they are in reality from the movie performance. Another favorite of mine is My Man Godfrey.
Like you, Adrian, I have many "favorite movies of all time" -- though it's a crowded but not an infinite list. "Bringing Up Baby" held the title in the my comedy category for a loooooong time. It's brilliant, and the appeal of the recurring use of the great song is nigh on to irresistible to me. But the particular category of screwball comedies is so stuffed with contenders! For start to finish laughs, I might give the nod to "Some Like it Hot," a film which depends for its brilliant humor on the audience's right attitude toward the sexes. If you don't have that attitude, you might still laugh but you can't possibly appreciate the deep absurdity of the film's fundamental premise. That was true of that scene in "Bringing up Baby" with Cary Grant in the uber-girly peignoir. The moment works as humor because the screenwriters and producers and Grant himself could count on inherent absurdity of the situation to make the audience roar with laughter. The best of the screwball comedies -- and really the "serious" comedy of such movies as "The Quiet Man" -- depend on a deep appreciation of the two sexes. Vive la difference!
Absolutely! True of so many great stories. Like, to steal a recurrent Esolen theme, trying to understand Shakespeare without a deep appreciation of the Bible.
I'll have to rediscover The Gay Divorcee. My all time favorite Cary Grant/Audrey Hepburn comedy is Bringing Up Baby. Grant gallantly covering Hepburn's behind with his top hat, not to mention the "I can't give you anything but love, baby" duet sung to the wrong leopard, crack me up every time.
But that link to Rod’s column was really depressing, because I mainly agree with him. I wouldn’t even click on his links for fear that I could not “un-see” what I might discover there.
Thanks for the inspiration. I'm going to find some Archibald Leach movies to rewatch. I always did love Arsenic and Old Lace and yes, Bringing Up Baby.
As an avid watcher of the old classics on TCM, I love the perspective of our forebears. However, I have noticed many of the movies, not just on TCM, but with many other movies, the music is way louder than the dialogue.
Is it just my boob toob, or has anyone else noticed that this is happening?
I don’t mind gay, not gay, whatever - I try to understand the importance of a person’s celebration of coming out, I truly do. And I get the feeling of liberation from one who no longer feels ashamed of what/who they are.
As a person with spina bifida and a neurogenic bowel I had my share of accidents and subsequent bouts of bullying and being made fun of while growing up. Shame followed.
Fast forward 45 or so years to late onset Crohns...and I felt LIBERATED walking out of CVS with my depends, knowing I had a “real” excuse (denial being what it is bc somehow I felt I should control a neurogenic bowel...🤷🏻♂️).
But I don’t throw it in faces, demanding respect and demanding people to bow to me, fly a poop flag, or tell poop stories wearing depends to children.
And THAT is what I cannot abide with the current state of things.
"fly a poop flag" 🤣
It is a gem. It's been a long time since I have seen it, and memory can be creative, but my impression is that when Grant yells the "suddenly gay" line, he also does a little upward jump. Maybe it's just that I think that at that moment, he should have.
Gay. In its older sense, it's such a wonderful word, isn't it? It's an inherently Christian word. Leave it to the Devil to corrupt the best words.
Nice work, Doctor, working in the You're the Top reference. I may be the only reader who spots it, but I do appreciate it.
It's possible I read about the movie in this blog not long ago, but recently I did read somewhere about James Cagney's final movie as a star, One, Two, Three. I love that movie. I have never understood its obscurity. It's a screwball comedy if a movie ever was, and probably the last good one.
Your memory is right on!
If you like Cagney, I predict you’ll like next week’s pick ; )
Hmmmmm.
You’re not the only reader who spotted the reference to You’re the Top. ;)
We few, we suave.
He was too funny in Mr. Roberts as well.
Doug, I think you have Jack Lemmon in mind.
No. I think that his role as the wound-too-tight ship commander was perfect. Being ex military I thought his role was evocative of a few numb skulls I met in the day.
I see. It's a reference to my reference to James Cagney. Go read the thread again, please, Doug. You'll see why I thought you were referring to Cary Grant.
Yes, I agree, Cagney was wonderful in that. ( I wonder how billing was worked out between him and Henry Fonda? I haven't seen that movie since the 1950s. )
Cagney is an example of how multitalented the older stars often were. He was a great dramatic and comic actor, as well as a great dancer. I imagine you can still find this on YouTube: the golden seven minutes in which Cagney and Bob Hope, in character as George M. Cohan and Eddie Foy, respectively, dance on the banquet table top. It's actually ridiculous to suppose that it could have happened in real life, but movies' ability to capture such things justifies their existence. Bob Hope said he and Cagney rehearsed that scene for six weeks. Both men were in their fifties. Cagney also played guitar and spoke Yiddish.
Those are some of my favorite movies. I rarely watch any movies made past 1970, even less made after mid 1990’s. The movies made later are not as good and I know too much about actors/actresses in them to separate who they are in reality from the movie performance. Another favorite of mine is My Man Godfrey.
Mine too! Do you butle?
Like you, Adrian, I have many "favorite movies of all time" -- though it's a crowded but not an infinite list. "Bringing Up Baby" held the title in the my comedy category for a loooooong time. It's brilliant, and the appeal of the recurring use of the great song is nigh on to irresistible to me. But the particular category of screwball comedies is so stuffed with contenders! For start to finish laughs, I might give the nod to "Some Like it Hot," a film which depends for its brilliant humor on the audience's right attitude toward the sexes. If you don't have that attitude, you might still laugh but you can't possibly appreciate the deep absurdity of the film's fundamental premise. That was true of that scene in "Bringing up Baby" with Cary Grant in the uber-girly peignoir. The moment works as humor because the screenwriters and producers and Grant himself could count on inherent absurdity of the situation to make the audience roar with laughter. The best of the screwball comedies -- and really the "serious" comedy of such movies as "The Quiet Man" -- depend on a deep appreciation of the two sexes. Vive la difference!
Absolutely! True of so many great stories. Like, to steal a recurrent Esolen theme, trying to understand Shakespeare without a deep appreciation of the Bible.
Or Dickens, or Milton, or Tennyson, or Chaucer, or Frost, or Melville, or Hawthorne, or or or or!
Love you & Anthony too ;)
Absolutely--Some Like It Hot is priceless!
Lol. She was hilarious in that movie. The whole family was whacky.
I'll have to rediscover The Gay Divorcee. My all time favorite Cary Grant/Audrey Hepburn comedy is Bringing Up Baby. Grant gallantly covering Hepburn's behind with his top hat, not to mention the "I can't give you anything but love, baby" duet sung to the wrong leopard, crack me up every time.
Me too!
Katherine Hepburn. Not Audrey.
Bringing Up Baby is my ALL time favorite classic. Laugh from beginning to end. True comedy!
Love love love Bringing Up Baby.
But that link to Rod’s column was really depressing, because I mainly agree with him. I wouldn’t even click on his links for fear that I could not “un-see” what I might discover there.
I'll have to go see if you've ever written about Preston Sturges movies. Some of my favorites.
I don’t think I have, but here’s one from Prof Esolen:
https://anthonyesolen.substack.com/p/the-palm-beach-story-1942
Thanks for the inspiration. I'm going to find some Archibald Leach movies to rewatch. I always did love Arsenic and Old Lace and yes, Bringing Up Baby.
As an avid watcher of the old classics on TCM, I love the perspective of our forebears. However, I have noticed many of the movies, not just on TCM, but with many other movies, the music is way louder than the dialogue.
Is it just my boob toob, or has anyone else noticed that this is happening?