THE NAKED SPUR (1953)

Jimmy Stewart or Cary Grant month (Post 4 of 14)

The Naked Spur

For those more familiar with the Jimmy Stewart of Frank Capra comedies or Alfred Hitchcock thrillers, it may be a surprise to see him playing a much tougher character in Westerns. In fact, he did a lot of Westerns. The two Stewart Westerns that come to my mind first are How the West Was Won and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. But Stewart also made several Westerns with director Anthony Mann, none of which I've seen before going through this list. Obviously, they are well thought of since three of them are on the 1001 list.

In The Naked Spur, Stewart plays bounty hunter Howard Kemp who is set on bringing in outlaw Robert Ryan for the reward. He has to contend with Ryan's girl (Janet Leigh) and is assisted by his crusty prospector sidekick played by Millard Mitchell. He also has to contend with an dishonorably discharged Union soldier played by Ralph Meeker. This small cast are almost the only people in the entire film with the exception of a few Indian extras. But they don't matter anyway, do they?

The Indians don't matter anyway, do they? The gang has a run in with the Indians that is just about to be handled peacefully until the impetuousness of the Ralph Meeker character leads to a bloody shootout where...well, it's at least bloody on the side of the Indians as most of them get gunned down. Damn Yankee soldier.

The great sidekick that never fulfilled his potential: Millard Mitchell plays Stewart's bounty hunting ally here. He also played Stewart's loyal deputy in Winchester '73. I was curious what happened to Millard, as good movie character actors don't grown on trees. Answer: He died of lung cancer at age fifty in 1953, the same year The Naked Spur was released. So let this be a lesson to you kids: Don't smoke! It could stand in the way of you becoming the next Walter Brennan.

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BRINGING UP BABY (1938)

Jimmy Stewart or Cary Grant month (3 of 14)

 

Bringing Up Baby

In this screwball comedy, Cary Grant plays an awkward paleontologist who gets involved in a quest for a missing dinosaur bone with a flighty rich girl (Katherine Hepburn). Hepburn's pets, Baby the leopard and her dog that wants the dinosaur bone for his own sinister purpose, befuddle Grant even more than Hepburn does.

Bringing Up Baby really shows Grant's comedic ability (physical and verbal) and I actually prefer this one to the more popular later Hepburn/Grant teaming, The Philadelphia Story.

They let them get away with that in 1938?: In a memorable scene, Grant is wearing women's clothing and jumps and shouts that he has turned into a fairy! According to Peter Bogdanavich, the strict censors of the time probably didn't even know the double meaning of the word so saw no reason to cut the line from the film.

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REAR WINDOW (1954)

Jimmy Stewart or Cary Grant month (Post 2 of 14)

Rear Window

During the 1980's, four of the five Alfred Hitchcock movies that were re-released to theaters starred our man Jimmy Stewart (Rear Window, Vertigo, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Rope). In Rear Window, Stewart plays Jeff Jeffries, a photographer with a broken leg and an impossibly beautiful society girlfriend (Grace Kelly) who likes to bitch at him about his lifestyle and talk about eating at Twenty-One. Jeffries has little to do but sit around his apartment and spy on his neighbors, who seem to, luckily for the movie audience, not believe in curtains. We, the viewer, get to put ourselves in the postion of Jeffries, also the viewer, and live vicariously through him. Of course, he witnesses foul play from one of these neighbors and putting together the puzzle pieces as to what is going on is most of the fun in one of my favorite Hitchcock movies.

The stuggling (aren't they all) composer with a drinking problem (don't they all) who at least gets the honor of sharing Alfred Hitchcock's cameo.

The sad Ms. Lonelyhearts. Looking for love. Looking for the right man. Who knows, if this had been a Douglas Sirk movie, she might have been the main character. Of course, by Hollywood standards the part of Ms. Lonelyhearts would have then been played by Grace Kelly, who they would have been given big glasses for her to wear to attempt to make her look "plain," but...I digress.

The mysterious and sinister Thorwald, played by Raymond Burr, long before he started doing Independent Insurance Agents commercials in the 70's.

And last, but definitely not least, Ms. Torso, the ultimate fantasy girl, even for someone who has Grace Kelly as a girlfriend.

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THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)

The 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die book has an index of all of the directors of all of the films listed within its covers. It’s easy to determine that Alfred Hitchcock (with 18 movies listed) is easily the king of the directors. This made me curious which actor had the most listings. Since there is no similar index for thespians, that proved to be a little more difficult to determine. I figured it had to be an American actor, since there are more American movies listed in "the book" than anything else. Humphrey Bogart? John Wayne? Jack Nicholson? Meryl Streep? Bette Davis?

I then counted up the listings under the man that critic David Thomson called, “the best and most important actor in the history of cinema.” Well, with 10 listings in the book, Cary Grant certainly made quite an impact anyway.

One reason for Grant's many listings is his ability to perform in different genres. They include:

A flair for the comedic: The Philadelphia Story, Bringing Up Baby, The Awful Truth, She Done Him Wrong, His Girl Friday

It helps to be in a few Hitchcock classics: Notorious, North By Northwest

An occasional outing as an action star: Gunga Din, Only Angels Have Wings

And we can even throw in a romance for good measure: An Affair to Remember

And there are some pretty good Grant films that didn’t make the 1001 list: To Catch a Thief, Talk of the Town, Charade, Arsenic and Old Lace, Topper.

So ten listings for Cary Grant. That’s got to be the most, right? Well, I was going to finish all the Grant movies this month, but then I realized I hadn’t counted the movies of everyone’s favorite everyman, Jimmy Stewart.

Stewart also appeared in a lot of notable films in different genres which include:

A flair for the comedic: The Philadelphia Story, It’s a Wonderful Life, Harvey

It helps to be in a few Hitchcock classics: Rope, Rear Window, Vertigo, The Man Who Knew Too Much

Some memorable outings in drama: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Anatomy of a Murder, The Mortal Storm

More than a few Westerns: Destry Rides Again, Winchester ’73, Naked Spur, The Man From Laramie, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

15 listings! I think we have a winner. The 1001 book’s proclivity for listing a lot of old Westerns really helped with Jimmy Stewart’s total.

And there are also some pretty good Stewart films that didn’t make the 1001 list: Spirit of St. Louis, You Can’t Take it With You,How the West Was Won, Call Northside 777

So instead of Cary Grant month, I’m going to do Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart month. Some I’ve already listed is previous blogs, so I’m just going to try to stick with some of the remaining ones on the list. However, I have made an exception for this first posting for Jimmy Stewart or Cary Grant month since both star in the classic The Philadelphia Story.

Plot summary: Tracy Lord is engaged to George. Her ex-husband C. K. Dexter Haven shows back up for the wedding. Macauly Conner, the reporter covering the story, falls for Tracy, much to the chagrin of Elizabeth Imbrie, also working on the story. Of course, Tracy is probably still in love with with C. K. Dexter Haven. Farce ensues. (Anyone doing a Cary Grant impersonation should do it saying “My name is C. K. Dexter Haven!” slowly emphasizing each syllable)

The Philadelphia Story is an enjoyable enough farce, but for me it not as much fun as some other of the great screwball comedies (My Man Godfrey comes to mind).

There are some memorable moments, I loved Jimmy Stewart’s drunk scene, for example. And the star power of the three leads of Katherine Hepburn, Grant and Stewart is a force. What’s the modern day equivalent? Julia Roberts…George Clooney…Brad Pitt maybe…Oh, no! That’s Ocean’s Eleven!”

Danny Peary’s book Alternate Oscars takes away Stewart’s Oscar for this film and gives it to Henry Fonda in The Grapes of Wrath. He gives Stewart the prize for It’s a Wonderful Life. If only life worked like this! As long as we're doing Oscar do-overs, let's give Jimmy one for Harvey too.

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THE WRESTLER (2007), ANVIL (2008)

Son of 21st century films month! (Post 12 of 12)

The Wrestler and Anvil! The Story of Anvil

The Wrestler and Anvil! both feature high testosterone subjects (wrestling and heavy metal music) and whose ultimate moral for me is the same. “Hang in there! Do what you believe! Never give up!”

In the case of the fictional film, The Wrestler, aging grappler Randy the Ram is still trying to eke out a living in small wrestling venues while being tossed onto tables, having his head cut open or having another wrestler use a staple gun on him! It doesn’t seem too glamorous, but what else is Randy going to do? That is what he knows and who he is. When he develops a heart condition and is told to stop wrestling, he tries to do something different. The scene with Randy the Ram, hairnet and all, trying to work at a deli counter in a grocery store is one of the most tragic yet funny scenes I can remember. Of course, he hangs in there. Doing what you believe and never giving up may cost Randy his life, but he truly doesn’t seem to have a choice.

Anvil! is a documentary about an actual Canadian heavy metal band and their attempts to make a comeback, or just make another record, really.

This film has a lot of similarites to the fictional This is Spinal Tap!-Anvil even visits Stonehenge! Their sound equipment goes up to 11! They even have a gig in Europe where the owner of the club refuses to pay them! (If I told ‘em once I told them a hundred times to put Spinal Tap first and puppet show last!) And there is even the obligatory falling out between bandmates Lipps and Robb where these best friends will never work together again! Of course, they do get back together. “I was wrong. I’m an asshole. I love you brother. I can’t do this without you!”.

Like Randy the Ram, we see Lipps trying to make money at a “real” job. His attempt is as a phone solicitor. He can’t do it. It just isn’t in him. What’s he going to do? I’m not a fan of heavy metal, but you got to admire their perseverance and root for them to get their record made... Or at the very least have a fan like Sacha Gervasi who might one day become a documentary filmmaker and make a movie about you.

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THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM (2007)

Son of 21st century films month! (Post 11 of 12)

The Bourne Ultimatum

There continues to be a steady supply of new books coming into the library featuring Robert Ludlum’s super agent Jason Bourne. It’s especially telling since Robert Ludlum died in 2001. The Bourne movies that these books spawned have proven to be even more popular than the books. I must confess, I’ve never read a Bourne book or seen a Bourne movie before. The Bourne movie on one of the 1001 lists is The Bourne Ultimatum, which is the last one (I think) in the Jason Bourne series with Matt Damon. Since this was the one on the list, this is the one I chose to watch. I quickly realized after the first few minutes of the film, that I probably should have started off with The Bourne Identity because I found myself quickly caught in the middle of a story that I didn’t know where it was supposed to go or why it was headed there. About half way through, I started to catch up a little better on what was happening and thought that overall it was a pretty good action flick, as action flicks go.

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MILLION DOLLAR BABY (2004)

Son of 21st century films month! (Post 10 of 12)

Million Dollar Baby

Anyone interested in a close look at Clint Eastwood's long career as a movie star might want to read Marc Elliot's American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood. From the Leone films of the mid 60's to Grand Torino over forty years later, how many other stars can really compete with Clint's longevity?

It's hard for me not to first think of Clint as the Man With No Name or Dirty Harry, but it's his career as a director (Over 30 films, two Best Director Oscars) that really makes me take note. Elliot sees him as a flesh and blood auteur, with a recognizable signature on most of his films (Though maybe not for Breezy).

Clint won his second directoral Oscar for Million Dollar Baby, which I don't like as much as Unforgiven, but does have Hillary Swank as The Million Dollar Baby, Morgan Freeman as the trainer and Clint himself as the crusty old manager, training someone who he doesn't want to train because of her persistence. The strong, but at times depressing story, is one of those movies that I saw once and didn't want to watch again. But on my second viewing, I admit to liking it even more. It's really an emotional and dramtically involving movie. Come to think of it, I liked Unforgiven more the second time I saw it, too. Maybe there's something to this auteur theory after all!

Note to self: Watch Mystic River again.

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