Favorite films
Don’t forget to select your favorite films!
Don’t forget to select your favorite films!
Only Old Hollywood could make a movie about a beehive of nihilists this entertaining.
No, but seriously there is some really good stuff here. Most of the characters are insufferable, which is maybe why I was swept away by contrast with Hepburn and Andrea Leeds (who I'd literally never heard of until today, why??). I also really loved Ginger Rogers' character arc.
I thought the comedy here was cringy and overbearing, but it entertains, and its good parts really do shine
It's weird how Hollywood (or maybe it was just that depression era desperation) gives these random criminals an almost heroic anarchist label. Everything they did was done to soften their guilt and or boredom.
Yeah, the story of Bonnie and Clyde is fun and feels unreal. But it is literally just a bunch of children fumbling around and making use of an ultra-vulnerable era. I like the angle of the criminal's girlfriend where the criminal isn't a reactionary sociopath, though, did he have to be such a clown. Sorry, just more of me critiquing real life stories.
I can only imagine how George Cukor felt as he watched his creation for the first time. Surely he knew how perfect a film he had on his hands, and I hope he had stupid grin on his face during the entire screening knowing he would be unleashing this masterpiece on the world soon. No reactions, just a sly grin. Would’ve loved to see it.
Cary Grant is excellent with little screen time, and James Stewart superb and charming, but…
“Moral: When you appear at your window put on your shirt. 🦉”
Wise words from a wise man, Ernst Lubitsch, whose distinct style is ever so prevalent in this sexy and stylish silent comedy. It’s also definite proof that silent comedies don’t need slapstick to be hilarious. Wit and great timing will do just fine.
Despite the incredible Charleston sequence, the highlight of the film for me was the newspaper joke at the end.