Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane
Defining moment: Grant’s reaction to the appearance of the body in the chest is magnificent.
Although Frank Capra is best known for his occasionally maudlin studies of working-class triumph over the political machine, this madcap screwball farce feels more in line with the motor-mouth comedies of George Cukor or Howard Hawks. A theatre critic who has gone on record as detesting the institution of marriage, Cary Grant’s Mortimer Brewster is finally ready to bite the bullet and get hitched to (literal) girl-next-door Priscilla Lane, but the ensuing chaos in trying to save his name leads him to discover some dark secrets about the two little old ladies who brought him up. Based on a mammoth Broadway hit, some have criticised the film for being too theatrical, and you can see how Capra simply allows Julius and Philip Epstein’s gag-laden script to do the talking. But it’s damn funny stuff: Grant floors it from beginning to end, especially good when sharing the screen with Uncle Teddy (John Alexander) who lives his life as Teddy Roosevelt. Charge! David Jenkins
No comments:
Post a Comment