Movie Review: Bringing Up Baby (1938)

Hey, guys!

I canʼt believe that it is the last day of November! How was the month for all of you?

Back in August I did some mini reviews of all the movies that I watched in July and asked if any of you were interested in reading a full review for any of the movies. The lovely Sarah Seele put forth two options! What Iʼm reviewing for you today is one of those, and I hope to talk about the other next month. This is what I consider to be the funniest movie of all time, so prepare yourself for some hilarity, and I hope that you enjoy this review!

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning. This is spoiler free!

Bringing Up Baby (1938):

Based on: the short story Bringing Up Baby - by Hagar Wilde.

David Huxley is a paleontologist who works at a museum. It is heard that Elizabeth Random is giving away a million dollars and the Davidʼs fiancée plans ways for him to spend the day with Mrs. Randomʼs lawyer in order to convince why the museum should receive the money. In his various attempts, he keeps running into this girl, Susan, who wonʼt leave him alone. She drags him on some crazy adventures, and loses a rare bone needed for the dinosaur skeleton that he is assembling at work. Will he find it again and get back to New York in time to get married? And what are they going to do about Baby?

Genre: Screwball Comedy.

Length: approx. 102 minutes.

Script: 10, no bad words!

 "The only way you'll ever get me to follow another of your suggestions is to hold a bright object in front of my eyes and twirl it."

Crew: Directed by: Howard Hawks. Written by: Dudley Nichols & Hagar Wilde.

Starring:

Katharine Hepburn as Susan Vance.

Cary Grant as David Huxley.

May Robson as Elizabeth Ransom.

Fritz Feld as Dr. Lehman.

Charlie Ruggles as Major Applegate.

Walter Catlett as Slocum.

Barry Fitzgerald as Mr. Gogarty.

Leona Roberts as Mrs. Gogarty.

George Irving as Alexander Peabody.

Tala Birell as Mrs. Lehman.

Virginia Walker as Alice Swallow.

John Kelly as Elmer.

And the animals Skippy and Nissa.

Costumes: 8, people are only wearing robes a few times, and someone has a garment that rips, but they cover it up and itʼs never indecent.

My favorite:

I love her whole outfit here!

Cinematography: 9, ah, I love the black and white! I donʼt think there is anything too special about it besides that, but it just has such neat feel that I canʼt figure out how to describe.

Cinematography by: Russell Metty.

Music: 8, Well, there isnʼt really any music to speak of besides the song “I Canʼt Give You Anything But Love, Baby”, but I like how it ties in throughout!

Music by: Rob Webb (score). Jimmy McHugh & Dorothy Fields (song).

Quotability: 10, yes! So many excellent and quotable parts! Now, I was so absorbed in watching it when I was supposed to be taking notes, that I forgot to write down the said notes. And even besides that, I canʼt pick quotes out of all of them! It would either be every single part from the whole movie, or not a lot. So youʼre getting the latter. Plus, this script is so fantastic because there are so many running jokes!

'"You've just had a bad day, that's all. "

“Oh, thatʼs a masterpiece of understatement.”'

Content: 9, there is some smoking, and one person tells some lies that are a little suggestive and mention killing.

Originality: 10, all of the situations that Susan and David get into are so unique and hilarious, Iʼve never seen anything like it!

Good For: Screwball comedy fans, for fans of the actors, for anyone who needs a laugh, everyone.

Age Range: This is perfectly acceptable for all ages! Young and old will get a kick out of it.

Overall Score: 9!

Worth watching?: You bet! Every moment in here is golden, and I canʼt think of a single thing that I donʼt like. I laugh from beginning to end and never stop! Itʼs rather exhausting.

I didn't notice it until I was looking for pictures, but there is a lot of talking on the phone in this film.

Will I watch again?: Absolutely! I think that Iʼve now seen it three times, and I canʼt wait to make that number grow. The last time was the first for my little sister and she enjoyed it, too! I can't wait to share it with others!

Bonus thoughts:

This is the most hilarious film that Iʼve ever seen. Now, I often say that I donʼt like strictly comedy films and especially screwball because it seems so forced. I like dramas that have funny parts woven in and often Iʼm laughing when things arenʼt supposed to be funny, but I get irritated with comedies because I feel that Iʼm made to laugh, but it isnʼt my style of humor. This movie though, is excellent. The characters are so distinct that the problems that they get themselves into and the ways that they try to fix it make so much sense, even when they are not logical. It is said that Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn would frequently start laughing without control that production was often delayed! If youʼre like me and usually dislike comedies, I suggest giving this a try! 

It could be that Cary Grant was just brilliant at comedy because my second favorite comedy of all time, Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), also stars him. We canʼt forget about Katharine Hepburn! The role of Susan Vance was written for her and though it is said that she was having trouble doing comedy, you canʼt tell at all. She is marvelous! My older sister doesn't like her in other things, but she agrees that she shines in this film. They are one of my favorite acting pairs because they work off of each other so well!

The supporting cast does nothing but add to the wonderful chaos. I love the confusion and misunderstandings. Major Applegate reminds me a lot of one of my friends.

I could be here all day talking about it, but it's just awesome, okay?

Thanks to Sarah for requesting a review of this! Does anyone else have any requests? Thanks to all of you for reading! What is your favorite comedy movie? Have any of you seen this? What other Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant movies have you seen?

MovieCritic

Movie Review: Adam's Rib (1949)

Hello, all!

I'm coming to you today with a movie review starring a very famous duo! I've been meaning to review this one for ages, and have even started writing it a couple of times, but I have the perfect excuse today. I always get excited when I review classic Hollywood movies, so I hope that you enjoy this!

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning. This is spoiler free!

Adam's Rib (1949):

Married couple, Amanda and Adam Bonner, are both lawyers and l live a good life defending people. When a woman is accused of shooting her husband a date is given for a court hearing, and Adam is assigned with the prosecution. Amanda hears all about it and decides on the spot to defend the woman. What follows is that this pair has to go against each other in the courtroom while being together the rest of the time. Adam is upset when he hears this as he is worried that this constant arguing will bring about something worse. Who will win the case, and will Adam's foreboding feelings be right?

'"What's going to happen?"

"Plenty."'

Genre: Drama, Romance.

Length: approx. 101 minutes.

Script: 10, I'm sure of no bad words!

"I say, I sound fascinating."

Crew: Directed by: George Cukor.

Written by: Ruth Gordon & Garson Kanin.

Starring:

Katharine Hepburn as Amanda Bonner.

Spencer Tracy as Adam Bonner.

Judy Holliday as Doris Attinger.

Tom Ewell as Warren Attinger.

David Wayne as Kip Lurie.

Jean Hagen as Beryl Caighn.

Clarence Kolb as Judge Reiser.

Hope Emerson as Olympia La Pere.

Eve March as Grace.

Emerson Treacy as Jules Frikke.

Polly Moran as Mrs. McGrath.

Will Wright as Judge Marcasson.

Elizabeth Flournoy as Dr. Margaret Brodeigh.

Costumes: 6, there are times when people are just hanging out in bathrobes, or towels, but nothing bad or excellent.

Cinematography: 8, the opening struck my attention for having good cinematography! The rest is your standard black and white movie.

Cinematography by: George J. Folsey.

Music: I have to mark this one as N/A because I can't remember it besides the one song.

Music by: Miklós Rózsa.

Quotes: 6, I have not even considered quoting this since I watched it, but looking at my notes there were lots of good lines!

"I've got a theory, wanna hear it? I think the world is having a nervous breakdown." 

(Very applicable for this year!)

Content: 9, there is the subject of people having affairs, divorce, emotional abuse, and suggestive things. But, many of those are handled very well! I was duly impressed.

 "I don't believe women should smoke, you'll excuse me from saying." ( I don't believe anyone should smoke, but that seems to be my personal opinion)

Originality: 9, talking about gender justice (hey, that kind of rhymes) is a common topic, but not one that gets old! I admit, I haven't seen it take shape in a courtroom like this before with such circumstances, so it was very unique! In some ways it strangely reminded me of the book that I was reading at the time, Anna Karenina - by Leo Tolstoy.

Good For: Fans of the actors, married couples, anyone.

Age Range: While this movie is very clean and has some thought provoking topics, these kind of dramas can be boring to little kids. I speak from experience! It depends on the person, of course, but I would say this kind of interest could start appearing in someone of 13.

Overall Score: 8!

Worth watching?: Whenever I hear about a movie taking the most time in a courtroom, my immediate thought is, "Oh no! That's going to be so boring!" which is funny, because most movies dealing with the law in that way that I've seen are not boring. This one was especially the opposite. I was always interested in what was happening and it was, to tell the truth, riveting! Very well done and it was definitely worth watching. Plus, Judy Holliday had such an impacting role, and I was so glad to see Jean Hagen!

Will I watch again?: I most certainly will! With a lot of Katharine Hepburn movies I'm very anxious about how it will turn out when I am first viewing it (the exception obviously being Bringing Up Baby (1938)), but when I watch it again I find myself enjoying it a lot. In one way I was not satisfied with the ending, and in another I was very much so, so I don't know what to tell you, readers! I look forward to multiple rewatches!

For the blogathon:

This is my entry in The Third Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn Blogathon, hosted by Love Letters to Classic Hollywood and In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood!

Last year I reviewed one of my favorite movies, The Philadelphia Story (1940), which stars our wonderful Katharine, but this year I wanted to feature Spencer, too! As I said in my intro, I'd been wanting to talk about this film on my blog for awhile, so I picked it as my contribution. I'm sorry that I'm, once again, at the last minute, but it completely slipped my mind that this was happening until today! Rebecca at Taking Up Room also reviewed this movie, so check out what she has to say HERE.

When I finally watched this I'd been meaning to do it for such a long time. I was not disappointed! The story was so good and I liked all of the points brought up. It didn't say "Women are better than men." but it didn't say "Men are better than women", it had a wonderful balance of how all people are equal. I agree that there are biases towards both genders and they are valid points to bring up. Kate was so energetic and fun to watch as Amanda, but Spencer Tracy stole the show for me with Adam. He was so emotional in the role! I applaud both of them as they worked together perfectly.

Thanks to Michaela and Crystal for hosting! Check out the other entries HERE or HERE.

Your turn to talk to me! Has anyone else seen this? What is your favorite movie, or book, set in a court? Mine is To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), but this one is close!

MovieCritic

Movie Review: The Philadelphia Story (1940)

Hello, once again, readers!

I know that my posts have been a little sparse lately, but I am going to make up for it this week, because I will be having a post every other day! Why? Because I am participating in a lot of blog parties, it's going to be a lot of fun!

For today I will be reviewing a movie with my favorite actor, Jimmy Stewart. It was actually the movie that earned him an Academy Award! At the beginning of this movie I was a little concerned with what was going to happen, but I was loving it by the end! I feel like this is a movie that the more you watch, the more you like!

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning.

The Philadelphia Story (1940):

Based on: The Philadelphia Story, a play by Philip Barry.
"Oh, I wish something would happen."
High society girl Tracy Lord is getting remarried. When her ex-husband, Dexter, shows up a few days early with reporters, she has no choice to let them stay because Dexter warns he that if they don't get coverage of this they will print a scandalous article about her father. Much to Tracy's annoyance, her sister and mother are very excited to see Dexter. As she gets to know Mike, one of the reporters, better, she begins to have confusing feelings about the three men in her life. She's always thought of herself as perfect, but she begins to doubt that, too. Who does she want to spend her life with?
"This is the voice of doom calling."

Genre: when I looked it up, it says that this is classified as Comedy, but I would also call it a Drama.

Length: approx. 112 minutes.

Costumes: 8, there were some nice ones.

Script: 10, I don't recall any bad words.
"I don't want to be worshiped, I want to be loved."

Crew:

Directed by: George Cukor.

Written by: Donald Ogden Stewart, Waldo Salt, & Philip Barry.

Starring:
Katharine Hepburn as Tracy Lord.

Cary Grant as C.K. Dexter Haven. "What kind of a name is C. K. Dexter Haven, anyway?"

James Stewart as Macaulay "Mike" Connor.
Ruth Hussey as Elizabeth Imbrie.

'"You're the darndest girl, Liz."

"I think I'm sweet."'

John Howard as George Kittredge.
Roland Young as William Q. Tracy.
Virginia Weidler as Dinah Lord. (She was a hoot!)

John Halliday as Seth Lord.
Mary Nash as Margaret Lord.
Henry Daniell as Sidney Kidd.
Lionel Pape as Edward.
Rex Evans as Thomas.

Cinematography: 9, besides the fact that I love black and white movies, there were a few cool things.

Cinematography by: Joseph Ruttenberg.

Music: 7, nothing special caught my attention.

Music by: Franz Waxman.

Quotes: 9, there were so many great lines! (Especially from Jimmy Stewart, but I might be biased.)
"What is thee wish?"

Oscars won: 2: Best Actor (Jimmy Stewart), Best Adapted Screenplay.

Storyline: 8, there is smoking, drinking (we see several people intoxicated), there are some suggestive things (but they turn out fine), and we deal with the subject of divorce.

Good For: Anyone who likes James Stewart, anyone who has a complicated family life, anyone who likes comedy or drama.

Age Range: It's comedy, so there are a plenty of funny bits for any age, but I have a feeling that younger viewers might get bored.

Overall Score: 8.5!

Bonus thoughts:

"You talk so big and tough, then you write like this."

I had heard so much about this movie that I couldn't wait to watch it! I even told a fellow blogger once there wasn't a movie that I wanted to watch more than this. I have this notebook that I write down any quotes that I like or take notes while I'm watching a movie, and I wrote this:

"Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn: YES!"

As I said in the beginning of this post, it started and I was really enjoying it, but I started to get nervous because I didn't know what was going to happen. I mean, obviously I didn't, I hadn't watched it before! And I usually don't feel this way, but I was so into the movie that I was kind of "stressed out" because I didn't know how it would end! I enjoyed it a lot. That is why I feel like this is one of those movies that you like the more you watch. I look forward to watching this for years to come!

Remember that blogathon I mentioned earlier? Well, what I was talking about is the Second Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn Blogathon, hosted by In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood and Love Letters to Old Hollywood! I had planned to participate the first time in 2017, but I had to pull out, so I was super excited to be able to join this year!

"Oh, we're going to talk about me, are we? Oh goody."
Katharine Hepburn was so great in this! I know a few people who are not a fan of hers (shocking, I know!), but I don't think that they've seen enough of her! She played Tracy perfectly (fun fact: the role was actually written for her), and I love how funny she is, and the way she played the character arc! I've only seen a few movies with her, which are: Bringing Up Baby (1938) [My favorite!], The Philadelphia Story (1940), part of The Lion in Winter (1968) [I do not recommend], Rooster Cogburn (1975), & one movie with her and Spencer Tracy that I saw a long time ago and I don't know what it was. She is so much fun to watch, I can't wait to see more films with her!

A big thank you to Crystal and Michaela for hosting this blogathon! Make sure to check out all of the other posts HERE and HERE.

Are you a fan of Katharine Hepburn? Why or why not? Thanks for reading!

MovieCritic