Synopsis:
LADIES SHOULD LISTEN
Screen legend Cary Grant (The Eagle and the Hawk, Arsenic and Old Lace) stars in Ladies Should Listen, a romantic comedy about a frolicking bachelor’s complicated escapade in Paris. A meddling switchboard operator (Frances Drake, Mad Love) falls in love with Julian de Lussac (Grant), a tenant in her building who has a deceiving girlfriend. Armed with the truth, she decides to win over Julian’s love and affections by formulating a plan to interfere and expose her conniving scheme. Directed by Frank Tuttle (This Gun for Hire) and co-starring Edward Everett Horton (Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife), Ladies Should Listen is a classic laugh-a-minute farce. Fighting the good fight in the name of love has never been funnier!
WEDDING PRESENT
Screen legends Cary Grant (North by Northwest) and Joan Bennett (Big Brown Eyes) star in the fast-paced screwball comedy Wedding Present. Chicago newspaper reporters Charlie Mason (Grant) and Rusty Fleming (Bennett) never let a good story get in the way of a prank. Things change, however, when their editor (George Bancroft, Old Ironsides) quits and Charlie takes over for him. Returning from a month’s vacation, Rusty discovers fun-loving Charlie has become an unbearable tyrant. Disgusted by his behavior, Rusty leaves for New York where her hasty engagement to a stuffy author (Conrad Nagel, Hell Divers) brings Charlie to his senses as he pulls out the stops to change her mind. Character-actor greats Gene Lockhart (Miracle on 34th Street) and William Demarest (The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek) co-star in this wonderful romantic comedy directed by Richard Wallace (Man of the World).
BIG BROWN EYES
From Raoul Walsh, the legendary director of The Big Trail, The Roaring Twenties, High Sierra, White Heat and The World in His Arms, comes this snappy comic mystery starring screen greats Cary Grant (Charade) and Joan Bennett (Wedding Present). When her bickering banter with police detective Danny Barr (Grant) loses Eve Fallon (Bennett) her job, the brassy blonde manicurist turns up the heat when she signs on as a New York crime reporter. When a shootout between a pack of thieves ends with a racketeer (Walter Pidgeon, Man Hunt) getting away with murder, Danny and Eve join forces chasing down clues to bust the gang of crooks and see that justice is served. Co-starring Lloyd Nolan (The House on 92nd Street).
What We Thought:
Cary Grant Collection is a great introduction of one of Hollywood’s classic stars and is a great addition to any film library. It features three films that showcase Grant’s charm, appeal, dramatic and comedic timing.
In Ladies Should Listen, Grant plays a bachelor in Paris and from the moment he gets out of his friend’s car and gets into the driver’s seat of a woman’s car, you know you’re in for some classic Cary Grant. The switchboard operator where he is living is in love with him and knows the woman he’s with is deceiving him, but goes about telling him in oddball ways. It’s an early rom-com with Grant very much the leading man in tweed suits and hat.
In Wedding Present Grant plays a Chicago reporter who becomes the paper’s editor and the result sees him lose his girlfriend. She moves to New York and becomes engaged to another man causing Grant to want her back. Joan Bennett as the love interest is a no-brainer.
Big Brown Eyes sees Grant as a police detective with Bennett as a manicurist turned crime reporter. There’s a gang of jewel thieves and the death of a baby all connected causing both Grant and Bennett teaming up to find justice together.
By the third film Grant is pretty much the actor we think of. The first two films are good and he’s good, but by Big Brown Eyes he’s mastered his comedic element and mixes it well with his tough detective routine. He truly was a Hollywood leading man and these films show you that.
This new Cary Grant Collection looks great on Blu-ray. The films looked cleaned up and vibrant and the audio is top-notch as well. There are some good bonus features as well including new audio commentary by film critic Nick Pinkerton for Big Brown Eyes, a new audio commentary by film historian Kat Ellinger for Wedding Present, and trailers. If you are a fan of Grant’s this is a must own. If you aren’t familiar with his work, this is a great introduction to his early films.
The Nerds Templar 