Movies

[jaggedwolf]

To Catch A Thief | Swing Time | My Man Godfrey

To Catch A Thief (1955)

The campiest Hitchcock I’ve seen, and so far the only time I’ve been mad about the ending to a Hitchcock film.

The random shots of black cats on roofs...Cary Grant’s character the former robber having the last name Robie...

Much of my enjoyment of watching the movie came from hoping and/or believing the thief would turn out to be Grace Kelly’s character, but alas, twas not to be, and made all of her flirting retroactively less entertaining. Other than the driving so fast that Robie gets nervous, that was fun.

I did tell my friend as we watched it that if the thief wasn’t Grace Kelly it better not be Some Man, and at least it wasn’t that, I suppose, and it explained the random slap at the funeral.

Remain convinced Hitchcock made this film just to chill out in the south of France.

Swing Time (1936)

14/419 on the NYC list. A Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers piece, and the first I’ve seen.

Lucky is so dumb in how he misses his own wedding that I can’t help but think he deserved to get tricked out of it, much like his coworkers are dumb enough to believe Lucky would stay with them after getting tricked like that. Appreciated the tailor refusing to make the changes to the pants, some things simply aren’t done.

My minimal prior knowledge of Astaire and Rogers meant that when he started singing during the class with Penny I was surprised. I thought they just danced, okay. I have a note here that someone swallows the lucky penny, the coin that is, and I have no memory of whether the coin stays swallowed.

Watching Astaire dance is very pleasant, he makes everything from clumsy falling to complicated moves look natural, and the only mark against any of the dancing scenes is the blackface number that comes out of nowhere. It does not help that he is still wearing the blackface in the dramatic scene that happens right after the dance.

Before that unfortunate moment is a kiss scene that does charm me - him backing away a couple of times and then complimenting parts of her dress, some non-existent, with a door swinging open in time to block the actual kiss.

All the stuff with Penny’s ex-boyfriend is very boring. I find the disappointed member of a romantic pairing going back to a jilted lover unappealing, why didn’t you marry them in the first place slash why do they have so little self-respect that they are still willing to marry you. The pants trick happening with this guy didn’t work for me either.

My Man Godfrey (1936)

15/419 on the NYC list. Funnier than I thought it would be, given the start in the East River Hoovervilles. Godfrey, resident of one such shantytown, becomes the butler to a truly bonkers family, handling all their nonsense.

Fun opening credits. We start with the rich people scavenger hunt requiring the retrieval of a “forgotten man” from the shacks, hijinks ensue, Godfrey becomes the butler to the Bullock family. He cleans up so well as a butler that he is unrecognizable to everyone.

My notes on the family go “These girls are insane. This family is insane”, and “Mom makes mad decisions but they all let her do so”. I did not feel much sympathy for Poor Beleagured Dad because he could do something about the whole situation, he simply chooses not to. Regardless the movie is entertaining — every member of this family makes terrible decisions while Godfrey quietly fixes things in the background.

Godfrey actually being a rich guy who got so depressed he abandoned his old life mostly worked for me, in that he was clearly familiar with the shenanigans and lives of these folks. Ending on the almost-over wedding didn’t work for me, despite my enjoyment of "Oh mother, Godfrey loves me! He put me in the shower!"

Final note: There is a scene in this movie where a grown man pretends to be a monkey all over the living room and it is both hysterical and disturbing, who thought of this.