Bringing Up Baby and old movies in general

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Spock · #1 Post by **Spock** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 7:02 pm

A few years ago, I posted how much I like Bringing Up Baby and might place it in my Top Ten.

Just rented it again recently and the kids loved it. The youngest one (sparked by the B&W) asked me to rent that movie again about the man who goes fishing and the sharks eat the fish. So The Old Man and The Sea will be coming again soon. I Love NETFLIX (which gave me the means) and WWTBAM and J!(The original motivation) to watch some of the great classic films.

A book just came today about sharing old movies with your kids. I forget the title-anyway, the opening vignette is about his 9YO BDay party that involved a showing of Bringing Up Baby-her choice and the 18 other kids loved it.

silverscreenselect · #2 Post by **silverscreenselect** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 2:46 am

One of the biggest problems I have with Blockbuster is that their selection is so overwhelmingly skewed in favor of the "big new release of the week." If you want a movie that's over ten years old, your selection is pretty much limited to kiddie films and a handful of the best known films of all time. And there's only so many times you can see Gone with the Wind or Casablanca.

Part of it is due to audience tastes. They have limited shelf space in each store and if something doesn't rent, they get rid of it. But I think part of that is due to the type people who work there. You have 18 year old clerks who don't know anything about older movies, so they're not in a position to recommend older titles so no one rents them.

The best thing about shows like the upcoming AFI tributes is that it gives audiences a chance to be exposed, however briefly, to entertaining older movies, and fortunately Netflix is a handy alternative for most people.

It's not just younger people who are ignorant about the older movies. When my mother was alive, whenever she would stay with us, she would watch some of these 30's films on AMC or TCM during the day. The prints were often in horrible condition, and when my wife would keep her company, she would later tell me that she couldn't see how mother could bear to watch these films which looked so horrible.

Since I've been collecting DVD's though, I've been able to put together a pretty good collection of older movies and they are usually in very good to excellent condition. When we watch one of these now, my wife is impressed both with how good the films look and the overall quality.

I don't think that the older movies are necessarily better than the current ones. They made far more films in the 1930's and 40's than are released today (although if you count direct to video releases and TV movies, the numbers are closer to equal). The difference is that the junk made back then has disappeared, in many cases literally, as master prints no longer exist for these films, while current junk is still showing up on theater screens and video store shelves. The good films back then still hold up well in terms of acting and writing though.

Robyn · #3 Post by **Robyn** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 10:23 am

I absolutely LOVE Bringing Up Baby. Cary Grant's performance never fails to amaze me - how such a suave, handsome leading man was so comfortable with slapstick comedy and pulled it off so well. Plus I love anything Katharine Hepburn did as well.

I am an old movie fanatic - while everyone else around me watches all sorts of TV, I stick to the movie channels. I have too many favorites to name here - what does everyone else like?

TheCalvinator24 · #4 Post by **TheCalvinator24** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 10:30 am

Bringing up Baby is on my Blockbuster queue. One of the great things about the Blockbuster total access is that I use it to catch the older movies that I never have seen. I then return them to the store to get the more current releases.

ToLiveIsToFly · #5 Post by **ToLiveIsToFly** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 10:54 am

I liked BUB but didn't love it. Maybe it was too hyped up for me before I saw it.

If you want a screwball comedy with Kate Hepburn, I'd recommend Adam's Rib over Bringing Up Baby.

nitrah55 · #6 Post by **nitrah55** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 11:58 am

Robyn wrote:I absolutely LOVE Bringing Up Baby. Cary Grant's performance never fails to amaze me - how such a suave, handsome leading man was so comfortable with slapstick comedy and pulled it off so well.

You have to remember that Cary Grant started his career as an entertainer as an acrobat. Honest. That explains how he could be so graceful, and when necessary, klutzy.

And how about "The Philadelphia Story?"

In fact, I remember one day many years ago, when I took in a screening of Vertigo in the afternoon and watched The Philadelphia Story that night, and I marvelled that Jimmy Stewart was so different and so good in both of them. Then, I reminded myself of his performances in "Harvey" and "It's a Wonderful Life," each one completely unlike the other.

He could do anything, and still be recognizable.

TheCalvinator24 · #7 Post by **TheCalvinator24** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 12:01 pm

nitrah55 wrote:
Robyn wrote:I absolutely LOVE Bringing Up Baby. Cary Grant's performance never fails to amaze me - how such a suave, handsome leading man was so comfortable with slapstick comedy and pulled it off so well.
You have to remember that Cary Grant started his career as an entertainer as an acrobat. Honest. That explains how he could be so graceful, and when necessary, klutzy.

And how about "The Philadelphia Story?"

In fact, I remember one day many years ago, when I took in a screening of Vertigo in the afternoon and watched The Philadelphia Story that night, and I marvelled that Jimmy Stewart was so different and so good in both of them. Then, I reminded myself of his performances in "Harvey" and "It's a Wonderful Life," each one completely unlike the other.

He could do anything, and still be recognizable.

I know many people who believe that Stewart played the same character in just about everything he did.

nitrah55 · #8 Post by **nitrah55** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 12:15 pm

TheCalvinator24 wrote:
nitrah55 wrote:
Robyn wrote:I absolutely LOVE Bringing Up Baby. Cary Grant's performance never fails to amaze me - how such a suave, handsome leading man was so comfortable with slapstick comedy and pulled it off so well.
You have to remember that Cary Grant started his career as an entertainer as an acrobat. Honest. That explains how he could be so graceful, and when necessary, klutzy.

And how about "The Philadelphia Story?"

In fact, I remember one day many years ago, when I took in a screening of Vertigo in the afternoon and watched The Philadelphia Story that night, and I marvelled that Jimmy Stewart was so different and so good in both of them. Then, I reminded myself of his performances in "Harvey" and "It's a Wonderful Life," each one completely unlike the other.

He could do anything, and still be recognizable.
I know many people who believe that Stewart played the same character in just about everything he did.

Well, clearly I disagree. Scotty Ferguson is not Elwood P. Dowd. And there are plenty of actors who could do one or the other, but not both.

TheCalvinator24 · #9 Post by **TheCalvinator24** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 12:30 pm

nitrah55 wrote:
TheCalvinator24 wrote:
nitrah55 wrote: You have to remember that Cary Grant started his career as an entertainer as an acrobat. Honest. That explains how he could be so graceful, and when necessary, klutzy.

And how about "The Philadelphia Story?"

In fact, I remember one day many years ago, when I took in a screening of Vertigo in the afternoon and watched The Philadelphia Story that night, and I marvelled that Jimmy Stewart was so different and so good in both of them. Then, I reminded myself of his performances in "Harvey" and "It's a Wonderful Life," each one completely unlike the other.

He could do anything, and still be recognizable.
I know many people who believe that Stewart played the same character in just about everything he did.
Well, clearly I disagree. Scotty Ferguson is not Elwood P. Dowd. And there are plenty of actors who could do one or the other, but not both.

I am in your camp. I played the Stewart character in The Philadelphia Story, and if he had played that the same way he played George Bailey, Jeff Smith, or Elwood P. Dowd, he would have flopped.

Bob Juch · #10 Post by **Bob Juch** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 1:17 pm

nitrah55 wrote:
Robyn wrote:I absolutely LOVE Bringing Up Baby. Cary Grant's performance never fails to amaze me - how such a suave, handsome leading man was so comfortable with slapstick comedy and pulled it off so well.
You have to remember that Cary Grant started his career as an entertainer as an acrobat. Honest. That explains how he could be so graceful, and when necessary, klutzy.

And how about "The Philadelphia Story?"

In fact, I remember one day many years ago, when I took in a screening of Vertigo in the afternoon and watched The Philadelphia Story that night, and I marvelled that Jimmy Stewart was so different and so good in both of them. Then, I reminded myself of his performances in "Harvey" and "It's a Wonderful Life," each one completely unlike the other.

He could do anything, and still be recognizable.

He was a stiltwalker. I'm not sure how acrobatic that was.

Do you know he knocked out a front tooth when he was a teenager? It was never replaced but the other teeth closed around the hole and gave him a perfect smile. Otherwise he might have been buck-toothed!