A newspaper editor played by Cary Grant meets his ex-wife/ex-star reporter's fiancee the day before they are set to be married. She says she will be happy to live a life where she will be treated like a real woman not a newsman. Grant spends the rest of the movie which all takes place in one day trying to lure Hildy back into the life they shared. The greatest screwball comedy of them all... a miracle of comic timing and fizzing chemistry. As close to perfection as you could possibly hope for His Girl Friday is a delirious joy. Channel 4 Film.
His Girl Friday is one of the five greatest dialogue comedies ever made. Howard Hawks had his cast play it at breakneck speed, and audiences hyperventilate trying to finish with one laugh so they can do justice to the four that have accumulated in the meantime. Rosalind Russell, not Hawks' first choice to play Hildy Johnson--the ace newsperson whom demonic editor Walter Burns is trying to keep from quitting and getting married--is triumphant in the part, holding her own as "one of the guys" and creating an enduring feminist icon. Cary Grant's Walter Burns is a force of nature, giving a performance of such concentrated frenzy and diamond brilliance that you owe it to yourself to devote at least one viewing of the movie to watching him alone. But then you have to go back (lucky you) and watch it again for the sake of the press-room gang--Roscoe Karns, Porter Hall, Cliff Edwards, Regis Toomey, Frank Jenks, and others--the kind of ensemble work that gets character actors onto Parnassus. --Richard T Jameson, Amazon.com
In protest at the corruption and hypocrisy he sees all around him an unemployed man calling himself ""John Doe"" has written to the New Bulletin newspaper pledging to throw himself from the top of City Hall on Christmas Eve. Written by a discharged journalist as a publicity stunt and as a parting shot at the paper's new editor the premise of the letter unexpectedly fires the imagination of the bulletin's readers and the wider American public. Its real author Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck) is rehired and now needs to find someone to play the part of the fictional ""John Doe""... Meet John Doe is often held to be part of a thematic trilogy that includes Mister Deeds Goes To Town and Mister Smith Goes To Washington. It explores a recurring notion in Capra's work that of the universal everyman exploited by a corrupt and powerful establishment. The film's reflections on corporate control of both the media and of ordinary people's lives is still as resonant as ever.
Set Comprises: Miracle On 34th Street (1947): Discover that miracles really do happen with one of the most spellbinding Christmas classic tales of all time. When Kris Kringle is hired to be Santa Claus in a department store's 34th Street branch his success is overwhelming much to the disdain of a rival store. When their attempts to discredit Santa take hold threatening all that is sacred and magical about Christmas prepare to find out that miracles really do happen... Miracle On 34th Street (1994):
The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit is the powerful story of postwar hopes and dreams adapted from Sloan Wilson's best-seller. Gregory Peck stars as a doting husband and father who gives up his small time job and enters the thrilling world of advertising in Manhattan. With added tension at work and increasing problems at home with his wife (Jennifer Jones) the rising young executive must decide as his boss (Frederic March) did what is the most important thing in life - family or success.
A newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying.
His Girl Friday is one of the five greatest dialogue comedies ever made. Howard Hawks had his cast play it at breakneck speed, and audiences hyperventilate trying to finish with one laugh so they can do justice to the four that have accumulated in the meantime. Rosalind Russell, not Hawks' first choice to play Hildy Johnson--the ace newsperson whom demonic editor Walter Burns is trying to keep from quitting and getting married--is triumphant in the part, holding her own as "one of the guys" and creating an enduring feminist icon. Cary Grant's Walter Burns is a force of nature, giving a performance of such concentrated frenzy and diamond brilliance that you owe it to yourself to devote at least one viewing of the movie to watching him alone. But then you have to go back (lucky you) and watch it again for the sake of the press-room gang--Roscoe Karns, Porter Hall, Cliff Edwards, Regis Toomey, Frank Jenks, and others--the kind of ensemble work that gets character actors onto Parnassus. --Richard T Jameson, Amazon.com
In protest at the corruption and hypocrisy he sees all around him an unemployed man calling himself ""John Doe"" has written to the New Bulletin newspaper pledging to throw himself from the top of City Hall on Christmas Eve. Written by a discharged journalist as a publicity stunt and as a parting shot at the paper's new editor the premise of the letter unexpectedly fires the imagination of the bulletin's readers and the wider American public. Its real author Ann Mitchell (Barbara S
The double Oscar nominated Abe Lincoln in Illinois portrays the story of Abraham Lincoln, from his early days in backwoods Kentucky to his election as the 16th President of the United States. A stellar performance in the title role from Raymond Massey saw him nominated for the Best Actor award alongside James Wong Howe for Best black and white cinematography. After running livestock to New Orleans, Abe Lincoln settles in New Salem where he falls in love with Ann Rutledge (Mary Howard) and eventually becomes the postmaster. His popularity with the locals leads to him running for and being successfully elected to the State legislature but his victory is overshadowed by Ann's death. Overcome by a sense of doom and a lack of ambition, Lincoln leaves the legislature after his first term and returns to practising law. However, a fateful meeting with Mary Todd (Ruth Gordon), an extremely ambitious woman, changes the course of Abe's life and of America's destiny. By entering politics again Lincoln knows that his taking of a stand on slavery will mean the dissolution of the Union. In a series of electrifying debates with Stephen Douglas (Gene Lockhart), Lincoln is catapulted into the national consciousness of political America and leaves Illinois for Washington, never to return.
Something To Sing About: Cagney is at his best as a Manhattan bandleader who journeys to Hollywood when he is offered a contract with a studio but he is determined to do things his way and not theirs. A classic 1930's musical about Hollywood studio life that won an Oscar for best score. Basin Street Revue: Musical variety filmed at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem New York City. This is a collection of exciting R&B performances from the early-mid 1950's including Cab Ca
The manipulative Ellen (Tierney) lures the handsome Richard (Wilde) into marriage despite knowing him just a few days and while she is engaged to a politician. Richard soon learns that Ellen's selfish possessive love has previously ruined other people's lives so when his brother drowns while in Ellen's care Richard grows increasingly suspicious of her insatiable devotion...
""The F.B.I.'s own tense terrific story behind the protection of the Atomic Bomb!"" Nazi spies have infiltrated America one of which tries to recruit a college graduate who then becomes a double agent for the F.B.I.
The shot heard 'round the world! Fritz Lang one of the masters of the German expressionist cinema turns his sinister imagination and shadowy techniques to a web like take of wartime espionage in Hangmen Also Die. Set in Czechoslovakia during the Nazi occupation the film depicts an Eastern Europe populated by spies traitors and revolutionaries' a deadly funhouse of political intrigue in which every personal encounter brings with it the threat of betrayal. Pur
An anonymous letter is sent to a newspaper protesting at the state of world affairs. Based on a story by Richard Connell. Also includes a biography of Gary Cooper and the theatrical trailer for 'Lives Of A Bengal Lancer'.
His Girl Friday is one of the five greatest dialogue comedies ever made. Howard Hawks had his cast play it at breakneck speed, and audiences hyperventilate trying to finish with one laugh so they can do justice to the four that have accumulated in the meantime. Rosalind Russell, not Hawks' first choice to play Hildy Johnson--the ace newsperson whom demonic editor Walter Burns is trying to keep from quitting and getting married--is triumphant in the part, holding her own as "one of the guys" and creating an enduring feminist icon. Cary Grant's Walter Burns is a force of nature, giving a performance of such concentrated frenzy and diamond brilliance that you owe it to yourself to devote at least one viewing of the movie to watching him alone. But then you have to go back (lucky you) and watch it again for the sake of the press-room gang--Roscoe Karns, Porter Hall, Cliff Edwards, Regis Toomey, Frank Jenks, and others--the kind of ensemble work that gets character actors onto Parnassus. --Richard T Jameson, Amazon.com
A "two-plus-one" package from Siren, Comedy Greats features classics from the two greatest silent-screen comics, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, plus a rather dreary effort from Danny Kaye. Never the most scintillating of comedians, Kaye's personable talents are thinly spread in 1949's The Inspector General. Distantly(!) based on a short story by Russian satirist Nikolay Gogol, this tale of mistaken identity enables Kaye to indulge in obvious wisecracks and not-so-smart dialogue. Sylvia Fine's songs are mildly amusing, and Henry Koster draws capable support from Walter Slezak and Elsa Lanchester, but it's a long haul. When he made Tilli's Punctured Romance in 1914, Charles Chaplin had yet to perfect the "little man" routine which made him the most popular 1920s screen star. His loveable rogue is well displayed opposite Marie Dressler's formidable country maid, whose unexpected windfall becomes the real object of his desire. Mabel Normand contributes an attractively period chic, and if, in the hands of Mack Sennett, the humour tends to fall back on music-hall slapstick, the historical significance of the film is undoubted. Yet it's Buster Keaton's 1928 classic Steamboat Bill Jr which comes out on top here. Keaton is perfectly cast as the put upon student, whose bravery saves both his father and his steamboat-owning rival, and wins the hand of the latter's daughter. Solid support comes from Ernest Torrence and the winsome Marion Byron, with Charles Riesner getting maximum drama from the cyclone sequence, but it's Keaton's soulful expression and breathtaking stuntwork which are the most potent reminders of a talent only later to receive its due. On the DVD: Comedy Greats is acceptably remastered, with 1.33:1 aspect ratio and 12 chapter headings per film, and decently packaged, this is worth acquiring--even though Keaton's film is the only one you're likely return to often. --Richard Whitehouse
In this delightful period farce set in Russia in the 1800's Danny Kaye plays and illiterate buffoon who is mistaken by the villagers for their feared Inspector General. Hilarious situations ensue as Danny is caught up in court intrigue without having a clue of what is going on.
His Girl Friday is one of the five greatest dialogue comedies ever made. Howard Hawks had his cast play it at breakneck speed, and audiences hyperventilate trying to finish with one laugh so they can do justice to the four that have accumulated in the meantime. Rosalind Russell, not Hawks' first choice to play Hildy Johnson--the ace newsperson whom demonic editor Walter Burns is trying to keep from quitting and getting married--is triumphant in the part, holding her own as "one of the guys" and creating an enduring feminist icon. Cary Grant's Walter Burns is a force of nature, giving a performance of such concentrated frenzy and diamond brilliance that you owe it to yourself to devote at least one viewing of the movie to watching him alone. But then you have to go back (lucky you) and watch it again for the sake of the press-room gang--Roscoe Karns, Porter Hall, Cliff Edwards, Regis Toomey, Frank Jenks, and others--the kind of ensemble work that gets character actors onto Parnassus. --Richard T Jameson, Amazon.com
Please wait. Loading...
This site uses cookies.
More details in our privacy policy