Houseboat (1958)

  "Grant’s performance is just about flawless."

With Sophia Loren.

Houseboat - Review is taken from 'The Films of Cary Grant' by Donald Deschner (1973):

“Grant’s performance is just about flawless.  With sure artistry, he seems unconscious of the farcical nature of the ridiculous events that overwhelm him.  Everything he does is made poignant by the worries of a man wounded by the repudiation of his children.  Slowly he learns to love them and his hurt grows deeper.  There is one beautiful scene of muted tenderness when he encourages his elder son to teach him to fish.  By so doing, he finds out the boy’s tendencies toward being a Peeping Tom, a thief and a sneak are all traceable to his worries over his mother’s death.  With well-concealed parental anxiety and complete absence of theatrical sentimentality.  Grant consoles the lonesome child with a quiet and moving discussion of immortality.”

- Jack Moffitt, Hollywood Reporter

New Artwork by Rebekah Hawley at Studio36 -
Number 65 - Houseboat (Lobby Card Style)

Part Of

For more, see also:

Quote From Today - November 19th 2022

On This Day - November 19th 2021

On This Day - November 19th 2020

The Pride and The Passion (1957)

      "...Kramer has used locale and crowds of people superbly, alternating the big panoramic canvas with telling close-ups that are right from Goya"

With Frank Sinatra and Sophia Loren.

The Pride and The Passion - Review is taken from 'The Films of Cary Grant' by Donald Deschner (1973):

"One great advantage that The Pride and The Passion has over most epic films is its unity of theme; all action revolves around the gun, the symbol of men fighting for what they believe in.  The English captain, skillfully played by Cary Grant, is a trained soldier, an authority on ordnance who has been commanded by his commodore to rescue the giant cannon, which was jettisoned by the fleeing Spanish army, and deliver it to a British warship.  The guerrilla leader, played by Frank Sinatra, is an uneducated, undisciplined patriot determined to deliver his hometown, Avila, from the occupying French.  Again and again the two men are contrasted: the smart, immaculately dressed, cold but sentimental English officer versus the emotional, cruel, provincial Spaniard.  Each has his big moments: the Englishman muddies his clothes as he assembles the broken cannon and directs its perilous journey, blows up a bridge and even eloquently pleads with the Bishop at the Escorial that the cannon be hidden in the cathedral; with less eloquence but with greater passion, the guerrilla leader persuades a group of townfolk to help drag the cannon out of the river and he effectively commands the peasants who work under him in the long march to Avila...  

It is fortunate that producer-director Stanley Kramer stressed the visual aspects in telling his story.  The script, written by Edna and Edward Anhalt, and stemming from C. S. Forester's novel The Gun, is strangely ineffectual; and the dialogue, whether due to the actors' odd mixture of accents due to poor recording, does not come through well.  The plot's argument is, therefore, difficult to follow at times; but Kramer has so directed the picture that the visuals succeed in developing the themes with little help from the spoken word.  Kramer's film is occasionally reminiscent of For Whom The Bell Tolls, another movie in which a foreigner was involved in one particular objective in helping the war-torn Spaniards; although the characters in the film made from the Hemingway novel were better drawn and motivated, The Pride and The Passion is far superior visually.  In magnificent scenes, like those showing the Holy Week procession in the Escorial, the dragging of the cannon through a dangerous mountain pass, the storming of Avila's walls and the routing of the French, Kramer has used locale and crowds of people superbly, alternating the big panoramic canvas with telling close-ups that are right from Goya.  Without minimizing the horrors of war, The Pride and The Passion is an epic sung in praise of the triumph of will over all obstacles.

- Philip T. Hartung, The Commonweal

New Artwork by Rebekah Hawley at Studio36 -
Number 61 - The Pride and The Passion (Lobby Card Style)

Part Of

For more, see also:

On This Day 10 July 2020

On This Day 9 July 2021

Quote From Today 10 July 2022

Quote From Today... Houseboat (1958)

"You are looking at her!"

With Sophia Loren

Houseboat was Cary Grant's 65th full-length feature film.

Cinzia Zaccardi: Where is their mother?

Tom Winters: What did you say?

Cinzia Zaccardi: Their mother?

Tom Winters: You are looking at her. I'm a little new at the job.

Quote From Today... The Pride and The Passion (1957)

  "That's the part of you that's cheap."

With Sophia Loren.

The Pride and the Passion was Cary Grant's 61st full length feature film.

Anthony: You're living with him. But you don't love him. That's the part of you that's cheap.

On This Day...Houseboat (1958).

 Houseboat was Cary Grant's 65th full length feature film and was released on today's date back in 1958.

It was also Cary Grant's second film with Sophia Loren; the first being The Pride and The Passion (1957).

Synopsis:

Upon the sudden death of his estranged and nearly divorced wife, absentee father Tom Winston (Cary Grant) claims ownership of his three children, seemingly more out of spite against his in-laws than out of consideration for his kids. When youngest son Robert (Charles Herbert) runs off in reaction, he's returned by spoiled brat socialite Cinzia Zaccardi (Sophia Loren), itching to escape her orchestral conductor father's dictates. 

Being much a willful child herself, she harmonizes immediately with the kids and, needing a hideout, agrees to be hired on as their nanny. Finding their new house destroyed by a lustful, careless and irresponsible Italian handyman, the five decide to live on the man's neglected and dilapidated houseboat rather than rightfully sue him and take rooms at a hotel. 

With Sophia Loren.

As Cinzia bridges the gap between Tom and his kids, (while starting to learn how to cook and clean), Tom's newly divorced sister-in-law Carolyn (Martha Hyer) makes a play for him. He accepts her proposal but then, as Cinzia draws men in like a dog in heat, realizes he's more interested in Cinzia. When Tom and Cynzia decide to marry, the kids hate her for it.

With Martha Hyer.

"Grant's performance is just about flawless." - Jack Moffitt, Hollywood Reporter.

"Grant is always perfectly at home in these roles in which, with an exasperated look, head tilt or dryly stated irony, he can put his point across." - Dick Williams, Mirror News (Los Angeles)

"Houseboat is the zaniest comedy, and at the same time, it is real romance. It also has in it, beautifully enunciated by Cary Grant, an essay on life and death. Mr. Grant as you know, is just about the screen's smoothest, most worldly comedian." - Ruth Waterbury, Los Angeles Examiner.

Did You Know?

Original screenplay was written by Betsy Drake, Cary Grant's wife. Grant originally wanted it to star her but his extra-marital affair with Sophia Loren complicated the project. The script was drastically re-written by two other writers to accommodate Loren and bears little resemblance to Drake's concept.

Cary Grant initially accepted his role because he was dating Sophia Loren, with whom he was madly in love. After she married Carlo Ponti, a heartbroken Grant wanted to back out. He couldn't, but the director made sure the production was a smooth one.

Cary Grant was 54 when he made this film. His romantic lead, Sophia Loren, was 24.

In the French-dubbed version of the film, a mischievous translator replaced Sophia Loren's character name, "Cinzia", with "Gina". At the time Loren and Gina Lollobrigida were rivals for the "crown" of Italian sex symbols in film.

With the children and Harry Guardino and Sophia Loren.

With Sophia Loren.

Cast:

 Cary Grant ... Tom Winters
 Sophia Loren ... Cinzia Zaccardi
 Martha Hyer ... Carolyn Gibson
 Harry Guardino ... Angelo Donatello
 Eduardo Ciannelli ... Arturo Zaccardi
 Murray Hamilton ... Capt. Alan Wilson
 Mimi Gibson ... Elizabeth Winters
 Paul Petersen ... David Winters
 Charles Herbert ... Robert Winters
 Madge Kennedy ... Mrs. Farnsworth
 John Litel ... Mr. William Farnsworth
 Werner Klemperer ... Harold Messner

With Harry Guardino and Sophia Loren.

Lobby Cards:

Italian lobby card and poster - "A Husband for Cinzia."

Directed by Melville Shavelson.

Distributed by Paramount Pictures.

Running time: 112 minutes.

On This Day...The Pride and The Passion (1957)

The Pride and The Passion was Cary Grant's 61st full length feature film and was released in 1957, on this date.

Grant plays British naval officer, Capt. Anthony Trumball, who is landed in Spain during the Napoleonic Wars. His mission is to join up with Spanish forces to prevent a Spanish cannon, the biggest in the world, from falling into French hands.

However, the leader of the guerrilla forces, Miguel (played by Frank Sinatra) has other ideas. The struggle between the two men, also surrounds the story's love interest, Juana (Sophia Loren).

With Frank Sinatra and Sophia Loren.

"One great advantage that The Pride and The Passion has over most epic films is its unity of theme: all action revolves around the gun...The English captain is skillfully played by Cary Grant...The guerrilla leader is colorfully played by Frank Sinatra." - The Commonweal

"While the gun deserves a special academy award, Mr. Sinatra must be commended for his restrained and appealing guerrilla leader, Mr. Grant for his stalwart, understated British captain, and Miss Loren for her good looks." - Saturday Review.

Frank Sinatra, apparently took the role so that he could be near his estranged wife, Ava Gardner, who was filming in Europe. His filming schedule was reduced to accommodate his personal situation.

Cary Grant on the other hand was happy to spend as long as it took, due to his estranged marriage to Betsy Drake and his pursuit of a serious romance with Sophia Loren: who by the end of filming was to marry Carlo Ponti.

It was one of the top twenty highest grossing films of 1957, but due to high production costs the film lost $2.5 million.

On 14 March 2011, BBC Radio 4's Afternoon Play broadcast The Gun Goes to Hollywood by Mike Walker, imagining the behind-the-scenes of the Kramer production, from the viewpoint of script doctor Earl Felton, who had been drafted to save the day. 

The play was directed by Kate McCall and the cast included Steven Webber as Earl Felton, Greg Itzen as Cary Grant, Kate Steele as Sophia Loren, Jonathan Silverman as Frank Sinatra, and Jonathan Getz as Stanley Kramer.

Cast:

Capt. Anthony Turmbull            Cary Grant

Miguel                                       Frank Sinatra

Juana                                         Sophia Loren

General Jouvet                          Theodore Bikel

Sermaine                                   John Wengraf

Ballinger                                   Jay Novello

Carlos                                       Jose Nieto

Jose                                           Carlos Larranaga

Vidal                                         Philip VanZandt

Manolo                                      Paco El Laberinto

Enrique                                      Julian Ugarte

Bishop                                       Felix De Pomes

Leonardo                                   Carlos Casaravilla

Ramon                                       Juan Olaguivel

Maria                                         Nana De Herrera

Francisco                                   Carlos De Mendoza

French Soldier                           Luis Guedes

And the Spanish People in the tens of thousands who made the motion picture possible.

Lobby Cards:

Directed and Produced by Stanley Kramer

Distributed by United Artists

Based on the novel 'The Gun' by C.S. Forrester

Running time: 130 minutes.

Leading Ladies...Part 2.

So here are the actresses who starred in two films each alongside Cary Grant.

Jean Arthur:

Only Angels Have Wings (1939) and Talk Of The Town (1942)

Also appeared in the following radio shows:

Only Angels Have Wings (May 28th, 1939)
Talk Of The Town (May 17th, 1943)

Joan Bennett:

Big Brown Eyes (1936) and Wedding Present (1936)

Ingrid Bergman:

Notorious (1946) and Indiscreet (1958)

"She wears no make-up and has big feet and peasant hips, yet women envy her ability to be herself." 
- Cary Grant

Nancy Carroll:

Hot Saturday (1932) and Woman Accussed (1933)

Betsy Drake:

Every Girl Should Be Married (1948) and Room For One More (1952)

Also appeared in the following radio show:

Every Girl Should Be Married (June 27th, 1949)

"Betsy was a delightful comedienne, but I don't think Hollywood was ever really her milieu. She wanted to help humanity, to help others help themselves." - Cary Grant

Joan Fontaine:

Gunga Din (1939) and Suspicion (1941)

Sophia Loren:

The Pride and the Passion (1957) and Houseboat (1958)

"I was fascinated with him, with his warmth, affection, intelligence, and his wonderfully dry, mischievous sense of humor." - Sophia Loren

Ginger Rogers:

Once Upon A Honeymoon (1942) and Monkey Business (1952)

Ann Sheridan

Enter Madame (1935: as Clara Lou Sheridan) and I Was a Male War Bride (1949)

Mae West:

She Done Him Wrong (1933) and I'm No Angel (1933)

Loretta Young:

Born To Be Bad (1934) and The Bishop's Wife (1947)

"Oh, We Ought to Learn That...!"

In 1918, when Archie Leach joined the Bob Pender Troupe his contract stipulated, not only his weekly salary, along with room and board, but also that he should have training for his profession and dance lessons.

Cary Grant is seen dancing in numerous films with the likes of Ginger Rogers, Ingrid Bergman and Sophia Loren and others.

Of all the dance sequences, my favourite has to be the Eightsome Reel from the 1958 fim, Indiscreet.
Starring alongside Ingrid Bergman, this dance, shows off Cary Grants natural acrobatic ability and timing.

If you haven't seen it or just want to enjoy it again, use the link below.

Behind the scenes rehearsals, with Ingrid Bergman...You can only imagine the fun!

With Ginger Rogers (Monkey Business 1952)

With Sophia Loren (Houseboat 1958)

With Katharine Hepburn (Holiday 1938)

With Joan Fontaine (Suspicion 1941)