The Cary Grant Collection: Part 1 - Biographies.

 “To write an autobiography, you’ve got to expose other people. I hope to get out of this world as gracefully as possible, without embarrassing anyone.”

“I have no plans to write an autobiography, I will leave that to others. I’m sure they will turn me into a homosexual or a Nazi spy or something else.”

Cary Grant never wrote an autobiography, quite simply for the reasons he himself expresses in the quotes above.

The closest he came was writing a three-part article for The Ladies Home Journal, entitled 'Archie Leach'

(January/February 1963 (Part 1), March 1963 (Part 2), April 1963 (Part 3))

Maybe because of this, so many other people wrote about him.

Some, trying to get to the truth of how Archie Leach became Cary Grant, and others just repeating unfounded rumors and gossip.

But as a complete body of works...all add something to the story of a boy from a working-class upbringing in Bristol, who became one of, if not the greatest Hollywood Star ever.

Below are listed the biographies that grace my collection - The Cary Grant Collection.

(I have listed them in date order and scaled the pictures to give an idea of how the books compare to each other in size)

Cary Grant: An Unauthorized Biography by Albert Govoni (1971)

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Ian Allan Film Albums - 3: Cary Grant (1971)

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The Pictorial Treasury of Film Stars - Cary Grant by Jerry Vermilye  (1973)

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The Films of Cary Grant by Donald Deschner (1973)
Introduction by Charles Chaplin

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The Life and Loves of Cary Grant - A Biography by Lee Guthrie (1977)

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In The Spotlight - Cary Grant by Gallery Press (1980)

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Cary Grant: The Light Touch by Lionel Godfrey (1981)

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Cary Grant: A Celebration by Richard Schickel (1983)

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Cary Grant: Haunted Idol by Geoffrey Wansell (1983)

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The Private Cary Grant by William Currie McIntosh ans William Weaver (1983)

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Cary Grant by Jean-Jacques Dupuis (1984)

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Cary Grant by Chuck Ashman and Pamela Trescott (1986)

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Cary Grant: A Touch of Elegance by Warren G. Harris (1987) 

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Cary Grant by Pamela Trescott (1987)

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An Affair to Remember: My Life With Cary Grant by Maureen Donaldson and William Royce (1989)

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Cary Grant: The Lonely Heart by Charles Higham and Roy Moseley (1989)

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Cary Grant: A Portrait in His Own Words and by Those Who Knew Him Best by Nancy Nelson (1991)
Foreword by Barbara and Jennifer Grant.

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Cary Grant: Dark Angel by Geoffrey Wansell (1996)

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Cary Grant: A Class Apart by Graham MaCann (1997)
Hardback

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Cary Grant: A Class Apart by Graham MaCann (1997)
Paperback

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Legends: Cary Grant by Richard Schickel (1998)

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Cary Grant: A Life in Pictures by Jerry Curtis (1998)

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Cary Grant: In Name Only by Gary Morecombe and  Martin Sterling (2003)
Foreword by Sheridan Morley

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Evenings With Cary Grant: Recollections in His Own Words and by Those Who Knew Him Best by Nancy Nelson (2003)
New Foreword by Barbara and Jennifer Grant

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Cary Grant: A Biography by Marc Eliot (2004)

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Cary Grant: The Wizard of Beverly Grove by Bill Royce (2006)

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Cary Grant: A Celebration of Style by Richard Torregrossa (2006)
Foreword by Giorgio Armani
Afterword by Michael Kors

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Movie Icons: Grant by Taschen (2007)

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Dear Cary: My Life with Cary Grant by Dyan Cannon (2011)

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Good Stuff: A Reminiscence of My Father, Cary Grant by Jennifer Grant (2011)

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Cary Grant: A Life in Picture by Pavilion (2011)

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How to Become Cary Grant: A Remarkable Life in Quotes and Remembrances by Horace Martin Woodhouse (2013) 

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Cary Grant Movie Poster Book: Special edition by Greg Lenburg (2016) 

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Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise by Scott Eyman (2020)

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Cary Grant: The Making of a Hollywood Legend by Mark Glancy (2020)

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American Legends: The Life of Cary Grant by Charles River Editors (?)

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Etre Cary Grant (To Be Cary Grant) by Martine Reid (2021)

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Some Versions of Cary Grant by James Naremore (2022)

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Listed below are writers who have put their name to more then one Cary Grant Biography:

Cary Grant by Chuck Ashman and Pamela Trescott (1986)

Cary Grant by Pamela Trescott (1987)

Cary Grant: Haunted Idol by Geoffrey Wansell (1983)

Cary Grant: Dark Angel by Geoffrey Wansell (1996)

An Affair to Remember: My Life With Cary Grant by Maureen Donaldson and William Royce (1989)

Cary Grant: The Wizard of Beverly Grove by Bill Royce (2006)

Cary Grant: A Portrait in His Own Words and by Those Who Knew Him Best by Nancy Nelson (1991)
Foreword by Barbara and Jennifer Grant.

Evenings With Cary Grant: Recollections in His Own Words and by Those Who Knew Him Best by Nancy Nelson (2003)

New Foreword by Barbara and Jennifer Grant

The Cary Grant Collection - 2022

Quote From Today... Hot Saturday (1932)

"Yes, but the moment you go to get them, burglar alarms start ringing all over town."

With Nancy Carroll.

Hot Saturday was Cary Grant's 6th full length feature film.

Romer Sheffield: Would it interest you to know that I've wanted you ever since I first saw you in the bank?

Ruth Brock: You're supposed to see things you want in banks.

Romer Sheffield: Yes, but the moment you go to get them, burglar alarms start ringing all over town.

Quote From Today.... The Awful Truth (1937)

"With a minute to go, Dad had the ball..."

With Molly Lamont and Irene Dunne.

The Awful Truth was Cary Grant's 29th full length feature film.

Lucy Warriner: [pretending to be Jerry's lower-class sister "Lola" at a gathering with his girlfriend's family] I'm sorry to interrupt you again, Jerry. Now, what were you saying?

Jerry Warriner: I was just telling one of Father's stories. You've heard it. With a minute to go, Dad had the ball...

Lucy Warriner: -A ball? What ball?

Jerry Warriner: -The football.

Lucy Warriner: Well, what in the world was Dad ever doing with a football, for heaven's sakes?

Jerry Warriner: I was just telling a story about when Father was at Princeton. You remember...

Lucy Warriner: [suddenly very enthused] Oh, Pop loved Princeton! He was there nearly 20 years, and if ever a man loved a place, he did. He just adored it. And he certainly kept it looking beautiful!

Quote From Today... The Last Outpost (1935)

"...here's to those lovely eyes! In any language."

With Kathleen Burke.

The Last Outpost was Cary Grant's 20th full-length feature film.

Michael Andrews: Oh Hello. And what do they call you, my pretty maid?.. 

(A young Turkish woman hands him a drink)

Thanks. Comment t'appelles-tu?

(Then Andrews attempts to speak Turkish)

Young Woman: Ilya.

Michael Andrews: Oh. Ilya, huh?

Well, Ilya, here's to those lovely eyes! In any language.

Quote From Today... Wedding Present (1936)

"Next year I'll be eligible for the Kentucky Derby..."

With Joan Bennett.

Wedding Present was Cary Grant's 24th full length feature film.

Marriage License Clerk: [Reviewing a marriage license] 

Do you solemly swear that the statements are?... Say! What's the matter with you? You've got the day of your birth down here August 4, 1934. That makes you two years old!

Charlie: That;s right. Next year I'll be eligible for the Kentucky Derby... and if you were marrying a girl like mine, you'd feel that young yourself.

Quote From Today... I'm No Angel (1933)

"You were wonderful tonight."

With Mae West

I'm No Angel was Cary Grant's 12th full length feature film.

Jack Clayton: You were wonderful tonight.

Tira: Yeah, I'm always wonderful at night.

Jack Clayton: Tonight, you were especially good.

Tira: Well... When I'm good, I'm very good. But, when I'm bad...

[winks at Jack]

Tira: I'm better.

Quote From Today... Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

"Look, Aunt Martha, men don't just get into window seats and die!"

With Josephine Hull and Jean Adair.

Arsenic and Old Lace was Cary Grant's 47th full length feature film.

Mortimer Brewster: Look, Aunt Martha, men don't just get into window seats and die!

Abby Brewster: We know, dear. He died first.

Mortimer Brewster: Wait a minute! Stop all this. Now, look, darling, how did he die?

Abby Brewster: Oh, Mortimer, don't be so inquisitive. The gentleman died because he drank some wine with poison in it.

Mortimer Brewster: How did the poison get in the wine?

Martha Brewster: Well, we put it in wine, because it's less noticeable. When it's in tea, it has a distinct odor.

Mortimer Brewster: You mean, you... You put it in the wine!

Abby Brewster: Yes. And I put Mr. Hoskins in the window seat, because Reverend Harper was coming.

Mortimer Brewster: Now, look at me, darling. You mean, you mean you knew what you'd done and you didn't want the Reverend Harper to see the body?

Abby Brewster: Well, not at tea. That wouldn't have been very nice.

Mortimer Brewster: Oh, it's first-degree.

Abby Brewster: Now, Mortimer, you know all about it and just forget about it. I do think that Aunt Martha and I have the right to our own little secrets.

Quote From Today... None But The Lonely Heart (1944)

"Oh, that? Friend of mine. Knew him when."

With Jane Wyatt.

None But The Lonely Heart was Cary Grant's 46th full length feature film.

Ada Brantline: [after Ada has seen Ernie give money to an older man who was rummaging through some trash] Charitable sort, you are.

Ernie Mott: Oh, that? Friend of mine. Knew him when.

Ada Brantline: When what?

Ernie Mott: When he was a man. Old Ike Weber, a friend of my Ma's, told me this: "As I was out walking, I saw in the distance what seemed an animal. Come up closer, and see it was a man. Come still closer, and see it was my brother."

Quote From Today... The Howards of Virginia (1940)

"Frozen, at that!"

With Paul Kelly.

The Howards of Virginia was Cary Grant's 37th full length feature film.

Captain Jabez Allen: Is that all!

Matt Howard: Aye. And they cost me the two dollars Norton sent me!

Captain Jabez Allen: Jehoshaphat's elbow! A dollar for a potato.

Matt Howard: Frozen, at that!

Quote From Today...Blonde Venus (1932)

"If this is a dream, Helen, I hope I never wake up."

With Marlene Dietrich.

Blonde Venus was Cary Grant's 5th full length feature film.

Nick Townsend: Hello, Helen.

Helen Faraday, aka Helen Jones: Well, if it isn't old Nick himself. I expected you to pop up someday.

Nick Townsend: If this is a dream, Helen, I hope I never wake up. Let me come backstage, will ya?

Helen Faraday, aka Helen Jones: I seem to remember you came backstage once before.

Quote From Today... Monkey Business (1952)

"Well, watch your head. I'll watch everything else!"

Monkey Business was Cary Grant's 58th full length feature film.

Barnaby: Well, all set? Is you motor running?

Lois Laurel: Is your motor running?

Barnaby: Is yours? Takes awhile to warm up.

Lois Laurel: It does, me too.

Barnaby: Well, watch your head. I'll watch everything else!

Quote From Today... People Will Talk (1951)

    "Surely it didn't take you twelve years to make up your mind!"

With Jeanne Crain.

People Will Talk was Cary Grant's 56th full length feature film.

Doctor Noah Praetorius: How old were you when you learned to walk?

Arthur Higgins: I could get around alright at four.

Doctor Noah Praetorius: And how old were you when you left the farm?

Arthur Higgins: Sixteen.

Doctor Noah Praetorius: Surely it didn't take you twelve years to make up your mind!

Quote From Today... I Was a Male War-Bride (1949)

    "I'll explain to them I think you're repulsive."

With Marion Marshall and Ann Sheridan. 

I Was a Male War-Bride was Cary Grant's 54th full length feature film.

Lt. Catherine Gates: [humiliated after Capt. Rochard publicly returns her laundry in an insinuating manner] Oh, what a stinker YOU are.

Capt. Henri Rochard: [coolly] Did I forget something?

Lt. Catherine Gates: What a dirty stinker - and you're going right back in that office and explain to them how you got my laundry by mistake in Dusseldorf and forgot to give it back to me.

Capt. Henri Rochard: Well, it's such a dull story. Who would care?

Lt. Catherine Gates: You know what you made them think?

Capt. Henri Rochard: [feigning innocence] I don't quite understa... Oh, no! You mean you and ME? Well, I'd be glad to explain to them. The very idea of any connection is revolting.

Lt. Catherine Gates: No, you don't. No, you don't. Never mind. Just forget it.

Capt. Henri Rochard: But I'd be delighted. I'll explain to them I think you're repulsive.

Quote From Today... The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)

  "A wealthy society lady saw my work, fell in love with me and sent me to art school."

With Shirley Temple and Myrna Loy

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer was Cary Grant's 50th full length feature film.

Susan: Did you have many ordeals before you became a success?

Richard Nugent: No, I...

Susan: You can talk to me. I want you to think of me, not as a newspaper woman, but as a friend.

Richard Nugent: Well, in that case, I'll tell you. I did suffer. When I was 10, my mother and father had a double suicide pact, they made it. I was sent to an orphanage. Some days they didn't beat me. Then one night I escaped, I ran away to New York. I used to steal.

Susan: What did you steal?

Richard Nugent: Beg your pardon?

Susan: What did you steal?

Richard Nugent: Crusts of bread... and things. One time I stole a valise. There were paints and paintbrushes inside. So I began to paint. Then they got me. I was sent to a reform school, but I escaped again.

Susan: Go on.

Richard Nugent: Back to new York. A wealthy society lady saw my work, fell in love with me and sent me to art school. The rest is history.

Susan: How wonderful. How terribly wonderful.

Quote From Today... The Talk of the Town (1942)

    "...I like people who think in terms of ideal conditions."

With Jean Arthur.

The Talk of the Town was Cary Grant's 41st full length feature film.

Leopold Dilg: I don't approve of, but I like people who think in terms of ideal conditions. They're the dreamers, poets, tragic figures in this world, but interesting.

Quote From Today... In Name Only (1939)

    "Come with me madame, I'll show you where the animals sleep."

With Carole Lombard

In Name Only was Cary Grant's 34th full length feature film.

Alec Walker: Come with me madame, I'll show you where the animals sleep.

[Escorts Julie to the bedroom]

Alec Walker: Pardon me, madame, do you snore?

Julie Eden: No.

Alec Walker: Oh, well, I guess I'll have to buy an alarm clock, won't I?

Quote From Today... Devil and the Deep (1932)

   "I know sir, it was only about dinner last night!"

With Tallulah Bankhead.

Devil and the Deep was Cary Grant's 4th full length feature film.

Cmdr. Charles Sturm: [opening lines] You dropped this.

[hands Jaeckel a letter]

Lt. Jaeckel: [embarrassed] Oh. Thank you sir.

Cmdr. Charles Sturm: From my wife.

Lt. Jaeckel: Yes, sir.

Cmdr. Charles Sturm: I recognised the handwriting.

Lt. Jaeckel: Yes, it's just a note, telling me that...

Cmdr. Charles Sturm: That's alright, my boy - you don't have to explain. I'm a husband, not a jailer.

Lt. Jaeckel: I know sir, it was only about dinner last night.

Cmdr. Charles Sturm: My friend, this isn't the Middle Ages. A woman can write letters to whom she pleases, can't she?

Quote From Today... Ladies Should Listen (1934)

    "Suppose we resume our silence where we left off?"

With Frances Drake and Edward Everett Horton.

Ladies Should Listen was Cary Grant's 17th full length feature film.

Julian De Lussac: Cigarette!

Paul Vernet: Offering or asking?

Julian De Lussac: Either or both.

Paul Vernet: Well, in that case, no thank you.

Julian De Lussac: You're very welcome.

Paul Vernet: Not at all.

Julian De Lussac: Suppose we resume our silence where we left off?

Paul Vernet: Why not?

Quote From Today... To Catch a Thief (1955)

    "Why did I take up stealing?"

To Catch a Thief was Cary Grant's 60th full length feature film.

H. H. Hughson: You are a man of obvious good taste in everything. Why did you...

John Robie: Why did I take up stealing? To live better, to own things I couldn't afford, to acquire this good taste that you now enjoy and which I should be very reluctant to give up.

H. H. Hughson: Then you are frankly dishonest.

John Robie: I try to be.

Quote From Today... The Toast of New York (1937)

   "Even the right horse can't win if he's carrying too heavy a load"

With Jack Oakie and Edward Arnold

The Toast of New York was Cary Grant's 28th full length feature film.

Nick Boyd: Even the right horse can't win if he's carrying too heavy a load.

Quote From Today... Suzy (1936)

"Did I remember"

With Jean Harlow.

Suzy was Cary Grant's 23rd full length feature film.

Andre Charville: Did I remember, to tell you, you're delightful, you're everything I want you to be

[singing]

Andre Charville: You're eyes are lovely, And far beyond comparing, Especially when they're glaring, At me. I can't think up words to say, How swell you are, But I can tell you are, I know so well you are. I started falling, The moment that I saw you, Believe me I adore you, Cherie!

Quote From Today... Notorious! (1946)

"Daisies and buttercups, wasn't it?"

With Ingrid Bergman.

Notorious! was Cary Grant's 49th full length feature film.

Devlin: I can't help recalling some of your remarks about being a new woman. Daisies and buttercups, wasn't it?

Alicia: You idiot! What are you sore about, you knew very well what I was doing!

Devlin: Did I?

Alicia: You could have stopped me with one word, but no, you wouldn't. You threw me at him!

Devlin: I threw you at nobody.

Alicia: Didn't you tell me what I had?

Devlin: A man doesn't tell a woman what to do; she tells herself. You almost had me believing in that little hokey-pokey miracle of yours, that a woman like you could change her spots.

Alicia: Oh, you're rotten.

Devlin: That's why I didn't try to stop you. The answer had to come from you.

Alicia: I see. Some kind of love test.

Devlin: That's right.

Quote From Today... That Touch of Mink (1962)

   "Fancy that. And some people just go to sleep and never know what they're missing!"

With Doris Day.

That Touch of Mink was Cary Grant's 69th full length feature film.

Roger: Good morning, good morning. It's a great day out.

Philip Shayne: God, you're very happy, Roger. You'd better check that with Dr. Gruber, it might be something serious.

Roger: I had a wonderful night's rest. You know the trouble I have sleeping? Well, I've solved it. Just before you go to bed you put three tranquilizers in a jigger of brandy and you drink it. You still can't sleep but you're so relaxed that you don't worry about it. It was exhilarating.

Philip Shayne: Fancy that. And some people just go to sleep and never know what they're missing.

Philip Shayne: That's what I like about you, Roger. No matter what calamity befalls your fellow man you're still able to laugh about it.

Quote From Today... North By Northwest (1959)

  "My name is Thornhill - Roger Thornhill"

North By Northwest was Cary Grant's 66th full length feature film.

[Thornhill and Vandamm meeting each other for the first time in Townsend's office, where Vandamm has stolen his identity; they both size each other up silently]

Phillip Vandamm: Good evening.

[beat]

Phillip Vandamm: Not what I expected. A little taller, a little more polished than the others...

Roger Thornhill: Well, I'm so glad you're pleased, Mr. Townsend!

Phillip Vandamm: But I'm afraid just as obvious.

Leonard: What the devil is all this about? Why was I brought here?

Phillip Vandamm: Games? Must we?

Roger Thornhill: Not that I mind a slight case of abduction now and then, but I do have tickets to the theatre tonight, and a show I was looking forward to and I get, well, *unreasonable* about things like that.

Phillip Vandamm: With such play-acting, you make this very room a theatre.

[Leonard, Vandamm's co-conspirator, enters]

Phillip Vandamm: Ah, Leonard. Have you met our distinguished guest?

Leonard: He's a well-tailored one, isn't he?

Phillip Vandamm: My secretary is a great admirer of your methods, Mr. Kaplan. Elusive, however misguided...

Roger Thornhill: Wait a minute. Did you call me "Kaplan"?

Phillip Vandamm: Oh, I know you're a man of many names, but I'm perfectly willing to accept your current choice.

Roger Thornhill: "Current choice"? My name is Thornhill - Roger Thornhill! It's never been anything else!

Quote From Today... Topper (1937)

"Funny; I don't feel any different."

With Constance Bennett.

Topper was Cary Grant's 27th full length feature film.

Marion Kerby: Oh, George, I can see right through you.

George Kerby: Say, that's funny. I can see through you, too.

Marion Kerby: [seeing her body lying next to George's beside the car, which has just crashed] George, look. You know something George? I think we're dead.

George Kerby: I think you're right. Funny; I don't feel any different.

Quote From Today... Walk, Don't Run (1966)

"I wouldn't know what to do in the 
bathroom all day!"

With Jim Hutton.

Walk, Don't Run was Cary Grant's 72nd, and last, full length feature film. 

Christine Easton: After 7:45, you can have the bathroom all day if you'd like.

Sir William Rutland: I wouldn't know what to do in the bathroom all day!

Quote From Today... Kiss and Make Up (1934)

   "Messing around?"

With Genevieve Tobin.

Kiss and Make Up was Cary Grant's 16th full length feature film.

Dr. Maurice Lamar: So, you're Madam Caron's husband, huh?

Marcel Caron: I am, yes. On those rare occasions when you're not messing around with her.

Dr. Maurice Lamar: Messing around? I'll have you understand...

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.

Quote From Today... Crisis (1950)

   "These are not the best conditions."

With Paula Raymond and José Ferrer.

Crisis was Cary Grant's 55th full length feature film.

[Farago is about to be operated by Eugene]

Raoul Farrago: Doctor, do many people die in an operation like this?

Dr. Eugene Norland Ferguson: Under the best conditions, about 12 percent. These are not the best conditions.

Raoul Farrago: You don't like me, do you?

Dr. Eugene Norland Ferguson: I try to regard my patients impersonally.

Raoul Farrago: Can you?

Dr. Eugene Norland Ferguson: No.

Quote From Today... Night and Day (1946)

    "Thanks for all the flowers."

With Monty Woolley.

Night and Day was Cary Grant's 48th full length feature film.

Cole Porter: Thanks for all the flowers.

Monty Woolley: Yes, one can only send them to a man when he's flat on his back.

Quote From Today... An Affair to Remember (1957)

   "But you have such an honest face."

With Deborah Kerr.

An Affair to Remember was Cary Grant's 62nd full length feature film.

Nickie Ferrante: But you have such an honest face.

Terry McKay: I have?

Nickie Ferrante: I can trust you can't I?

Terry McKay:Yes, I suppose so .

Nickie Ferrante: Good, come with me.

Terry McKay: Yes, but the Captain has an honest face too! Why can't you tell him your troubles?

Quote From Today... Mr Lucky (1943)

  "Hey, you don't look too bad yourself!"

With Laraine Day.

Mr Lucky was Cary Grant's 43rd full length feature film.

Joe Adams aka Joe Bascopolous: Well, now this is quite a surprise!

Dorothy Bryant: Not particularly. It so happens I rather expected it. And if you think your persistence is going to have any effect on me, you're mistaken.

Joe Adams aka Joe Bascopolous: Well, I can't see how you people can pass up $80,000 for the cause.

Dorothy Bryant: For whose cause? If you're so interested in serving your cause, why don't you join the Army?

Blood Bank Nurse: Next, please!

Joe Adams aka Joe Bascopolous: Oh...

[produces draft card]

Joe Adams aka Joe Bascopolous: 4F.

Dorothy Bryant: You look 1A to me.

Joe Adams aka Joe Bascopolous: Hey, you don't look too bad yourself!

[He chuckle, she stares, he lets out awkward groan]

Joe Adams aka Joe Bascopolous: Well, it's my arteries.

Blood Bank Nurse: Right this way...

Dorothy Bryant: Well, should you be giving blood?

Joe Adams aka Joe Bascopolous: Oh, well... my blood's 1A, just my arteries are 4F.