BEFORE: (M)Archie Madness, Day 2 - This was Cary Grant's next-to-last film, from 1964, so I'm not going strictly chronologically backwards, this was released a year after "Charade". It makes more sense to break down Grant's films based on leading lady, like I have three coming up where he's paired with Irene Dunne and a couple with Myrna Loy, so I'll group those together. "Charade" seems to be the top-seeded film for now, it could go all the way in this tournament, but there's always the chance of an upset.
According to the IMDB, Cary Grant wanted Audrey Hepburn to star in this one with him, but she had committed to making "My Fair Lady", and he had been offered the role of Henry Higgins in that film, and had turned it down.
THE PLOT: During WW2, a man persuaded to live on an isolated island and spot aircraft finds himself responsible for a teacher and several students, all female.
AFTER: Apparently this is how we won World War II, by conscripting civilians into doing military duties, threatening to commandeer their private vessels unless they agree to live on a Pacific island and do plane-spotting for the Allies, while living on rations. OK, so the Australian navy doesn't seem to play fair, but it's all for a good cause, right?
Besides, what could be a better place for a man who's dropped out of society to spend some time alone, have some quiet reflection, and then when he's ready, to rescue a lovely but entitled French woman to spend time with? Oh, and there's a gaggle of pre-teen girls too, who start out being more trouble than they're worth, but may eventually find a way to melt the heart of this grumpy, drunken fellow.
When you think of Cary Grant, you think of someone suave and debonair, but in later interviews he claimed that this role was most like his real-life personality. The rest of the time, well, it's called acting for a reason, I guess.
The relationship here is somewhat inevitable, I suppose, but it does sort of seem to come from nowhere quite quickly - one minute the two leads are arguing and slapping each other, the next they're making long-term plans together. I might have liked to see sort of an interim stage, because they do seem to spin on a dime.
Also starring Leslie Caron (last seen in "An American In Paris"), Trevor Howard (last seen in "Gandhi"), Jack Good.
RATING: 5 out of 10 hidden bottles
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