Book Review | On Cukor by Trachtenberg

Yesterday my wife and I decided to take a little trip 'out of town' to visit the closest Cracker Barrel restaurant. We have to drive about 40 minutes North of New Orleans, but it is always worth it. While we were out there, we decided to stop by Books-A-Million to see what they had going on. We don't have one of those in the area either. While I was unimpressed with the set-up of the store, I was happy to stumble upon a book I hadn't seen before in the bargain area. It is a book titled 'On Cukor'. I was immediately intrigued, but the damn book was wrapped in plastic. So needing to see the inside of the book, I tore off the plastic. 

George Cukor on the set of Sylvia Scarlett with Katharine Hepburn

The book was marked at only $9.97, so I would have bought the book regardless, I was quite excited to see it's contents. The book has a complete filmography for the 'women's director', with excerpts about the filming of each film. Also throughout the book are rare pictures from Cukor's own personal collection. My favorite images I have seen so far are the one of Cukor on set with his stars. Another interesting part of the book are the 'Interludes' where the text was taken from a taped one-on-one interview that took place with Cukor in the early 1970's. He discusses his thoughts on the films, friends, and the stars of the films he directed. You get to see his take on people such as Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, Greta Garbo, and Lana Turner. 

George Cukor on the set of Dinner At Eight with Jean Harlow

Cukor has directed many of my favorite films [i.e. The Women & A Star Is Born], so I am sure this book will be a fun read. If I actually read this book, it will be a rare event. I usually skim through books, looking at the pretty pictures, and read parts that stand out, but think this time I will actually read the whole book. It is about my favorite films, one of my favorite directors, and talks about some of my favorite stars... why not read it?

George Cukor on the set of The Women with the entire cast!

As with most things I write about, I always do a little research on the subject. I was excited to see there is actually a DVD that goes along with this film, with the same name. It is priced under $10, so I may pick that up next week when I order my Jean Harlow: 100th Anniversary Collection. If anyone has a local Books-A-Million... you should look out for this greatly priced book.

Film | Holiday (1938)

A few weeks ago I sat down for what I called a "Grantburn" double-feature. I have already written about the first film, Bringing Up Baby (which you can see here), and here we have the second... 1938's Holiday. And guess what?!? This is the 75th post on Blame Mame!

HOLIDAY (1938)

"If you had a million... 

which sister would you pick to spend it with?"

THE PLAYERS:
Cary Grant as Johnny Case
Katharine Hepburn as Linda Seton
Doris Nolan as Julia Seton
Lew Ayres as Ned Seton

THE STORY:
Engaged to wealthy Julia Seton (Doris Nolan), freethinker Johnny Case (Cary Grant) discovers that her family wants to remake him into their idea of the perfect son-in-law -- and he's beginning to consider compromising his values. But as he gets to know Julia's headstrong sister (Katharine Hepburn), he realizes he has more in common with her. [Netflix]

MY FAVORITE SCENE:
I thought the scene where Johnny first comes into the 'play room' to chat with Linda, was quite charming. The sparks between the lead characters jumped off the screen. I especially liked when Linda was explaining which toys belonged to which sibling and talks about how the giraffe looked like her... I actually thought they did resemble each other.

TIDBITS & TRIVIA:
Although Katharine Hepburn won praise for her portrayal as the repressed rich girl, she was overlooked more than once for the role of Linda Seton. When the play appeared on Broadway, Hepburn was the understudy for the role and when the original 1930 film was cast, she was overlooked in favor of Ann Harding. I also found it interesting that Katharine also used a scene from this film for her first screen test that won, that led to her first film role in A Bill of Divorcement. It seems she was destined to play this part at some point in her career.

OTHER THOUGHTS:
I thought the film was beautifully directed, as most George Cukor films are. I have never noticed how many of my favorite films were part of his long list of directed films. He really was a 'woman's director'. He brought out amazing performances from all of the women he worked with. I look forward to seeing his other collaborations with Hepburn (A Bill of Divorcement, Sylvia Scarlett, Adams Rib) because she was so likeable in this film. She was the actress I loved in The Philadelphia Story and not the grating women I saw in Suddenly, Last Summer. I will definitely be checking out those other films soon.

And I just couldn't do a review of a Cary Grant film without commenting on how wonderful an actor I think he was. He was so likeable and even though he was playing against type, he portrayed Johnny with a lot of heart.

There was also a magnificent supporting cast on this film. You had Edward Horton and Jean Dixon as The Potters, Johnny's long time friends who want him to go after his dreams and not the dreams of his fiance. I really felt their characters truly loved Johnny and wanted only the best for him. Their reactions when first walking into the engagement party were the best... especially when the butler took his dress shoe off along with the snow boot. 

OVERALL RATING: