Cary Grant

July 20, 2012

Cary Grant’s real name was Archibald Alexander Leach. He grew up in Bristol, England and spent many Saturdays at the movies there. When he was 13 years old, he joined the Bob Pender Troupe for actors. The troupe started a 2 year run in the U.S. in 1920. When they went home, Archibald (Cary Grant) stayed to work a while in New York. He eventually returned to England, and around 1927 the American producer Arthur Hammerstein, sent him back to New York. There he made his Broadway debut in Golden Dawn, and the rest is history…

I personally am a huge Cary Grant fan, and I found this information in the Biography in Context database.

Some of my favorite Cary Grant movies are:

An Affair to Remember with Deborah Kerr: Nickie and Terry fall in love, though they are both engaged. They agree to meet on top of the Empire State Building in six months if they still have feelings for each other.

Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest with Eva Marie Saint and James Mason: Roger Thornhill is a New York business man who is kidnapped by some spies. They believe he is in reality George Kaplan, a CIA agent who is accused of committing murder.

Arsenic and Old Lace with Josephine Hull: Cary plays a young man who learns that his aunts are serving elderberry wine with arsenic to lonely men and burying their bodies in the cellar.

To Catch a Thief with Grace Kelly: John Robie is a reformed jewel thief known as "The Cat." He meets a lovely heiress named Frances on the French Riviera and makes plans to bait and catch a thief himself.

Charade with Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau and James Coburn: Three crooks chase an American girl through Paris in search of a fortune.

Indiscreet with Ingrid Bergman: In London, an American diplomat loves an actress, but pretends to be married.

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House with Myrna Loy: Cary is a New York executive who has troubles designing his dream house.

Night and Day with Alexis Smith: This is the fascinating story of 20th century songwriter, Cole Porter.

Notorious with Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains: Alicia Huberman goes undercover after her German father commits suicide. She helps T. R. Devlin bring down some German scientists.

The Philadelphia Story with Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart: This is the story of a spoiled socialite on the eve of her second marriage.

The Talk of the Town with Jean Arthur: A Supreme Court nominee and a school teacher help a fugitive who is falsely accused of murder. This is a comedy about law and justice in America.

Topper and Topper Returns with Constance Bennett and Joan Blondell: These are comedies about a couple who become ghosts.

In my opinion, Cary Grant was a terrific actor, who was terrific-looking. I hope you will enjoy some of these great movies available at the Library.

Amy Jo V.
Blue Springs South Branch