Cary Grant: A Tribute

Cary Grant

The epitome of sophistication, charm and dashing good looks, Cary Grant was also one of the screen's funniest men as well as an underrated dramatic actor. More than any other star his failure to win a competetive Oscar is a true Hollywood travesty.

From his film debut in 1932 he worked virtually nonstop through his 74th and final movie in 1966. Then he walked away from it all and never looked back. Along the way he made some of the greatest and most memorable movies in history, ranging from screwball comedies to action thrillers.

Throughout the early and mid thirties he cranked out over 25 mostly forgettable movies. Two that stand out from this period are with the legendary Mae West, I'm No Angel and She Done Him Wrong. It was not, however, until Topper in 1937 that he would become a bona fide star.

During the next three years he would star in such classic's as Gunga Din, His Girl Friday and three of the four films he made with Katharine Hepburn, Bringing Up Baby, Holiday and The Philadelphia Story. He continued making excellent movies during the 1940's like the black comedy Arsenic and Old Lace, the spy thriller Notorious with director Alfred Hitchcock (costarring Ingrid Bergman) and The Bishop's Wife. This last movie would be remade in the nineties as The Preacher's Wife with Denzel Washington recreating the Grant role.

Cary Grant with Marilyn Monroe in Monkey Business

Unlike most of his contemporaries Cary seemed to actually improve with age and in fact hit the peak of his box office clout in the late fifties and early sixties. Releasing such popular favorites as To Catch a Thief (another Hitchcock film this time with Grace Kelly), that quintessential date movie An Affair to Remember (second only to Casablanca), the brilliant North By Northwest (which many consider his best role) and the hugely successful Operation Petticoat. A comedy costarring Tony Curtis who would spoof Cary's screen persona that same year in Some Like it Hot.

His career marched into the turbulent sixties at full pace, starring opposite such decades younger women as Doris Day, Sophia Loren, Leslie Caron and that other Hepburn, Audrey. Finally, past the age of sixty, he decided to call it quits. Choosing to go out on top. Unlike stars such as Bette Davis, Jimmy Stewart and Katharine Hepburn who all continued to work well into old age. Cary, it seems, wanted to retire while he still looked the part. For this and for his amazing body of work Cary Grant is, even today, considered the very definition of a Movie Star.