A Royal Trip to Rome

Perhaps gaining some of its public appeal from the ill-fated romance of England's Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend, the story of the 1953 film Roman Holiday is one of those classic stories of a princess or president's daughter who runs away to find our her real identity, battling against her future as a famous woman in power. This is the first major studio film starring the beautiful Audrey Hepburn in a leading role and consequently became the film where she was made into a star.

The story follows that of Princess Anne (Hepburn) of some unnamed country out on her royal debut by touring all of Europe. Angry by the restrictions placed on her by her royal entourage, Anne runs away, forgetting she has taken a sleeping pill and ends up sleeping on a bench. Anne is rescued by American photographer Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck) who is covering the Princess's visit to Rome recognizes her. She tells him she is Anya Smith, but he sees through her disguise. Playing along, Joe tells his editor (Hartley Power) that he has perhaps the story of the year on his hands. Joe and photographer friend Irving Radovich (Eddie Albert) take Anne around Rome and give her the whirlwind experience of a life time. Anne and Joe fall in love with each other and Anne is given a choice. She can either stay with Joe and renounce her throne or she can grow up and take charge of her royal duties.

The film was made in black and white to reduce the cost and also so that the city of Rome would not outshine the cast. It was the first American film entirely filmed in Italy. Director Frank Capra was originally slated to produce the film and he wanted Cary Grant and Elizabeth Taylor in the lead roles. Jean Simmons and Suzanne Cloutier were both considered for the role of Princess Anne, but both were busy on other projects. It was Gregory Peck who told the studio to put Audrey Hepburn's name above the film in ad campaigns because she was going to be the break out star of the film.

The film is ranked #4 on the AFI list of greatest romance movies. For some reviews on the film, you can check out this entry on the Decent Films site. Movie Man's Guide provides this review of the film. The blog Rick's Flicks Picks has this to say about the movie and Brianrowe.net has this review.And here, for your enjoyment, is the film's original trailer:

The 1947 MGM film The Bishop’s Wife is one of those Christmastime stories that explores the true meaning of Christmas and what is really important in your live. The film was nominated for Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture and Best Picture and it won for Best Sound. The film is based on a novel of the same name written by Robert Nathan.

It begins when Episcopalian Bishop Henry Brougham (David Niven) is trying to build a cathedral financed by a widow Mrs. Hamilton (Gladys Cooper). What Brougham doesn’t notice is that his wife Julia (Loretta Young) is miserably unhappy, he is forgetting why he became a minister in the first place. He prays that someone will come to help with his troubles surrounding the new cathedral and is answered by an angel named Dudley (Cary Grant). Dudley helps everyone meet their needs and is well-loved among the parishioners, even by non-religios Dr. Wutheridge (Monty Woolley). Brougham is the only person not enchanted by Dudley, especially with Dudley’s relationship with Julia, which has become increasingly complicated the more they bond and the more absent her husband is. Brougham has to stand up to Dudley and realize what about is life is the most important.

If the plot sounds familiar, its because the film was remade in 1996 and retitled The Preacher’s Wife, which starred Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington. Also, if the character of Matilda looks familiar, its because she is legendary scream queen Elsa Lanchester, most famously known as playing the title role in The Bride of Frankenstein.

For some reviews of this film, you can look to Cary Grant's personal website, which has a reivew of the film here. Crazy4cinema.com also has a review of the film, which you can read here. The blog Reflections in the Afternoon has this post, which talks about the film. Mymerrychristmas.com has this review as well. As an added bonus, here is the films trailer, thanks to Turner Classic Movies.

Laughing All the Way to the Madhouse

On this day in 1944, one of my personal favorite old movies was released: Arsenic and Old Lace. Directed by the legendary Frank Capra of You Can’t Take It With You and It’s A Wonderful Life fame and starring the just as legendary Cary Grant, the movie is a screwball comedy for the ages.

The plot is complex, as screwball comedies often are. Mortimer Brewster (Grant) is drama critic and famous writer of an anti-marriage book, which has not stopped him from getting engaged to Elaine Harper – played by the beautiful Priscilla Lane. Naturally, that is the most normal thing about Mortimer’s life. Throughout the film, he has to deal with Uncle Teddy, who believes he is Teddy Roosevelt and buries “yellow fever victims” in the basement. Add in Mortimer’s long lost, escapee prisoner brother (Raymond Massey) who has been styled by his accomplice to resemble Boris Karloff in Frankenstein, a pair of senile murderess old aunts, a reverend, a judge, a head of mental sanitarium, and half a dozen police officers, and you have a recipe for the chaos that quickly envelops Mortimer Brewster’s life.

Throughout the film, twists in the plot occur making for a darkly funny comedy. After watching the insane antics of the Brewster clan, you will definitely think better of your own family. The movie is based off of a play by the same name, written by German immigrant Joseph Kesselring. Though macabre in nature, the film is truly spectacular and carries on in the unbelievable yet hysterical tradition of comedies in its mode.

What saddens me is that it is rare to find a modern screwball comedy with such well done hilarity, suspension of disbelief, and absolutely superior storyline than those comedies of old. Nowadays, most comedies rely on bowel movement jokes or crude humor to get their laughs, choosing to push the boundaries more than try to write an actually intelligent joke. I’m all for pushing boundaries, but still, it would be nice to have my intelligence appreciated enough that contemporary Hollywood writers thought their audience was smart enough to work out a complex joke or humorous scenario. Often times, films that attempt to recapture the glory of the early screwballs fall terribly short and end up being laughed at for all the wrong reasons.

Classics like Arsenic and Old Lace can hardly go wrong, especially with an all-star pairing such as Capra and Grant. I honestly implore you to go check out Arsenic and Old Lace and I promise you will be barking mad with laughter at the end.