Penny Serenade (1941)

Penny Serenadeis a spin worth taking.

Told in flashbacks with records tied to pivotal moments, this 1941 drama from director George Stevens (Shane, Giant) considers the relationship of Roger and Julie Adams (Cary Grand and Irene Dunn).

Their marriage appears to be over. Why, we don't know until near the end of the film's two-hour running time.

It's music that brings this couple together. Roger hears a song played at a record store. He sees Julie and is smitten.

Their relationship starts and deepens. These kids are crazy about each other, but Roger isn't too keen on having children of his own. When a job comes up to report in Japan, he's game and, on New Year's Eve, asks Julie to marry him.

There's more spur of the moment decisions by Roger - rash perhaps - that rankle his better half. He lives in spacious quarters, with servants, in Japan. He'd fit in with folks who live above their means in 2014, taking advances on his salary to pay the bills. Julie, who joins him in the Far East, is rattled by his decision to quit his job and travel the world with a modest inheritance. What about our baby, she asks.

The couple return to America and set up shop in a small California town. Roger wants to run his own newspaper. Circulation isn't as big as his dreams. There's bad news with their expected child. An earthquake in Japan badly hurt Julie. She can't bear children. Julie wants to adopt. Roger needs some coaxing.

There's no grand adventures in Penny Serenade. Roger struggles to get by. Julie wants a child. They get their wish when a newborn becomes available for adoption. There's some funny scenes as the inexperienced parents deal with a crying infant that needs to be washed and diapered. Roger grows to love being a dad. But tough times in the newspaper business - hello again 2014 - mean the couple don't have the income necessary to formally adopt Trina. They risk losing her and eventually each other.

"We don't need each other anymore," Julie suggests as their marriage hits a tough stretch.

Penny Serenade is touching without being melodramatic, funny without being a farce.

Hurray for Edgar Buchanan as Applejack Carney, a friend of the couple whose handy in the childcare department and quick with a joke.

RATING: 8/10

FUN FACTS: That's Eva Lee Kuney as Trina at age six. She appeared in seven films between 1935 and 1948 including A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

Cary Grant received an Oscar nomination for best actor for his work in Penny Serenade.

Holiday (1938)

Great cast. Fine romance. Good laughs.

This is a Holiday worth taking.

Johnny Case (Cary Grant) is convinced he's finally in love. His romance with Julia Seaton (Doris Nolan) is definitely a whirlwhind. The happy couple has just met and is already planning to walk down the aisle - pronto. "It's love fellas," Case tells friends Nick and Susan Porter (Edward Everett Horton, Jean Dixon). "I met the girl."

Case is a little surprised when he visits his future better half's home for the first time. The address she told him to attend is a huge home. Case figures Julia is employed at the property. Nope. It's her family's home. They're rich. Very, very rich. Father Edward Seton (Henry Kolker) is quite serious about the business of making money. Nothing else seems to matter much.

Case has his share of business savvy too, but he also wants to step away from the rat race, at least for a short while, and just enjoy life. Such a carefree approach to the bottom-line doesn't impress Seton and Julia appears to have her concerns too. She's confident Johnny has the talent to earn millions of his own. Her siblings aren't quite in love with the almighty dollar.

Brother Ned (Lew Ayres) has the talent to be a professional musician, but a career in the arts is something Edward doesn't want for his son, So, Ned drinks. A lot. "It's my protection against your tiresome friends," he suggests of alcohol's allure.

Sister Linda Seaton (Katharine Hepburn) is a free spirit just like Hepburn. She's happy her sibling has found love, but can't deny there's something about Johnny that she finds attractive too. "You haven't been bitten by the reverence for riches," Linda tells Johnny in one of the best lines from director George Cukor's 1938 romance. "Money is our god here."

Pops and Julia put the screws to Johnny - work for the family firm for a while before taking his much hoped for break. Linda urges him to stand firm to his dream. Johnny, distressed by how cash is putting a strain on his romance with Julia, finds himself drawn to Linda.

Here's a love story with some real chemistry between the leads. Love sure looks better than money here, which may have thrown audiences as the Great Depression was ending. The Seatons have the cash. Johnny has the life. Holiday is a fine film.


RATING: 9/10

FUN FACTS: Holiday is a rare chance to see Doris Nolan and Jean Dixon. Their film and television credits are limited - 25 and 16 respectively. Holiday is Dixon's last big screen appearance before some roles on television.

Hurray for Binne Barnes and her wonderful snooty work as the Seaton cousin Laura.

His Girl Friday (1940)

Hold on, folks.

His Girl Friday is a frantic, funny film from Hollywood's Golden Age.

This 1940 release from director Howard Hawks (bringing up baby ) is the second screen version of The Front Page. It's quite the ride for the 92-minute running time. Two, or three, multiple conversations are the norm here. The timing between actors is spot on. Watch for some great scene compositions from Hawks. His actors are placed perfectly in the foreground and background. What a fantastic film to look at - and watch. No wonder it was added to the National Film Registry in 1993.

BYE-BYE JOURNALISM

Reporter Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell) returns to Chicago's Morning Post newspaper to bid farewell to editor, and her ex-husband, Walter Burns (Cary Grant). She's met a new better half, Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy), who can offer her the good income, and consideration, Burns was too busy to direct her way during their marriage. Talk about a rewrite. Bruce sells insurance. The happy couple plan to marry the next day in Albany, N.Y. They'll spend the first year living with his mother (Alma Kruger). Johnson vows to dedicate the rest of her days to bringing up her children and distance herself from life as a reporter. "I'm through," she vows. "I'm going to live like a human being."

Burns refuses to be scooped in his personal life. He wants his wife back. But he doesn't have much time. Johnson and Baldwin plan to leave town in two hours to head to Albany. Burns has just the hook. A meek bookkeper, Earl Williams (John Qualen), is to be executed the next day for shooting a police officer. Killing him, rather than finding him mentally insane, will get votes for the mayor (Clarence Kolb) and Sheriff Hartwell (Gene Lockhart).

SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO?

Johnson is suspicious of Burns' supposed interest in Baldwin. But she also knows what a good story the Williams' case is. Johnson agrees to interview the accused killer while Burns keeps trying to muck up her planned marriage with Baldwin. When Williams escapes from jail, the action kicks up a notch as The Morning Post strives to get the exclusive story what happened to the accused killer after his jailbreak.

His Girl Friday is filled with solid laughs, plus occasional realistic glimpses of a reporter's life. A good reporter always wants to get the story first. Some people interviewed by reporters will be upset about how they are portrayed when the newspaper hits the streets. Drastic actions could result.

This is a great film. Watch it.

RATING: 10/10

FUN FACTS: Rosalind Russell was nominated for four Oscars between 1942 and 1958.

Ralph Bellamy's last credit was Pretty Woman in 1990. He died the next year at age 87.

John Qualaen, a native of British Columbia, Canada, also appeared in Casablanca and The Grapes of Wrath. Wow.

Charade (1963)

With Charade's 50th anniversary coming up, I'm tempted to think of 50 reasons why this comedic thriller is worth watching.

Alas, that could make for a rather long review.

How about five?

1. Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. Here's a chance to see two screen legends together. Audrey is divine in her long line of Givenchy fashions. Cary, at 59, is still an incredibly handsome man. Wow. Remember folks, Grant only made two more films after this with Father Goose and, finally, Walk Don't Run in 1966. Both are a delight here.

2. There's plenty of great supporting talent in this 1963 feature from director Stanley Donen (Singin' in the Rain) including James Coburn, Walter Matthau and George Kennedy. The Internet Movie Database website lists three of Kennedy's four most well-known roles as Leslie Nielsen's sidekick in The Naked Gun trilogy. Yikes. Kennedy deserves more attention for his fine work here. He's a great villain, complete with mechanical arm. George, you're a great bad guy.

3. Lend an ear to Henry Mancini's score. Great stuff. Hear Donen explain in the film's commentary why he decided to recruit the American composer for this project. It's hard to believe Mancini died almost 20 years ago in 1994.

4. A great script from Peter Stone (The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, Father Goose). I can't remember the last time I saw so many great character names, Hamilton Bartholemew, Tex Panthollow, Herman Scobie. Stone cooks up plenty of smart dialogue too.

"I don't bite unless it's called for." Hepburn

"That's OK. It's a drip dry." Grant to Hepburn when she cries on the shoulder of his suit.

Stone keeps viewers guessing through the film. Hepburn's husband is murdered for his part in stealing $250,000 during the Second World War. His old army buddies including Coburn and Kennedy, want it back. Hepburn has no idea where said cash can be found. Grant appears to be the only person who can help Hepburn. But can he be trusted? He changes his identity almost as often as Hepburn sports new designer fashions.

5. A great ending. All the world's a stage, eh? For a movie where numerous characters aren't who they seem, what better place to end this film than on the stage of an empty theatre.

RATING: 8/10

FUN FACTS: This is the only film appearance for Thomas Chelimsky. IMDB site reports he is a neurologist and professor in Ohio.

Donen directed a musical number for one episode of television's Moonlighting, Big Man on Mulberry Street.

The Philadelphia Story (1940)

I love this movie.

The Philadelphia Story. is a wonderful gem: an extremely funny and smart effort from director George Cukor (Dinner at Eight, Adam's Rib) and a jaw-dropping cast of stars with Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and Jimmy Stewart.

FROM STAGE TO SCREEN

Hepburn reprises her role of Tracy Lord from Philip Barry's smash Broadway play.

The beautiful daughter of a very rich society family, Lord's marriage to sailboat tycoon, C.K.Dexter Haven (Grant) went south, badly, two years earlier. Now, she's preparing to tie the knot with self-made man George Kittredge (John Howard). He's trying, sometimes badly, to fit into high society. Trying to ride a horse is, uh, difficult.

WE LOVE CELEBRITIES, NOW AND THEN

Celebrities and the rich were big news 71 years ago and even more so in today's status-loving North American society. That's why it's neat to see Stewart as Macaulay Connor, a magazine reporter who's reluctant to worm his way into the upcoming nuptials with photographer Elizabeth Imbrie (Ruth Hussey). The couple firmly closed the door to any media coverage of their wedding ceremony. Haven, even though he slugged a photographer when he was on vacation with Lord during their marriage, is more than happy to help the reporting duo slip into her moneyed world.

Connor initially clashes with Lord over their differences in status. He's a little sensitive on the money issue because his collection of short stories isn't flying off the shelves. He falls spellbound for her gorgeous looks, something other men have done with less-than-stellar results. "You're lit from within," Connor tells her after a generous helping of vino. "You're the golden girl." Kittridge also vows to worship Lord. She just wants to be loved.

So, Lord is about to marry one man while her first husband pines for a reunion and a new suitor is smitten with her goddess-like ways. Her younger sister, Dinah (Virginia Weidler) still has a soft spot for Haven. Kittridge? Not so much. She's wondering how she can delay the wedding.

ROLANDE YOUNG IS A DELIGHT

Hilarious zingers are shared generously among the cast. There are plenty of laugh-out loud moments. Rolande Young, as Lord's Uncle Willie, is especially sharp with his tongue and his lecherous pursuit of Imbrie.

Infatuation versus true love. The privileged rich and the struggling worker. A second chance at love. A first real encounter with romance. Lots of comedy.

Consider this your invitation to watch The Philadelphia Story.

RATING: 10/10

FUN FACTS: The Philadelphia Story earned six Oscar nominations, including best picture, director and lead actress. The film won two Academy Awards for best actor (Stewart) and screenplay. Rolande Young's first film role was as Dr. Watson in Sherlock Holmes (1922). Virginia Weidler was just 41 when she died of a heart condition in 1968.