George CukorBesprekingen

A (Great).

A woman who wants to be famous rents a billboard. Both Judy Holliday and Jack Lemmon do something unexpectedly funny with pretty much every line.

(Apr. 2024)½

A surprisingly enjoyable, well-paced and amusing film with Marilyn Monroe as a showgirl, and Yves Montand as an arrogant billionaire. There's a comedy of errors which we thought very well done.

While there's nothing explicit or any bad language, the theme isn't appropriate to children despite the U rating. But with that proviso, I would recommend this to anyone who likes 1960s films with their slightly over-the-top acting.

Longer review here: https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2024/02/lets-make-love-marilyn-monroe.html

2023 movie #113. 1952. Pat (Hepburn) an up and coming woman athlete is discovered by Mike (Tracy), an unscrupulous sports agent. Hepburn, who really was a good athlete, performed the tennis and golfing shown in the movie.

1827

Zachary Morgan e Mary Marshall si incontrano su un treno e avvertono immediatamente un'attrazione reciproca. Tuttavia, sia Zach che Mary si stanno nascondendo importanti segreti: lui è un veterano di guerra traumatizzato, e lei è una detenuta. (fonte: Imdb)

Snobbish phonetics Professor Henry Higgins agrees to a wager that he can make flower girl Eliza Doolittle presentable in high society.

2022 movie #194. 1944. A man (Boyer), 'gaslights' his wife (Bergman) into believing she's crazy in order to steal her mother's jewels. Oscar winning performance by Bergman. She was amazing to watch. Boyer's actions were very disturbing. Debut of 17-yo Angela Lansbury.

Marise Aubert is in the Paris office of Dr Leclair, discussing her medical condition. The Doctor explains that there is nothing physically wrong with her and that her pain is from her internal struggles.

The movie flashes back to events of the past two weeks. Soldier Jean Renaud arrives suddenly at Aubert's cottage, where he meets Marise. He explains that he was in a Nazi reprisal camp with her husband Paul, who told him everything about her. He tells her that he saw Paul get shot and that he is dead. She tells him to leave but relents as the evening is stormy and allows him to stay.

Marise is shocked to discover that Jean knows practically everything about her. Paul had confided in his friend many times in the camp. Jean has fallen in love with her from these stories, but when he makes romantic advances, Marise orders him to leave but changes her mind because she is so lonely and Jean is from Paul's life. They spend some happy times, fishing, and being together.

A letter from Paul arrives but Jean intercepts it before Marise can see it. Paul is not dead. The letter explains that he is about to be released from a hospital so he can return to her. Jean nearly leaves after he realizes that Paul is alive but stays. Marise agrees to sell Paul's business and leave with Jean, but Paul returns before they leave. Marise learns of Paul's return and rushes home. Jean learns of Paul's return and retrieves an old gun he found in the office of Paul's business and heads to the cottage to confront Paul.

Marise is ecstatic to have him back, but confesses her relationship with Jean. Paul confronts his friend over the betrayal and Jean pulls a gun on him. They struggle, and Jean is killed in a fall from a cliff.

Marise hears the words of the doctor, telling her to return home. Marise leaves the office of the doctor and returns to the cottage where Paul awaits her and they reunite happily. (fonte: wikipedia)

I grew up watching this movie. It was the most magical thing I had ever seen or imagined. I waited for it to air once a year.

Snobbish phonetics Professor Henry Higgins agrees to a wager that he can make flower girl Eliza Doolittle presentable in high society.

Scarlett is a woman who can deal with a nation at war, Atlanta burning, the Union Army carrying off everything from her beloved Tara, the carpetbaggers who arrive after the war. Scarlett is beautiful. She has vitality. But Ashley, the man she has wanted for so long, is going to marry his placid cousin, Melanie. Mammy warns Scarlett to behave herself at the party at Twelve Oaks. There is a new man there that day, the day the Civil War begins. Rhett Butler.
Produced before MP Ratings; Today's rating would likely be Rated PG

Dorothy Gale is swept away from her home in Kansas to the magical Land of Oz in a tornado and embarks on a quest with her new friends to see the Wizard who can help her return home and help her friends as well.
Rated G however young children are often scared by witches and flying monkeys

Cette oeuvre de Cukor est un remake du remarquable film de Wellman, sorti en 1937. Casting de rêve puisqu'on peut difficilement rêver de meilleur duo que celui que forment Judy Garland (dans le rôle d'une star montante) et James Mason, dans le rôle d'un acteur sur le déclin, que l'alcool et les excès en tous genres ont abimé.
C'est grâce à son regard et à son amour à lui qu'elle parviendra au sommet. Quant à elle, elle s'imaginait que son amour sans limites pour son pygmalion le sauverait de ses démons ; elle assistera pourtant, impuissante, à sa déchéance précipitée par la cruauté d'Hollywood.
Cukor s'est largement affranchi de l'histoire de la jeune Esther Blodgett (qui sera d'autorité rebaptisée Vicky Lester pour les besoins du show-business) avant son ascension, pour s'attarder sur le dérouelement de sa carrière de chanteuse de cinéma. Cela donne lieu à de nombreuses scènes chantées dont certaines sont trop longues pour ne pas dire interminables, même si la voix et la pétillance extraordinaires de Judy Garland sont réjouissantes.
Cukor a toutefois choisi par ailleurs de garder quelques scènes et dialogues du film original.
La version de trois heures que j'ai regardée comporte de nombreuses images fixes avec des dialogues ; celles-ci ont été intégrées au film sans que la chronologie initiale souhaitée par le réalisateur ne soit connue. Cela ajoute à la confusion de ce film décousu qui comporte par ailleurs quelques belles scènes étincelantes (ah ! la merveilleuse scène de Judy Garland répétant un soir devant son mari le spectacle auquel elle a travaillé dans la journée).
L'amour que se portent les deux artistes aux antipodes de leur carrière est touchant et même assez bouleversant dans le caractère fatal et tragique qu'il contient.
Un film qui fait hélas fi de cohérence et d'ordre mais qui demeure une oeuvre tout à fait intéressante car portée par un grand metteur en scène et de splendides comédiens.½

Nel 1930 ad Alessandria d'Egitto, gli inglesi stanno per cedere il potere alla maggioranza locale, musulmana. La bella Justine, ebrea, usa generosamente le armi della seduzione per la causa dei suoi correligionari. Da un romanzo di Lawrence Durrell, un melodramma esotico che Cukor riesce a trasformare in un gioco ipnotico e morboso, sfruttando anche i mutati costumi del pubblico. Raffinata direzione d'attori (fonte: retro del dvd)

In British Palestine of 1938, several men vie for the affections of a Coptic banker's wife who's involved with the anti-British underground movement. (fonte: imdb)

Set in Alexandria in 1938, a young British schoolmaster named Darley meets Pursewarden, a British consular officer. Pursewarden introduces him to Justine, the wife of an Egyptian banker. Darley befriends her, and discovers she is involved in a plot against the British, the goal of which is to arm the Jewish underground movement in Palestine. (fonte: Wikipedia)

An engaged man has more in common with his fiancée's sister.

2.5/4 (Okay).

There's too much of Awful People Being Awful to enjoy. Grant has some fun here and there.

Comédie irrésistible sur un coup de foudre qui donnera lieu à une autre histoire d'amour, la différence de caractère entre l'homme insouciant et la femme richissime et ambitieuse prenant nécessairement l'eau.
On prend un réel plaisir à retrouver le formidable duo Cary Grant - Katharine Hepburn qui explose littéralement - la même année, en 1938 ! - dans l'excellent Bringing up baby de Howard Hawks.
S'il n'a pas le génie et la folie incomparable du film de Hawks, Holiday n'en demeure pas moins un délice de légèreté, de malice et de liberté.

New York: un miliardario di origini francesi scopre che un musical off Broadway sta per mettere alla berlina la sua figura di donnaiolo impenitente. Il suo staff di pubbliche relazioni lo consiglia di andare al Greenwich Village per parlare con i responsabili dello spettacolo e convincerli a ritirare la gag. Assistendo alle prove dello spettacolo, Jean-Marc è folgorato dall'apparizione di Amanda, la protagonista, interpretata da Marilyn Monroe che appare, in calzamaglia nera e maglioncino, scivolando giù da un'asta mentre canta con innocente malizia "My Heart Belongs to Daddy". Un colpo di fulmine che lo induce a non rivelarsi e a spacciarsi per il sosia del vero Clément, ottenendo proprio lui la parte del miliardario nel siparietto dello spettacolo. Per far colpo sulla fanciulla, Clément (che si è presentato come Alexander Dumas) le tenta tutte, ma lei si rivela particolarmente refrattaria alla sua corte. Giunge perfino a regalarle un bracciale di brillantoni (verissimi), raccontandole la favola di essere un rappresentante di bigiotteria. Geloso del rapporto che intercorre tra Amanda e Tony Danton, il cantante, un ex alcolizzato messo alla prova dalla produzione, cerca di mettersi in luce come attore: compra con scarso successo delle barzellette, si fa dare lezioni di ballo da Gene Kelly, lezioni di canto da Bing Crosby e lezioni di umorismo da Milton Berle. Alla fine confessa ad Amanda di non chiamarsi per niente Dumas, ma Clément. La ragazza pensa che sia andato fuori di testa e cerca di consolarlo. Per convincerla, deve indurla a presentarsi al palazzo Clément, dove finalmente Amanda resterà di sasso nello scoprire la verità ed accetterà la proposta di matrimonio del miliardario.

Media kit, includes original script, dvd of movie, lobby cards

Poco dopo la seconda guerra mondiale, i flashback raccontano la storia di Marise, suo marito Paul e Jean, che fu imprigionato con Paul in un campo tedesco. Mentre tenta di scappare dal campo, Paul viene colpito, e Jean va a trovare Marise, confermando la notizia che aveva già avuto sulla morte di Paul. Jean si è innamorato di Marise attraverso le storie che Paul gli ha raccontato e vuole stare con lei nella città balneare della Bretagna, dove Paul possedeva una piccola impresa.

Negli anni trenta, ad Alessandria d'Egitto, complotti politici e vicende sentimentali vedono protagonista Justine, una bellissima ebrea sposata a Nessim, un banchiere copto. Oggetto del desiderio dell'inglese Darley - che per lei lascia l'amante Melissa, una giovane prostituta tubercolotica e drogata - Justine tradisce il marito che sembra indifferente alle sue avventure. Si scoprirà che tutto fa capo a un interesse politico dei due, che vogliono intervenire sulla politica medio-orientale per difendere gli interessi della minoranza copta.

Like millions of others, I watched this every year growing up--and it was something I looked forward to for weeks. I've never read the Oz books--my daughter, who devours everything, wasn't impressed by them--but this film can stand alone as a singular magical moment. Actually, many magical moments, all of which are still magical 80 years later.

Katherine Hepburns debutfilm, hvor hun allerede har en dominerende hovedrolle

Classic movie musical fantasy adventure. One of the all-time great movies. Never tire of watching this movie.½