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Category Archives: Actors
Archie Leach day: The Awful Truth
Sylvia Scarlett was the first inkling of the success that was to come – but the movie itself was a flop. The Awful Truth was an enormous success and it made Cary Grant a huge star.
Posted in Actors, Movies
Tagged Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Leo McCarey, Sylvia Scarlett, The Awful Truth
Comments Off on Archie Leach day: The Awful Truth
Archie Leach day: “You must be laughed at.”
Cary Grant said:
Archie Leach day: “He suddenly seemed liberated.”
That’s Cary Grant in his breakthrough part – Monkley the Cockney con-artist in George Cukor’s Sylvia Scarlett. Random quotes about this weird little film which was a flop – but which changed Cary Grant’s life:
Archie Leach day: “Bowlegged.”
The Fox talent scout saw Archie Leach’s screen test and was distinctly unimpressed. Wrote on the sheet of paper: “Bowlegged. Neck is too thick.” This is right up there with the notes written on Fred Astaire’s first screen test: “Bald. … Continue reading
Archie Leach day: Playing himself
Here are Cary Grant’s words on “playing himself”. “Playing yourself” truthfully is one of the most difficult things an actor can do. Many of them canNOT do it – and that’s fine, it’s not a skill every actor needs to … Continue reading
Archie Leach day: On Being the Straight Man
Cary Grant met George Burns back in his vaudeville days, when he would go on tour as an acrobat, or with stand-up comedians. He said that one of the greatest influences on him was George Burns. Cary Grant would stand … Continue reading
Archie Leach day: “the fine art of pantomime”
Here is Cary Grant’s description of what he learned touring the English provinces with the tumbling troupe, when he was 13, 14.
Archie Leach day: the Hippodrome
Cary Grant describes being a little kid (named Archie Leach) and having his chemistry teacher (a sort of mentor to him) take him to see the acts at the Bristol Hippodrome. This was a revelation to the young Archie Leach. … Continue reading
Archie Leach day: Grant’s mother
From Evenings with Cary Grant – the story of Grant’s mother, which obviously had an enormous and long-lasting impact on Grant: