Tag Archives: 1950’s

#20- High Society

Quick Recap: Tracy Samantha Lord, who is in HIGH SOCIETY, is set to marry the very boring George. The only problem is that her ex-husband, Dexter, is still in love with her, as well as a reporter from SPY Magazine. Tracy must choose between these three men. Oh, the problems of being in HIGH SOCIETY. Also, Louis Armstrong starts the movie by basically singing the plot just to make sure everyone is on the same page.

apparently it's a ton of fun to sing about petty,rich, white people

apparently it’s a ton of fun to sing about petty,rich, white people

Fun (?) Fact: At the time of filming, Grace Kelly was only 26, while her love interests were 40 and 53.

I'm going to go ahead and choose Sinatra as the better looking of the two

I’m going to go ahead and choose Sinatra as the better looking of the two

 My Thoughts: I always knew that this ‘musical comedy’ genre of movies existed, but I think this is the first one I actually sat through. As with everything, I do my best to keep an open mind but when the first scene of the movie is a guy singing the plot of the movie,  I know I’m doomed. That’s not to say I don’t like musicals; I just don’t think musical comedies are a thing I am going to readily enjoy. The banter between Sinatra and Bing Crosby was fun enough, and oh my god was Grace Kelly gorgeous. Those parts kept me going throughout the NINE musical numbers. All of the musical scenes involve characters sing-talking to each other, which, in my opinion , is the very lowest form of musical selections. On a personal level, there was the novelty of actually seeing Crosby and Sinatra singing for the first time because I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that before. They are extremely talented and it’s no wonder they were so popular.  In fact, watching them sing inspired me to broaden my vinyl search the next time I shop at a record store. I dug the crooning style, even if I wasn’t a fan of the actual numbers. And Louis Armstrong was quite a character. I’m not really sure what his point was in the film, except for the trailers to say, ‘Hey! Look! We have Louis Armstrong!’.

The plot of the film was also an issue for me. Here’s Tracy (played by Grace Kelly), who is set to marry a handsome man in good standing, albeit a bit boring. And that’s not good enough for her because her ex-husband (Crosby) is still in love with her. That’s enough of a situation to carry the movie but NO Sinatra has to show up (Mike in the movie) and throw his hat in the ring. At some point, Tracy believes she has slept with Mike, and hilarity ensues when everyone casually tries to figure out the truth. The movie ends with Tracy breaking off her engagement to George right before she is set to marry him and then at the last second, with NO talk beforehand, deciding to remarry her ex. It wasn’t a surprise by any stretch of the imagination but still incredibly silly.

Final review: 2/5. I’m tempted to give it a one but I do have to appreciate the musical talent. Also, watching this movie made me appreciate Seth Macfarlane even more.

the musical numbers are really spot on

the musical numbers are really spot on

Where/ how I watched it: Netflix DVD

Up Next: Psycho or Cabaret, depending on which DVD Netflix sends me first

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#12-North by Northwest

Quick Recap: This may be my shortest recap yet! Roger Thornhill, an ad exec, is mistaken as a spy and must go on the run to save himself as well as a girl he falls in love with.

Fun (?) Fact: GQ Magazine named the suit Cary Grant wears throughout the movie as ‘the best suit in history’. They state it has had the biggest effect on men’s fashion than any other suit ever has.

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I find myself wanting a good suit….

My Thoughts: So, first of all, a confession- this is my first ever Hitchcock film. I KNOW. I always meant to watch Psycho, but it is one of those movies that has been referenced so many times that I feel like I have already watched it. I KNOW. Thus the reason I’m doing this project in the first place. Anyway. Back to the movie at hand.

I was immediately caught up in the film from the beginning. And from the beginning, I mean the credits, because look:

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Sexy.

If I’m going to watch a movie from 1959, it needs to scream 1959! And boy, did it ever. I also loved how quickly the action began. The film was fast paced and I loved all the twists and turns as Thornhill tried to figure out what the hell was going on. One of the most enjoyable parts of the movie was watching the transformation of Thornhill. He starts out so completely anti-spy and then as more events unfold,  he begins to fit into the role perfectly. By the last scene at Mount Rushmore, he has become George Kaplan. I don’t know much about Cary Grant’s work because, as you can see above, I haven’t even watched Psycho so why would I know about other classic films? I doubted Grant’s casting at the beginning because he seemed so much older than what I was expecting from a spy. However, he sold me rather quickly. One of the reasons I enjoy movies like this is because it helps me expand my pop culture knowledge. I can now say I have seen the crop dusting scene and I also know what a MacGuffin is.

Final review: 5/5. It’s an iconic film and still holds up as an excellent thriller. Plus, it doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Where I watched it: Netflix DVD

Next Up: Moulin Rouge. I KNOW.

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