On This Day...New York, New York! (1920)

On this day, 28th July 1920, Archie Leach first glimpsed the New York skyline. Landing at Pier 59.

Pier 59.

R.M.S Olympic at Pier 59 in the 1920's.

After staying behind in New York, Archie was to spend the best part of a decade, in New York, appearing in numerous shows.

Introducing ...Archie Leach.

Better Times: 

Hippodrome Theatre,

Sixth Ave. bet W.42nd and W.44th, New York.

Exterior of the Hippodrome.

Interior of the auditorium.

Its revolving stage stretched virtually the entire distance between the numbered thoroughfares.

The ballet corps numbered eighty, the chorus contained one hundred members and required a backstage staff of around eight hundred.

It could also present water ballets.

Cover for the souvenir book for "Better Times"

In "The Land of Mystery" episode, Archie was one of The Joyful Girls.

In the twelfth episode he was one of the Meistersingers.

Opened: 2/9/1922

Closed: 28/4/1923

Total Performances: 405

Music by Raymond Hubbell and Lyrics by R.H. Burnside.

Golden Dawn:

Hammerstein's Theatre.

1697 Broadway at W.53rd Street.

Exterior of Hammerstein's (now the Ed Sullivan).

Interior of the auditorium.

Typical booklet cover.

Archie played Anzac in "Golden Dawn"

Opened: 30/11/1927

Closed: 5/5/1928

Total Performances: 184

Music by Herbert P. Stothart, Emmerick Kalman and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach.

Boom Boom:

Casino Theatre,

1404 Broadway (W.39th)

Exterior of the Casino Theatre.

Interiors of the auditorium.

Booklet cover. Archie played "Reggie Phipps, alongside Jeanette MacDonald.

Cover for the sheet music.

Opened: 28/1/1929

Closed: 30/3/1929

Total Performances: 72

Music by Werner Janssen and Lyrics by Mann Holiner and J. Keirn Brennan.

A Wonderful Night:

Majestic Theatre,

245 W. 44th Street.

Exterior of the Majestic.

Interiors of the auditorium.

Booklet cover.

Archie appeared as "Max Grunewald"

Opened: 31/10/1929

Closed: 15/2/1930

Total Performances: 125

Nikki:

Longacre Theatre,

220 W.48th Street.

Exterior of Longacre Theatre.

Interior of the auditorium.

Archie played "Cary Lockwood", the character from who he took his first name.

The show also starred Fay Wray.

Opened: 29/9/1931

Closed: 31/10/1931

Total Performances: 39

More Stage Appearances:

The Municipal Opera.

At the "Muny" (fifth from the left).

Archie is listed as appearing in:

"Three Little Girls"

"The Street Singer"

"Music In May"

"The Three Musketeers"

"A Wonderful Night" (See above)

"Irene"

and "Rio Rita".

In "The Three Musketeers".

Also appearing in a Pre-Broadway Premiere at the Shubert Playhouse in Wilmington, Delaware.

It was a flop!! Running from 31/10/1928 - 3/11/1928.

An early stage appearance.

On This Day...Suzy (1936)

Suzy was Cary Grant's 23rd full length feature film.

Cary Grant plays Andre Charville, a famous French aviator, who marries a showgirl, Suzy(Jean Harlow). Suzy has fled to France after her Husband, Terry Moore(Franchot Tone) is killed...or was he?

With Jean Harlow as Suzy.

"Performances are excellent...Cary Grant, too, is something more than just a leading man. Since his outstanding performance in Sylvia Scarlett, his talents for varied characterizations have been recognized, and in each new venture he makes good." - Hollywood Spectator

With Jean Harlow and George Davis.

"Direction by George Fitzmaurice is brilliant, and he has had the foresight to insist on new treatment for scenes which, otherwise, would be much like dozens of scenes in dozens of other spy and war films." - Literary Digest

With Franchot Tone and Jean Harlow.

Cast:

Suzy                            Jean Harlow

Terry                           Franchot Tone

Andre                         Cary Grant

Baron                          Lewis Stone

Madame Eyrelle          Benita Hume

Captain Barsanges       Reginald Mason

Maisie                         Inez Courtney

Mrs. Schmidt               Greta Mayer

"Knobby"                     David Clyde

"Pop" Gaspard             Christian Rub

Gaston                        George Spelvin

Landlady                    Una O'Connor

Producer                     Charles Judels

Revue producer           Theodore Von Eltz

Officer                        Stanley Morner

Publicity photograph with Jean Harlow and Franchot Tone.

Lobby Cards:

Directed by George Fitzmaurice.

Distributed and Produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Running time: 95 minutes.

With Jean Harlow.

On This Day...Notorious (1946)

Today, in 1946, Cary Grant's 49th full length feature film was released...Notorious!

In his second of four film collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock, Grant played agent T.R. Devlin.

Ingrid Bergman plays Alicia Huberman, who agrees to infiltrate a German chemical cartel.

She gets close to the organisations head man (Claude Rains); eventually she marries him. 

The problem; she is in love with Devlin.

"With a highly polished script by Ben Hecht, and with Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant to bring glamour and sultry vitality to the leads, Mr. Hitchcock has fashioned a film in the supercharged American idiom of the sort that made Casablanca popular." - Theatre Arts Magazine

There are a few interesting facts about Notorious.

Ian Flemimg, having seen the film was inspired to create his James Bond character, based on Cary Grant.

Years later, Grant would turn down the role as Bond in Dr. No, because he didn't want to sign up for a multi-picture deal.

 

Another point of interest is the nearly three minute kissing scene, shared by Bergman and Grant.

Why interesting? Well the filmmakers were under the Hays Code.

(see previous blog: Cary Grant and the Pre-code Era)

This meant that a kiss could not be open mouthed or last for longer than three seconds.

Hitchcock was able to get around this by having the kiss interrupted, but for only the shortest length of time. It therefore gave the impression of a much longer kiss.

Cast:

Devlin                             Cary Grant

Alicia Huberman             Ingrid Bergman

Alexander Sebastian       Claude Rains

Paul Prescott                  Louis Calhern

Mme. Sebastian              Madame Konstantin

"Dr. Anderson"               Reinhold Schunzel

Walter Beardsley            Moroni Olsen

Eric Mathis                     Ivan Triesault

Joseph                            Alex Minotis

Mr. Hopkins                    Wally Brown

Ernest Weylin                 Gavin Gordon

Commodore                    Sir Charles Mendl

Dr. Barbosa                     Ricardo Costa

Hupka                             Eberhard Krumschmidt

Ethel                               Fay Baker  

With Ingrid Bergman, Madame Konstantin and Claude Rains.

On set with Alfred Hitchcock and Ingrid Bergman.

Lobby Cards:

Media Release:

Directed and Produced by Alfred Hitchcock.

Distributed by RKO Radio.

Running Time: 103 minutes.