I’ve had Cary Grant on my mind since seeing the marvelous mini-series about his life, Archie. I gave it a positive review last month.

Cary Grant was the sort of movie star that no longer exists. His name guaranteed strong box office receipts for every film in which he starred. He retired from the movies because producers insisted on Grant’s continuing to play the romantic lead opposite young starlets.

Women loved Cary Grant because he was beautiful. Men wanted to be him. I dig Cary Grant because of his voice and the many fine films he appeared in.

The real secret of Cary Grant’s success was that he worked with the best writers and directors in the business. It was the advantage of being a freelancer in the studio system era. It gave him the chance to pick and choose his scripts. Grant chose wisely.

This listicle supports my point. There are three movies directed by Howard Hawks, two each by Alfred Hitchcock and George Cukor as well as one each directed by Oscar winners George Stevens and Joseph Mankiewicz, the grand uncle of TCM host Ben. That’s quite a resume.

I started off with twenty contenders but the top eight were decided early on. The list is arranged in order of preference.

Cary Grant is still popular. How do I know that? All the animated GIFs from his movies, that’s how. I’ve posted GIFs from all but one of the Cary Grant Dozen.

Enough with the preliminaries, on with the show, this is it. We begin with the number one film:

Notorious may be the second best Hitchcock movie, but it’s Cary Grant’s finest film. Grant plays a hard-bitten and cynical spy opposite Ingrid Bergman. Grant was Bergman’s handler and put her in Claude Rains’ bed much to his own dismay. That’s all the plot I’m willing to share: a spoiler is a spoiler even if it’s 76 years old. Suffice it to say  that it’s one of the best American movies ever made.

Let’s go to Chicago for the number two film:

Speaking of hard-bitten and cynical characters, Grant excels as devious editor Walter Burns in Howard Hawks’ His Girl Friday. It’s one of the few remakes that’s better than the original; mostly because of the gender swap, Rosalind Russell’s Hildy Johnson was played by Pat O’Brien in The Front Page.

His Girl Friday also contains the ultimate Ralph Bellamy “never gets the girl” role as well as Cary Grant name dropping Archie Leach. It’s quite simply one of the funniest films ever made.

Now that Walter has expounded, let’s check out the number three film:

The Philadelphia Story was edged out for second place because it’s Katharine Hepburn’s comeback vehicle. She played Tracy Lords on Broadway then insisted on casting major stars opposite her in the movie. It worked.

It was the first time Cary Grant was billed above Hepburn. Jimmy Stewart won an Oscar, but Grant’s CK Dexter Haven got the girl. Cary always got the girl.

Holy Happy Ending, Batman. Here’s the number four film:

I recently rewatched George Stevens’ The Talk Of The Town to confirm its greatness. That led to its listing as Cary Grant’s fourth greatest movie as well as his most underrated. It’s a dramedy with Grant giving one of his best performances as a small town rabble rouser falsely accused of arson and murder.

This is one of the few Golden Age films in which either lead actor could have gotten the girl. Stevens tested it both ways and Grant won out over Ronald Colman.

Repeat after me: Cary always got the girl.

This movie features three of the best voices in cinematic history as well one of the quirkiest catch phrases: Borscht with an egg in it. That’s how Grant’s character likes his borscht. It’s actually a key component of the plot. I am not making this up; with an egg in it.

It’s a pity that’s not borscht with an egg in it. Let’s beet it to the number five film:

North By Northwest is a wild Hitchcock thrill ride that is more enjoyable with each viewing. It even inspired a 2020 political post by little old me.

Run, Cary, run. Let’s fly to South America for the number six film:

Only Angels Have Wings is the ultimate Howard Hawks drama. It’s set at an airport in South America. Grant is the boss of a group of hard-bitten pilots who ooze both cool and stoicism. Jean Arthur’s arrival almost upset the stoical apple cart but eventually she gets it. The movie also has Rita Hayworth’s breakout performance as Grant’s ex.

Party on, Jean and Cary. She was NOT playing the theme song of the number seven film:

We have our second consecutive Howard Hawks film, this time the screwiest screwball comedy of all, Bringing Up Baby. It defies critical analysis because it’s so silly.

Bringing Up Baby co-stars one of the biggest canine stars this side of Lassie: Skippy who played George in the movie and Asta in the Thin Man movies.

Thanks, Mr. Bone. Let’s move on to the number eight film:

Cary Grant shows up in George Cukor’s Holiday as Doris Nolan’s fiancée. They’re a mismatch but he’s a good match for Nolan’s quirky sister played by Katharine Hepburn. I don’t have to tell you who got the boy…

It’s time for the number nine, number nine, number nine film:

Joseph Mankiewicz’s  People Will Talk is another underrated film in the Cary Grant canon. Like The Talk Of The Town, it’s a dramedy; this time starring our hero as an unconventional doctor, Noah Pretorious.

The film is stolen by Hume Cronyn and Walter Slezak in supporting roles. That’s not unusual: they stole every film they were in.

I couldn’t find a good animated GIF, so here’s a still of Cary with a skeleton and Finlay Currie:

Nice bones, Doc. Let’s go to Paris for our number ten film:

Charade is a stylish thriller in which Cary Grant plays opposite The Other Hepburn, Audrey. It was a commercial and artistic success that furthered the careers of future stars Walter Matthau and James Coburn.

You say dimple, I say cleft. Let’s call the whole thing off and check out the number eleven film:

My Favorite Wife poses this question: What would you do if your wife went missing, was declared legally dead, and showed up alive when you’re about to remarry? That was Cary Grant’s dilemma in the movie, which is one of the last in which he was NOT top billed.

Future Hollywood mogul Gail Patrick played Grant’s second favorite wife. As Gail Patrick Jackson she produced Perry Mason. Rumor has it that I’ve named three cats after the characters.

My Favorite Wife was remade in 1963 as Move Over Darling with Doris Day and James Garner. It’s just as good as the original, which is something I rarely say.

Now that we’ve seen Cary do a double take, let’s finish up with the number twelve film:

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House just finished ahead of Hitchcock’s Suspicion. Why? It’s one of my comfort movies, nothing lifts my spirits as much as seeing Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, and Melvyn Douglas do the voodoo that they did so well.

Melvyn Douglas is another favorite of mine. What’s not to love about a liberal Democrat who was married to Helen Gahagan Douglas and cuckolded by Lyndon Johnson? I doubt that Melvyn liked that last bit.

That concludes The Cary Grant Dozen.

Here’s a quick and dirty list of the movies:

1.  Notorious
2.  His Girl Friday
3.  The Philadelphia Story
4.  The Talk Of The Town
5.  North By Northwest
6.  Only Angels Have Wings
7.  Bringing Up Baby
8.  Holiday
9.  People Will Talk
10.  Charade
11.  My Favorite Wife
12.  Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House

That’s it for this week. The last word goes to Cary Grant in a film that just missed the list, Suspicion.