Tuesday, August 21, 2012

The Skuriels Countdown: #11 (tie)

Howard Hawks, 1941
[11 votes]

“It would be easy to think of more innovative and daring cinematic achievements, but it might not be so easy to think of another movie so richly entertaining, and that holds up so well after so many repeat viewings, every single one of which was a good idea, no matter what was brand new that week. Howard Hawks’ direction both celebrates and embodies the sheer fun of total competence, which is what both the characters on screen and the actors playing them represent. That’s as true of the big movie star, Cary Grant, as it is of the army of character actors racing around him, whose faces may no longer immediately summon up their names but who, thanks to whatever divine wisdom got them these jobs, now will never be forgotten.

“Movies had been talking for more than a decade when this movie was made, but it still captures the thrill of being able to being able to be this funny just by talking, preferably by talking this fast. To watch this movie now is to know that the thrill need never vanish from the earth.” ~ Phil Dyess-Nugent

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