Finding Peace in Old Hollywood

Bringing Up Baby (1938)

It would be dramatic to say that Cary Grant is saving my sanity during quarantine, but it’s also not too far from the truth. For the past five weeks I have been quarantined in my house with one other family member, laid off from my part-time job and with few prospects for a post-graduate full-time job on the horizon. 

Since we went into lockdown several months ago, I have had many bad days: days where I questioned why this had to happen, why so many people were becoming ill and dying, and why, after six  long and hard years of undergraduate and graduate education, a global pandemic stopped me in my tracks right before my “real life” was supposed to begin.

One night, my grandmother and I watched Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief (1955) on Amazon Prime, mostly because it starred Grace Kelly, a very beautiful woman, and Cary Grant, whose comedy and acting skills I had enjoyed in the movie Charade (1963). Prior to getting sucked into the world of “old” Hollywood this year, the only classic films I had ever seen were the classic Audrey Hepburn films such as Roman Holiday and Sabrina during a short binge a few years ago. I loved To Catch a Thief, which is a fast-paced film about a charismatic burglar in Monte Carlo, and so I decided to watch more Hitchcock films, and more films with Kelly, too. Before I knew it, I had spent the entire month of April and all of May so far watching a different, new-to-me classic film with my grandma every night. 

Over  the past two months, I’ve scoured AFI’s Top 100 movies lists, and I’ve looked into the stories behind the creation of so many of these films. I’ve also researched the often fascinating lives of the actors and actresses who are even more iconic themselves than the roles they’ve played. Doing so has been a respite from the crazy world outside my front door, and a trip back in time to when things seem to have been calmer and more peaceful, but absolutely were not. Watching screwball comedies made during the Great Depression and World War II brings to mind that we are not the first people to have lived through an unprecedented and turbulent time, and also that I am not the first person to have sought an escape from my problems by laughing at Cary Grant falling over chairs. Not to get too analytical over these films, though; I have mostly watched them just for fun and to fill in the gaps in my understanding of film history. Here are a few of my favorites: 

It Happened One Night (1934)

Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert star together in a romantic comedy about the unlikely pairing of reluctant heiress on the run with a newspaper report trying to get the scoop on her reasons for escaping her family. This film may feel like one big cliche, but really, this film is the origin of so many romantic comedy tropes we recognize today, such as the bride running from the altar, enemies becoming lovers, mistaken identities, fake marriage, and enemies having to share a hotel room. If you love romantic comedies, its impact on the genre is reason enough to watch this, and the excellent pairing of Gable and Colbert is an even better reason to stay for the sweet ending.
(See also: The Awful Truth (1937), another ridiculous 1930’s comedy with Cary Grant and Irene Dunn; also starring a very cute Wire Fox Terrier!)

Bringing Up Baby (1938)

One of the original pairings of Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant in a screwball comedy, this film is about a respected archaeologist who gets mixed up with an affluent young woman with a pet leopard on the loose. The film is absurd in the best of ways, and the fast-paced dialogue made me repeatedly laugh out loud. The physical comedy present in this film alone is also enough to make it worthwhile.
(See also: Holiday (1938) for an only slightly less ridiculous screwball with Katharine and Cary.)

The Philadelphia Story (1940)

I’m almost convinced that this is the perfect romantic comedy. Starring the incomparable trio of Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and James Stewart, this movie is about the wackiness that occurs before a woman’s wedding day. The film is tightly-plotted and well-written, with snappy dialogue and a perfect ending. Nobody can beat these excellent actors in such a fun and cute story; it’s since become one of my absolute favorite films!
(See also: High Society (1956) for a musical remake starring Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Bing Crosby; it can’t compete with the original, though!)

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

We all know of the song “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend,” don’t we? The legendary Marilyn Monroe teams up with her friend Jane Russell to scam some men and sing some musical numbers, mostly while on a transatlantic ship bound for Paris. The film has many screamingly funny moments, particularly the scene where Monroe gets stuck in a window on the ship. Generally, the film is quite wholesome, while remaining a complete divergence from contemporary American life. Sometimes something as fluffy and sweet as cotton candy is exactly what you need.
(See also: Some Like It Hot (1959), a magnificent comedy which features Monroe, Jack Lemmon, and Tony Curtis getting into shenanigans in Florida.)

Rear Window (1954)

Back to where my Old Hollywood movie binge began, this film features Grace Kelly’s first appearance in a Hitchcock film. James Stewart also stars in this drama as a housebound photographer who thinks that he sees his neighbor murder his wife, and spies on his neighbors through his apartment window to verify this suspicion. While not a screwball comedy like the rest of the films on this list, Rear Window also isn’t particularly scary. However, the film is suspenseful and mysterious in the most ordinary of ways, then dialed up to extremes in the way that Hitchcock was known for. Come for the mystery, stay for Grace Kelly’s marvelous outfits, designed by legendary costume designer, Edith Head.
(See also: Dial M for Murder (1954) to complete the trifecta of Grace’s films directed by Hitchcock.)

Even when I can’t force myself to get a single thing done during the days I’ve been stuck in my house, it has been encouraging to say that I at least watched another film with some actors I’ve grown to adore and admire: namely, Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Ingrid Bergman, and Jimmy Stewart. And there are so many more movies to watch! If Old Hollywood films have kept me calm during a global pandemic… well, I can think of worse things. 

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Editorial Note: There is an important lack of representation in Old Hollywood films, with very few Black roles and too many stereotypes. If you’re interested in learning more about the segregation at work during the era – which impacted both creation and conservation of Black cinema – we recommend reading about the history of Black Hollywood in Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams: The Story of Black Hollywood by Donald Bogle.

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Kiely Schuck has a master’s degree in Italian Renaissance art. She is a voracious reader, an art museum enthusiast, a former expat, and constantly on the lookout for gluten-free pastries.