Cary Grant: Screen Legend Collection (Big Brown Eyes / Kiss and Make Up / Thirty Day Princess / Wedding Present / Wings in the Dark)No Description Available. 1935′s Wings in the Dark will interest film historians because it was cowritten by pioneering female writer-director Nell Shipman, whose Howard Hawks-ian sense of adventure is on full display in an otherwise creaky melodrama in which inventor and aviator Grant is blinded by a gas explosion, and emerges from self-pity to stage a daring air rescue of his aviatrix wife (Myrna Loy). After being loaned out to RKO for his breakthrough role in 1935′s Sylvia Scarlett opposite Katharine Hepburn, Grant returned to Paramount for Big Brown Eyes (released in April 1936), playing a crime-beat reporter paired with Joan Bennett in a lightweight mystery that benefits greatly from director Raoul Walsh’s facility with streetwise plots and gritty handling of a baby-killer subplot involving jewel thieves Walter Pigeon and Lloyd Nolan. Wedding Present followed six months later (October ’36), reuniting Grant and Bennett as competitive reporters whose relationship is strained when Grant is promoted to editor. Like all five films in this Screen Legend Collection, it’s a light and thoroughly enjoyable vehicle for Paramount players including William Demarest, who went on to character-role stardom in the comedies of Preston Sturges. Cary Grant is in fine form here, and his music-hall experience is put to good use in several lightweight musical numbers. All in all, you can’t go wrong with a five-film set for this price, especially since Grant was already showing a canny awareness of his own soon-to-be-iconic image. –Jeff Shannon
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(out of 19 reviews)
Review by jak for Cary Grant: Screen Legend Collection (Big Brown Eyes / Kiss and Make Up / Thirty Day Princess / Wedding Present / Wings in the Dark)
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Cary Grant stars in these early films made before he becomes famous. Big Brown Eyes / Kiss and Make Up / Thirty Day Princess / Wedding Present / Wings in the Dark
Thirty Day Princess (1934) stars Grant as a newspaperman and Sylvia Sidney as the princess and the girl who impersonates her in this comedy.
Kiss and Make Up (1934) has Grant in an unusual role for him, as a egotistical plastic surgeon who falls for his patient (Genevieve Tobin). Co-stars Edward Everett Horton.
Wings in the Dark (1935) pairs Grant with Myrna Loy as two troubled lovers.
Big Brown Eyes (1936) features Cary Grant and Joan Bennett. Grant is on the trail of jewel thieves with the help of Bennett. Walter Pidgeon also co- stars.
Last, but not least, Wedding Present (1936) stars Cary Grant and Joan Bennett again as reporters in this screwball comedy.
All in all, great to have these lesser known films on video. There is also a Rock Hudson Screen Legend Collection, Bing Crosby Screen Legend Collection and of course the Glamour collections of Carole Lombard, Mae West and Marlene Dietrich are already out. Thanks Universal! Now how about some more Deanna Durbin?
Review by PGBrown for Cary Grant: Screen Legend Collection (Big Brown Eyes / Kiss and Make Up / Thirty Day Princess / Wedding Present / Wings in the Dark)
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In answer to Cesare Petrillo’s comments when he says shame on universal for releasing these films, I look at it this way, I bless Universal for releasing any of the old movies on DVD, they may not always be great films, but these are personel to each person who watches them as we all have differant tates, many times have I loved a film that many so called critics hate. but I know one thing, I am glad to have the oportunity to at least see these films in good quality at a resonable price, instead of the alternative which is for these films to gather dust in vast vaults never to see the light of day, so please be kinder to Universal as I think they do a good job. and we all know have the chance to see if we like them or not, remember also, good or bad, these films are all part of our film history and give us the opportunity to see a great star like Cary Grant develope his screen pasona.
Review by Manuela Gobbo for Cary Grant: Screen Legend Collection (Big Brown Eyes / Kiss and Make Up / Thirty Day Princess / Wedding Present / Wings in the Dark)
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As a huge Cary Grant fan I bought this collection as soon as it came out and I am very happy about it. The 5 movies are not the best films Grant ever made but the dvd quality is very surprising. The movies are in great condition and you could never tell that you’re watching films from the early 30′s!
There is a very good one in the collection though: Wedding Present is a funny and clever comedy, which reminds me of the great masterpieces of the period. If you are a Cary Grant fan or if you love the period my advice is to buy this dvd collection, considering also the low price and the great quality of the dvd transfer.
Review by Samantha Kelley for Cary Grant: Screen Legend Collection (Big Brown Eyes / Kiss and Make Up / Thirty Day Princess / Wedding Present / Wings in the Dark)
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Cary Grant’s filmography features all sorts of goodies ranging from his start as a romantic lead, his transition to comedies, and later with Hitchcock. The films in this set fall during his stint as a romantic leading man, but his flair for comedy shines through.
Thirty Day Princess is an excellent little movie about a foreign princess who comes to America to advertise her poor country and winds up with the measles. Her backer decides to find a look-alike to stand in for the princess while she recooperates. A struggling actress (Sylvia Sydney) is chosen. Part of her duties is to embarass a well-known newspaper man (Grant), but she finds herself falling in love with him instead. The swift pace and glamour of the film makes it great fun to watch.
Kiss and Make Up is the weakest of the five films. It features some definitely pre-code elements like a woman stripping down to her underwear early in the film. Once a scientist, Dr. Lamar (Grant) decides to change course and enter the beauty field. He works to make women beautiful and in the process falls in love. The plot drifts around, but it is fun to see Grant so young and fresh, and to hear him sing, even if his voice isn’t perfect.
Wings in the Dark is a great melodrama about a pilot and inventor (Grant) who goes blind in an accident. His wife (Myrna Loy) is also a pilot who decides to risk herself in order to protect her husband’s work. There are many twists and turns to keep the audience at the edge of their seat throughout the film, and it works. It is hard not to get into this one despite some of it being a bit predictable. Grant is wonderful as a blind man and Loy is great too.
Big Brown Eyes is an exciting detective movie about a gumshoe (Grant) who enlists the help of his manicurist girlfriend (Joan Bennett) to solve a murder. There is evidence everywhere, but no one can seem to solve the case. Just another run of the mill murder mystery, this movie won’t stick out in your mind, but you’ll have loads of fun watching and re-watching it.
Wedding Present also stars Bennett as Grant’s fiancee. The two newspaper reporters bicker constantly and find themselves separated from each other for various reasons, but it is obvious that they’re meant for each other the whole time. Another fun film.
These are my kind of movies. They aren’t important historically and most people don’t know of their existence. But they’re good. They’re fun to watch and feature great casts. Besides that, the price is right. How could you refuse?
Review by William L. Newman for Cary Grant: Screen Legend Collection (Big Brown Eyes / Kiss and Make Up / Thirty Day Princess / Wedding Present / Wings in the Dark)
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I was more than happy with all of these movies. They are all in very great shape for the age (All were made in the 1930′s). I would have liked having them on separate disks. (Only Wedding Present is, Thirty Day Princess and Kiss and Make Up are on one disk, Wings in the Dark and Big Brown Eyes share the third disk.) All are crowded together in a cardboard tri-fold case. They deserve better packaging and artwork. But don’t let that stop you from buying them. The price is well worth what you get and more.