Top Pick, Given an A by Nicole Kent

Father Goose (1964, Family/Romantic Comedy)

Starring: Cary Grant and Leslie Caron. Director: Ralph Nelson.

Archibald Alexander Leach was Cary Grant's real name and Paramount Studio gave him the name of Cary Grant to be associated with their other leading male actor's initials, Gary Cooper. Clark Gable shared the famous initials. Seems like a ridiculous excuse for changing somebody's name, but this is Hollywood and they do ridiculous things quite frequently. Archbold was born in England, and finished school at age 14, when he decided to begin his career in Bob Pender's troupe of knockabout comedians by lying about his age and forging his father's signature. Luckily, this deceitful act, turned out well in the end. Leach was trained in acrobatics, which gave him the experience he needed for his future filming career. Thanks to this job training, he was able to do the majority of his stunts. Later, he was chosen as one of the Pender boys to perform on Broadway in Good Times. And a star was born!

Would you believe it if I told you that Cary Grant was 60 years old, when he played this role. His leading lady, Leslie Caron, was 30! This makes Fred Astaire's performance in Silk Stockings appear normal. Grany was getting tired of playing these romantic roles, and this film practically became his final film.

Never winning a Best Actor Oscar, he was given an honorary Oscar in 1970, during which he specifically commented on the film genre he was most popular for. "Actors today avoid comedy because if you write a comedy that's not a success, the lack of success is immediately apparent ..." Grant/Leach was quite experienced in comedy, and knew that the laughter produced from an audience is directly related to the success of a given film. And Cary Grant's movies sure know how to make me laugh. Just look at the following conversation:

Walter Eckland: [catching a fish barehanded. A fish swims toward them]

Walter Eckland: [In a hushed voice] Hey, here she comes again.

Catherine Freneau: How do you know it's a "she"?

Walter Eckland: Her mouth is open, now be quiet.

Lovely Caron is most impressive as she and the little girls tame this charming, yet ill-tempered sailor. One almost feels sorry for this man who must endure this estrogen on his private Island. Very similar to The African Queen, yet this film is better. Icould understand dialogues. Eckland and Freneau do not have these difficult accents like Humphrey Bogart. I enjoyed reading about Archibald Leach and his English Muffin Lovers Society. Reading more about his personal life made him a more real person. Ian Fleming based the James Bond character after Cary Grant. In fact, Mr. Leach was offered the role in the movies. So many directors wanted Cary Grant in their movies. Different actors tried their best to emulate his suave personality. Even Archibald Leach commented how he wanted to be Cary Grant.

As you can see, I just love Cary Grant's movies! And Father Goose is one of his best! :-)