Classic Film Stars in the Movies of Today

Musique - Hooray for Hollywood by Doris Day

Remaking classic movies with current actors is nothing new, but what if we could go into the past and pluck out classic film actors to star in some of our favorite current movies?  Here are the stars I'd pick to be in the following movies:

Twilight
Edward Cullen - Rudolph Valentino
The most handsome actor of the 1920s playing the most handsome vampire that ever lived?  It's a natural!  He's oh-so-good at those brooding stares and how can anyone help but fall in love with him?
Bella Swan - Ann Dvorak
Ann has that wide eyed innocence necessary to Bella.  Plus, I can totally picture her mastering Bella's shyness and insecurities, but becoming stronger as the story line progresses.  Maybe you can't see Scarface's sister living in Forks, but I can!


Inglourious Basterds
Lt. Aldo Raine - Clark Gable
I can just see Clark Gable taking the Nazis to task and being adorable at the same time.  I definitely would like to hear him do something like Brad Pitt did with Raine's manner of speaking.
Shosanna - Bette Davis
As soon as I started thinking about who would make a good Shosanna, this picture of Bette Davis popped into my mind.  She could definitely play the cool and calculating, revenge-driven daughter who sacrifices everything to kill the heads of the Nazi government that massacred her family.
Bridget von Hammersmark - Marlene Dietrich
Okay, so this was an obvious one.  Who hasn't drawn comparisons between Bridget and Marlene?  I also toyed with other obvious choices, such as Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman, but I felt that Bridget should be played by a German, like she was by Diane Kruger.  And sometimes, isn't the obvious choice the right choice?
Col. Hans Landa - Conrad Veidt
Another obvious choice, given that Conrad Veidt very frequently played Nazis (most famously in Casablanca).  I figure, why not give him another chance to excel at what he does, and give him some funny parts too.  After all, he said he enjoyed playing Nazis because it showed the world how evil they were (he didn't particularly care for them after he and his Jewish wife had to flee Germany in 1933).


Sex and the City
Carrie Bradshaw - Barbara Stanwyk
I think Barbara Stanwyck is the perfect choice to play someone so secure yet insecure - someone who's strong and witty and professional, yet someone who screws up in love so many, many times and still bounces back.  She's a sassy one, that Miss Stanwyck!
Charlotte York - Debbie Reynolds
Charlotte is definitely the most sugar and spice of the SATC girls, but perhaps you're thinking Debbie Reynolds is a little too sugar and spice for the role.  I think she's an obvious choice for the girly, preppy Charlotte and I also think she'd do admirably at the racier scenes.  Sometimes actresses just have to break out of their molds.
Samantha Jones - Miriam Hopkins
If you've ever seen her seduction of Dr. Jekyll in 1931's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, you might know why I'd pick Miriam Hopkins for Samantha.  Her acting can be a bit over the top sometimes, just like Kim Cattrall plays Samantha, and she's sexy, sly, and sweet at the same time.
Miranda Hobbes - Glenda Farrell
Glenda Farrell is a sarcastic, fast talker in many of her movies, so that's why I think she'd be perfect for Miranda.  Her characters are usually smart, sassy, and have a wicked sense of humor - just like Miranda.  With a red wig, she'd be the ultimate Ms Hobbes.


The Hangover
Phil - Paul Newman
Phil is someone who's hot and he knows it, which is why Paul Newman would be glorious as Phil.  Okay, so maybe I don't picture Paul Newman as being narcissistic, but he is hot and ridiculously so.  I think he could get across Phil's confidence and camaraderie with the other guys in the wolf pack admirably.  Plus, he also has those beautiful blue eyes like Bradley Cooper.
Stu - Jimmy Stewart
Okay, so Jimmy's not nearly as goofy as Ed Helms, but I think he can play a goof pretty well - and a drunk goof at that.  I think he would be hilarious in this role - especially when combined with the other actors I picked.
Alan - Cary Grant
For some reason, when I first started thinking about who would make a good Alan, Cary Grant just popped in my head.  Perhaps it's because I know how funny he can be and because I long to see him in a huge beard, carting around a baby and talking about one man wolf packs.  I think the combination of Alan's lines and wardrobe with Cary's voice and comedic delivery would be hilarious!

The Yellow Rolls-Royce

Musique - Forget Domani by Katyna Ranieri

I watched this gem of a movie last night and loved it!  I sure do loves me some Jeanne Moreau and Shirley MacLaine and I'm getting into Ingrid Bergman some more lately.

The first vignette centers around Lord Charles Frinton (Rex Harrison), who buys the yellow Rolls-Royce, for his wife, Lady Eloise Frinton (Jeanne Moreau), as a belated anniversary gift.  They don't actually say when this story is supposed to take place, but I'd guess from Jeanne Moreau's bob and the general look of the car, sometime in the 1920s or 1930s (the car used in the movie was actually a 1930 Phantom II Sedanca de Ville).  I won't divulge what happens in the Rolls-Royce to make the Frintons sell it, but the selling of the car leads you into the next storyline.

This story is about Mae Jenkins (Shirley MacLaine), a hatcheck girl engaged to gangster Paolo Maltese (George C. Scott), who is showing her around Italy (in the yellow Rolls-Royce, of course).  She is supremely bored, meets handsome photographer/gigolo Stefano (Alain Delon), and complications ensue.  They don't give a date for this vignette either, but given that Mae looks at a poster of Jean Harlow at one point and says that the car is sort of old fashioned at another point and because the next story line takes place in 1941, I'd say mid 1930s.  However, Mae's clothes and hair are super, super 1960s.  Despite the wardrobe and hair issues with this storyline, it is a truly great one and its ending brings you to the final storyline.

As I said before, the final story does have a date - 1941.  Famous American widow socialite, Gerda Millett (Ingrid Bergman) is scheduled to visit Yugoslavia, but is warned not to do so because of the threat of German invasion.  She doesn't believe this and is determined to go anyway.  A man staying at the same hotel, Davich (Omar Sharif) convinces her to take him along (in the yellow Rolls-Royce).  Along the way, you find out that Davich has been banned from Yugoslavia, but wants back in so he can help his people fight the Nazis.  When the invasion actually does take place (much to Gerda's surprise), she lends a helping hand (and the yellow Rolls-Royce).  It's a lovely story and Ingrid Bergman looks absolutely stunning and very youthful, despite being 49.  This was the first color picture I'd ever seen her in (admittedly, I haven't seen many of her movies) and I was blown away by how pretty her eyes were!

A cute little movie with lots of love, betrayal, drama, heartbreak, adventure, and fun.  If you haven't already, I would definitely recommend seeing The Yellow Rolls-Royce!!

"The Philadelphia Story" vs "High Society"

Musique - High Society Calypso by Louis Armstrong

Well, I might be biased, given that Grace Kelly is my favorite actress of all time, but I do believe High Society trumps The Philadelphia Story. I am usually more of a fan of originals than remakes, but in this case, it's definitely the opposite.

Now, of course, I've watched High Society multiple times over the past fifteen to twenty years and I only just watched The Philadelphia Story recently, but still. I just think that even though the scripts are almost identical, the way the actors deliver their lines in High Society is just waaaaay better and funnier. Grace Kelly as drunk Tracy Lord is hysterical.  Katharine Hepburn as drunk Tracy Lord is just meh. I'm not sure if Katharine Hepburn hated this role or if Grace Kelly was just more well suited to it, but I thought Grace nailed it and Katharine was, well, meh. I guess you could say that Katharine Hepburn is more understated and Grace Kelly is more over the top at times, but I think this story line and the character of Tracy Lord calls for more over the topness.

 

I love Cary Grant and I think he is a superb actor, but there were times in this movie where he'd look down, almost shiftily, and it made C.K. Dexter Haven come across as less than confident and secure. It was very un-Cary Grant-like. And, although I enjoy Virginia Weidler (her having been in The Women, one of my favorite movies ever), I felt that Lydia Reed did a better job as the little sister—especially in the scene where she's acting purposefully snobby and showing off for the reporters. There was also something about the pacing of this movie or something I can't quite put my finger on, but High Society seemed to flow so much better and make so much more sense. I could never quite figure out why a drunk Mike Connor would go to C.K. Dexter Haven's house (as in The Philadelphia Story), but it makes total sense how a drunk Mike Connor would bond with Dexter in the library of Uncle Willie's house during the party (as in High Society).

However, I will say that there are things about The Philadelphia Story that I like better than in High Society. James Stewart for one. Now, Frank Sinatra is great, but I personally don't find him very charming. James Stewart is 100% charming. Hence, I found his Mike Connor far superior to Frank Sinatra's. Also, while I am both a Bing Crosby and a Cary Grant fan, I think that in 1956, when High Society came out, Bing was getting kind of up there in years—almost too old to play a romantic lead, in my opinion. And to watch Bing during the Now You Has Jazz number is a little painful—it's like watching your dad try to be cool or something. However, Bing and Grace having once been in love in real life, their chemistry is totally believable. It wasn't until the end of The Philadelphia Story that I started to pick up on any chemistry between Hepburn's Tracy and Grant's Dexter.

All the nitpicking aside, I thought both were wonderful movies and perhaps next time, I should watch The Philadelphia Story at a time when I haven't just watched High Society a day or two before so I won't expect so much out of it and I might like it better.