From Jeffrey Rush to Cary Grant in 4 Degrees

I like sharing movies I've enjoyed over the years and hope these 2 recommendations will please. 

The first video, "Harvey Krumpet," is a 22 minute short film done in claymation and narrated by Jeffrey Rush.  It tells the life story of a seemingly luckless man with Tourettes's Syndrome who emigrates to Australia at the beginning of World War II.  Hilariously clever and original, it is also touching and philosophical, even when Harvey decides to become a nudist late in life.  For someone who is not usually drawn to animated film,  I've found myself watching this movie several times over the past few years and can't seem to get enough of it.  The film was nominated for over 2o awards when it came out and one of its wins was an Oscar in 2003 for Best Animated Short Film.


Jeffrey Rush's 1st connection to Cary Grant is through Judy Davis, a fellow Australian who was in Rush's 1996 Film "Shine" and also in the 2003 released movie "Swimming Upstream." Judy Davis was in "A Woman Called Golda," a 1982 T.V. movie with Ingrid Bergman, who starred with Grant in the 1958 movie "Indiscreet."  Ta-da!
   
The second video is a movie clip from 1951's "People Will Talk," one of Cary Grant's more obscure movies, it has gained somewhat of a cult following.  The dialogue and subject matter are much more sophisticated than the norm for Hollywood movies during that period and it has been suggested that writer/director Joseph Mankiewicz was making a social commentary on the communist "witch hunt" going on in Hollywood at the time.

Grant stars as the unorthodox Dr. Praetorius, (FYI, he's a gynecologist) who's facing charges for misconduct at the University where he teaches.  It doesn't help matters that he keeps a large, mysterious fellow about him constantly named Shunderson and won't tolerate any questions about him when asked.  This film is oddball and different from anything out there from Cary Grant or Hollywood and it's a lot of fun to watch. Co-starring Jeanne Crain and Hume Cronyn, you'll also see, in a small role at the beginning of the film, Margaret Hamilton, who played the wicked witch in the "Wizard of Oz." This film has great dialogue and great acting.