Cary Grant makes composure funny by showing how much effort it takes to keep it. We rate him highest when the charm is under pressure, and Hitchcock gives that pressure consequences beyond a bruised sense of dignity.
Fi1m perspective
In North by Northwest (1959), Cary Grant's Roger Thornhill tries to remain composed while a case of mistaken identity puts him in danger. He looks equipped to deal with ordinary trouble, which makes his difficulty with this sort so funny. We were frightened by the drunken drive because Grant's comic helplessness at the wheel makes Thornhill so vulnerable. Hitchcock keeps the threat clear even while Grant makes us laugh.
His early romantic leads gave way to a comedy breakthrough in The Awful Truth (1937), opposite Irene Dunne. His acrobatic background helps explain the physical control; his verbal timing is equally important. Bringing Up Baby (1938), opposite Katharine Hepburn, makes use of both. By His Girl Friday (1940), the verbal sparring with Rosalind Russell is a principal pleasure.
Hitchcock found a harsher use for that polish in Notorious (1946), with Grant as Devlin in an espionage drama. The part matters because it allows a darker, more intense version of the familiar leading man. In North by Northwest, comedy and suspense work together through the chase. Ernest Lehman's screenplay supplies the wit, but Grant makes the jokes sound compatible with being afraid.
Eva Marie Saint's Eve Kendall meets his charm with a poise of her own, so he does not have to supply all the sophistication. Robert Burks's cinematography keeps the chase legible while allowing us to enjoy the American locations. Robert F. Boyle's production design supplies comfortable, polished surroundings that make Thornhill's distress conspicuous. Grant is not required to make every scene work alone, and the film is better for it.
The limitation is the familiarity: we can sometimes recognise the cultivated leading man before we discover the individual character. We do not look to Grant for a wholly new person in every film, but we do expect him to make the familiar manner earn its place. Start with North by Northwest, provided a few unlikely plot turns will not spoil the evening.
Biography
Cary Grant, born Archibald Alec Leach on 18 January 1904 in Horfield, Bristol, England, was a British-American actor. He began his career in British music halls and with an acrobatic troupe before moving to the United States in 1920. He adopted the stage name Cary Grant and made his Hollywood debut in the early 1930s.
Grant appeared in numerous films, including Bringing Up Baby (1938), His Girl Friday (1940), The Philadelphia Story (1940), Notorious (1946), To Catch a Thief (1955) and North by Northwest (1959), in which he played Roger Thornhill. He collaborated with directors including Alfred Hitchcock on four films and Howard Hawks. He received an honorary Academy Award in 1970.
Grant became a naturalised United States citizen in 1942. He died on 29 November 1986 in Davenport, Iowa.
