Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Once Upon a Honeymoon

Paronitar painuu maan alle / Baronessen går under jorden / Lua sem mel. US 1942 © RKO Radio Pictures. P+D: Leo McCarey. SC: Sheridan Gibney – based on a story by Sheridan Gibney and Leo McCarey. DP: George Barnes. AD: Albert S. D'Agostino, Al Herman. Set dec: Darrell Silvera, Claude E. Carpenter. COST: Miss Leslie. M: Robert Emmett Dolan. S: James G. Stewart, Richard Van Heussen. Montage: Douglas Travers. ED: Theron Warth. CAST: Cary Grant (Pat O'Toole), Ginger Rogers (Katie O'Hara von Luber or Katherine Butt-Smith), Walter Slezak (Baron von Luber), Albert Dekker (Le Blanc), Albert Bassermann (General Borelski). 116 min. A Cinemateca Portuguesa print. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 7 April 2009. - A print from less than perfect start material. - A wonderful film that faces the fatal world historical situation in the Hollywood way, a remarkable film that can be juxtaposed with Chaplin's The Great Dictator and Lubitsch's To Be Or Not To Be. The three greatest comedy directors active in Hollywood each handled Nazi invasion, persecution of the Jews and concentration camps in a topical comedy. - This film is rich with surprises, and Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers handle their difficult roles very well.

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