Public Service Announcement – one of the funniest movies ever made is currently available on BBC iplayer until 24th August.
‘What’s Up, Doc’ starring Barbra Streisand, Ryan O’Neill and, crucially, Madeleine Kahn and Kenneth Mars. As wonderful as Streisand is in this these latter two steal every scene.
A Peter Bogdanovich homage to the Cary Grant comedies of the 40’s set in a beautiful 1974 San Francisco
‘Yes, Eunice’
The scene with the judge (Liam Dunn, who also has a good scene in Blazing Saddles) is worth the price of admission alone. Practically everything he says is funny on the page anyway, but his performance really makes it fly.
I love this exchange:
Judge Maxwell: You see this yellow pill?
Bailiff: Yes sir.
Judge Maxwell: You know what it’s for?
Bailiff: What, Judge?
Judge Maxwell: To remind me to take this BLUE pill!
Bailiff: What’s the blue one for, Judge?
Judge Maxwell: I don’t know. They’re afraid to tell me.
Like many farces, the very last few minutes (after the courthouse scene, which usually reduces me to tears of laughter) are a bit flat after the build-up, but what a build-up.
If Ryan and Babs did nothing else in their lives, they could still say, “I was in What’s Up, Doc? you know. How about that?”
This, pretty much.
The Hotel Manager. 3 minutes of deadpan joy.
Absolutely. For example:
Howard: Good morning.
Mr Kaltenborn: No, I don’t think so. I’m Mr Kaltenborn, the manager of what’s left of the hotel.
…
Mr Kaltenborn: Dr Bannister, I have a message for you from the staff of the hotel.
Howard: What is it?
Mr Kaltenborn: Goodbye.
Howard: That’s the entire message?
Mr Kaltenborn: We would appreciate it if you would check out.
Howard: When?
Mr Kaltenborn: Yesterday.
Peter Bogdanovich had one hell of an interesting life and career.
Amazes there’s not been any kind of decent biography or documentary
about him
You’re not wrong.
Oh excellent, thanks for the tip.
You’re welcome, sir. Report back if you do watch it. I remember I was taken to see it at the cinema when I was about 10. I’ve wanted to marry Judy ever since.
I was recently thinking that Bringing Up Baby was possibly the funniest Hollywood film ever made. This is something of a remake or “homage” as you say. Nothing beats Cary Grant though!
Bringing Up Baby is on iPlayer too.
Cool as mustard wasn’t he? That haircut and the clobber that draped over him in North By Northwest and To Catch A Thief.
And so smooth and handsome that, until I read about it, I never noticed that he only had one front tooth.
There’s quite a good mini series (Cary) about CG with Jason Isaacs giving it the full “Judy! Judy! Judy!”
He was famously a big fan of LSD
But for purely therapeutic reasons, and if I had had his upbringing I would need therapy too. That said, I did need therapy and my family was like the Waltons in comparison to the Leaches.
Desperate childhood in Bristol
I think His Girl Friday might be my favourite film ever. He and Rosalind Russell are just brilliant. But then there’s The Philadelphia Story where he and Katherine Hepburn (and James Stewart) are equally superb….
I see it was written by Buck Henry who co-wrote Get Smart.
Enjoyed it.