MR LUCKY is an uneasy mix of comedy and drama. I hadn’t seen it for a long time and it didn’t hold up as well as I remember it. Of course it is worth seeing if you are a CARY GRANT fan.
Highlights include :
Cary is cast as Joe ‘The Greek’ Adams who owns a gambling ship and wears flashy ties. So flashy that Dorothy (played by LARAINE DAY )can’t bear them any more and buys him a conservative tie which he reluctantly wears.
There’s a nice moment in the film when Joe teaches Dorothy some rhyming slang – which he says he picked up in Australia. eg.
Ones and twos – shoes
You’re a girl – twist and twirl
Where’s my tit for tat – hat
Joe carries a lady from Bristol – a pistol
Briny Marlin – my darlin’ . ( Joe ends up changing the name of his boat to the Briny. Marlin.)
Laraine Day, Cary Grant
Note the conservative tie.
Another light note in the film is when Joe joins the war relief organisation Dorothy is involved in. (He persuades her to let him run a gambling concession at a society Ball Dorothy is organising – he also intends to steal all the money they raise.
At the charity’s ‘s offices, Dorothy asks him if he knows how to knit. Joe says,
“Knit? Knit?I don’t knit.”
But with the help of FLORENCE BATES, he soon becomes adept!
The handsome devil! (I prefer this tie!)
Charles Bickford has a too-small role as Joe’s friend and captain of the ship.
Charles ( as Swede) introduces the long flashback which is the main part of the film.
Gladys Cooper also has a small part as head of the relief organisation.
And Henry Stephenson plays Dorothy’s rich grandfather.
Do visit the Cary Grant Blogathon at http://www.phyllislovesclassicmovies.blogspot.co.uk
My overwhelming memory of seeing this film is of Cary Grant learning to knit! I don’t remember the drama as well, perhaps, as you say, because it was an uneasy blend. It felt like the comedy stood out most. You do tempt me to go back and enjoy all the highlights again, though. 🙂
Love the snazzy tie at the end!
Yes, that scene is so funny – Cary’s intense concentration and his delight when he gets it right!
The drama was so dramatic and the comedy was so winning that we end up feeling both overwhelmed and let down by Mr. Lucky. I think what we all take away is the knitting scene. However, I believe Cary really showed us his heart in the church scene.
I wish the whole film had stayed in the lighter vein.
I have never seen this film, but as a Cary Grant fan, I’m willing to do so. And, thanks to your review, I now know where the GIF of Grant knitting I saw once comes from!
Cheers!
Le
I’m sure you will enjoy it.
I love this film. I’m glad that somebody chose this for the blogathon, as I consider it be very underrated. Thanks for your post.
I also invite you to read my contribution to the blogathon
https://crystalkalyana.wordpress.com/2016/12/01/the-magic-of-kate-and-cary/
Thanks for the link to your post.
I watched this for the first time recently and loved the knitting scene!!! It is a strange kind of movie but overall I enjoyed it. I agree if it would have been in a lighter vein (also would have preferred someone else in Day’s role) it would have been better. It was a little too propagandist.
Thanks for participating with this film!!
The knitting scene is so funny!