Garson Kanin Movies
Younger brother of scriptwriter Michael Kanin. Garson Kanin acted in and directed theatrical productions in the 1930s, and in 1938 began directing films. His notable early films include the comedies The Great Man Votes (1938), Bachelor Mother (1939), and Tom, Dick And Harry (1941). During World War II he produced and directed several documentaries for the Office of Emergency Management; he also collaborated on documentaries with Carol Reed (The True Glory [1945]) and Jean Renoir (Salute to France [1945]). After the war he collaborated with his wife Ruth Gordon on a series of memorable screenplays for director George Cukor: A Double Life (1947), Adam's Rib (1950), The Marrying Kind (1952), Pat and Mike (1952) and The Actress. Kanin also helmed two minor comedies in 1969, Where It's At (1969) and Some Kind of a Nut (1969). ~ All Movie Guide
- 1996
Jack Lemmon has mastered both stage and screen in his career with such hits as "The Odd Couple," "The Days of Wine and Roses," "The China Syndrome," "Save the Tiger" (for which he received an Oscar) and "Grumpy Old Men." He and Walter Matthau starred in numerous films together that were nearly always a hit. Lemmon has displayed a wide range of acting talents. He knows just how to make a character appear funny, sympathetic or absolutely driven. His ability to act in both solid dramas and lighthearted comedies has always served him well. Few can watch "The Days of Wine and Roses" without shedding a tear or laughing almost uncontrollably at his performances in both "The Odd Couple" or the original "The Out of Towners." Lemmon himself hosts this biography that includes interviews with many of his costars and colleagues such as playwright Neil Simon. ~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Lemmon, Chris Lemmon, (more)
This 1993 remake of the 1950 film Born Yesterday (based on the 1946 Garson Kanin stage play) was retooled as a star vehicle for then-marrieds Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson. Roughneck self-made millionaire Harry Brock (John Goodman) wants to become a powerful Washington lobbyist. Brock's efforts to hobnob with DC uppercrust are compromised by his brash, embarrassingly vulgar mistress Billie Dawn (Melanie Griffith). He'd like to unload the ex-chorus girl, but he thinks he's in love: besides, she knows too much about his crooked dealings to be running around loose. Thus, Brock hires bookish Paul Verrall (Don Johnson) to educate Billie. Verrall does his job amazingly well, awakening Billie to her responsibilities as a loyal, honest American: along the way, the two fall in love. Featured in the cast are Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee and his star reporter (and wife) Sally Quinn, cast as DC power brokers. Also appearing in a small role is 1960s starlet Celeste Yarnell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melanie Griffith, John Goodman, (more)
- 1980
Actress and popular culture icon Marilyn Monroe is the subject of yet another made-for-television movie. This film, which aired as part of the on-going Moviola series, chronicles young Marilyn's (Constance Forslund) relationship in both business and her personal life, with agent Johnny Hyde (Lloyd Bridges) during the early part of her career. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Made for television and initially telecast February 9, 1980, Hardhat and Legs is a new-fashioned romance from the old-fashioned writing team of Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon. The "hardhat" is pugnacious construction worker Kevin Dobson. The "legs" is Sharon Gless, a high-class NY divorcee who responds to Dobson's wolf-whistle in a most unusual way. Once they get to know one another, Kevin and Sharon help to straighten out each other's problems: his battle with bookies, her custody bout with her ex-husband. Though the film's characters are neatly divided into "good" and "bad", the Hardhat and Legs is set in a user-friendly New York, the like of which hasn't been seen much since the films of the 1930s and 1940s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Adapted from a chapter of Garson Kanin's Movieola, The Silent Lovers details the Hollywood romance of silent stars John Gilbert and Greta Garbo. Garbo (Kristina Wayborn) comes to America from her native Sweden as part of a "package deal" with famed director Mauritz Stiller (Brian Keith). As Stiller's celebrity wanes, Garbo's stardom ascends, especially after her screen teaming with heartthrob Gilbert (Barry Bostwick). Gilbert and Garbo plan to marry, but the elusive Garbo fails to show up at the wedding. A disconsolate Gilbert manages to offend MGM head Louis B. Mayer (Harold Gould), who retaliates by "doctoring" the sound track of Gilbert's first talkie, thereby ruining the actor's career. More speculation than fact, The Silent Lovers was one of three TV films taken from Moviola; the others were The Scarlet O'Hara War (about the casting of Gone with the Wind) and This Year's Blonde (the early years of Marilyn Monroe). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kristina Wayborn, Barry Bostwick, (more)
- 1980
Based on a portion of Garson Kanin's book Moviola, The Scarlet O'Hara War mixes fact with fiction in recreating producer David O. Selznick's search for an actress to star in Gone With the Wind. Tony Curtis plays Selznick, who turns his search into a major publicity ploy to sustain interest in his upcoming film. Among the likely candidates for the role of Scarlett O'Hara are Carole Lombard (Sharon Gless), Joan Crawford (Barrie Youngfellow) and Tallulah Bankhead (Carrie Nye). A subplot concerns two bogus talent scouts who pretend to be working for Selznick in order to extract money and sexual favors from would-be Scarlets. As Selznick supervises the "Burning of Atlanta" sequence, he is approached by his brother Myron, who is in the company of the perfect Scarlett O'Hara--Vivien Leigh (Morgan Brittany). The Scarlet O'Hara War was one of three TV films based on Moviola; the other two were The Silent Lovers (all about John Gilbert and Greta Garbo) and This Year's Blonde (the early years of Marilyn Monroe). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Sharon Gless, (more)
- 1969
- PG
In this satirical comedy, Fred Amidon (Dick Van Dyke) is a Fifth Avenue bank teller waiting for his divorce to be finalized to end his marriage to Rachel (Angie Dickinson). He and fellow employee Pamela (Rosemary Forsyth) plan to marry once the ink dries on the decree. A Central Park picnic with Pamela finds Fred suffering a bee string on his chin, which he covers with a bandage, but Fred's bandaged chin causes concern for the bank vice president, who expresses his dissatisfaction. Fred then goes on a three-week vacation, and during that time he grows a beard because the bee sting makes it difficult to shave. He returns to work, and when he refuses to shave, he is branded a rebel and a symbolic hero in the worker struggle against management. The unhappy Pamela recruits her two brothers to capture Fred and shave his beard, leading to a slapstick chase with Fred clad only in his underwear. He is arrested and locked up in the local psychiatric unit. When Rachel hears of his plight, she is moved to resolve their marital differences, and the two reconcile with only minutes to spare before their divorce becomes final. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Van Dyke, Angie Dickinson, (more)
- 1969
- R
A.C. Smith (David Janssen) is a Las Vegas casino operator whose son visits during his summer vacation from Princeton. His son Andy (Robert Drivas) would rather go to Europe, but daddy dearest wants him to learn the ropes of the gambling business. Pappy approves of and pays for a showgirl to teach his son an extracurricular lesson in erotica. Molly (Brenda Vaccaro) is A.C.'s worldly secretary who watches the office, and Don Rickles has a small role as a crooked blackjack dealer who is caught with his fingers in the pie. Andy catches on quickly and acquires two-thirds of the controlling interest in the casino. He'll have the best story about how he spent his summer vacation when he returns (if he does) to the hallowed halls of Princeton and Ivy League living. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Janssen, Robert Drivas, (more)
- 1961
This is a routine drama about Leo Mack (Frankie Vaughn) a good-for-nothing, aspiring actor who goes to Hollywood and then ruins one life after another. Based on a stage play by the late Garson Kanin and adapted by his brother, scripters Michael Kanin and his wife Fay Kanin, the story is one long series of disasters wrought by Leo. Alleviated by several pop songs, Leo first wrecks the relationships between five young men who had been living equitably together in a bachelor pad. He goes on to mess up his budding romance with Ursula (Juliet Prowse) and Anne (Martha Hyer) and continues in that way until fame is almost certain. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juliet Prowse, Frankie Vaughan, (more)
- 1960
A somewhat uneven but still entertaining comedy-drama, The Rat Race, by director Robert Mulligan, co-stars Tony Curtis and Debbie Reynolds as Peter Hammond, Jr. and Peggy Brown, two performers who meet in New York and are thrown together by their mutual poverty. Peter arrives on a bus from the Midwest with his sax in hand and high hopes for a career. He gets a one-room walk-up and then meets Peggy, a dancer down on her luck who needs a place to stay. Ever the gentleman, Peter offers her space in his apartment and they string up a modesty curtain to divide their separate domains. But luck is not kind to Peter, right from the beginning. Some pranksters hose him down with cold water on his first trip into the city and he later gets his precious saxophone stolen by a trio of devious musicians/thieves. Peggy offers companionship in the face of difficulties, and before long the platonic relationship has distinct romantic overtones. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Debbie Reynolds, (more)
- 1960
Bing Crosby plays a widowed millionaire who decides that it's "high time" he got himself a college education. Enrolling as a freshman, Crosby is forced to endure the anachronistic initiation stunts dreamed up by his fraternity buddies, and at one point is required to dress up as Scarlett O'Hara (that's the level of humor here). Unlike the other students, Bing displays no interest in romantically pursuing the lovely coeds. Instead, he woos a teacher (Nicole Maurey) who is -- relatively speaking -- closer to his own age. Bing rounds out his first year in college as the most popular man on campus (he's certainly the best singer, since his only competition is the redoubtable Fabian). Though about 15 years out of date, High Time is brightly directed by Blake Edwards and includes at least one memorable song, ""The Second Time Around."" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bing Crosby, Fabian, (more)
- 1959
Prosperous Poughkeepsie undertaker Arthur Motherwell (John McGiver) is looking forward to handling the funeral for Stanton C. Barryvale (Howard Smith), the richest man in town. Barryvale's family members have insisted upon a huge and ostentatious funeral -- and, of course, the cost is no object. But as he prepares to embalm Barryvale, Motherwell is shocked when the dead man suddenly arises from the dead...and then demands that his own personal funeral arrangements be carried out. This episode is based on a story by writer/director Garson Kanin, of Born Yesterday and Adam's Rib fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1956
Paul Douglas repeats his Broadway stage role as corrupt, bombastic scrap-metal tycoon Harry Brock in this Hallmark Hall of Fame production of Garson Kanin's Born Yesterday. Taking over from Judy Holliday in the role of Harry's dimwitted mistress Billie Dawn is Mary Martin, while Arthur Hill is seen as Paul Verrall, the bespectacled Washington DC reporter whom Harry hires to instill "refinement" in the brash and unschooled ex-chorine Billie. Anxious to organize a covert business cartel with the help of a few bought-off politicians, Harry realizes that Billie's stupidity and tendency to say whatever pops into her head might queer the deal--thus, he engages the services of Verrall. What Harry doesn't count on is that Paul will "educate" Billie to the point that she develops a conscience, and a sense of patriotism that causes her to rebel against Brock's disreputable tactics. As in the original play and the 1950 film version, the highlight of the proceedings is the classic gin-rummy game between Harry and Billie, though running a close second is Billie's blockbuster response to Brock's brutishness: "Do me a favor, will ya Harry? Drop dead." Garson Kanin himself directed this production, which originally aired live and in color. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Gladys Glover (Judy Holliday) is an unsuccessful model and actress who believes that a jolt of publicity will do her career a world of good. She gets that publicity by renting a billboard in the middle of Manhattan, emblazoned with her name and photograph. As a result, Gladys is showered with endorsement by (Peter Lawford). He becomes enamored with Gladys, which irritates her "unofficial" boyfriend, documentary-director Pete Sheppard (Jack Lemmon) (in his film debut). Pete grows tired of Gladys' publicity stunt, feeling that it is turning her into an object rather than a human being, but Gladys luxuriates in the fame and fortune. A happy ending may be inevitable, but it's a hard-won happiness for both hero and heroine. Scriptwriter Garson Kanin had intended this as a vehicle for Danny Kaye, but Kanin's wife Ruth Gordon suggested the gender-switch to Judy Holliday, noting that what might seem aggressive from Kaye would appear merely whimsical from Holliday. In one of the best scenes, real-life celebrities Melville Cooper, Ilka Chase and Constance Bennett show up as talk-show panelists -- the ideal magnet for the likes of Gladys Glover, who has become famous merely for being famous. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judy Holliday, Peter Lawford, (more)
A master blend of comedy, domestic drama and sudden tragedy, The Marrying Kind remains one of the best collaborations between star Judy Holliday, screenwriters Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon, and director George Cukor. The film begins at the end, with married couple Florence and Chet Keefer (Judy Holliday and Aldo Ray) seeking a divorce. Both parties state their cases before understanding judge Carroll (Madge Kennedy)--whereupon the story of their marriage unfolds in a series of revelatory flashbacks. After an amusing recap of their courtship days, the film details the many major and minor trials and tribulations of married life. In the film's most unforgettable sequence, one of the couple's children dies by drowning while Florence and Chet are obliviously engaged in one of their petty squabbles. Throughout the testimony, the Judge gives equal time to both parties, and in so doing demonstrates that all aspects of marriage work both ways. In the final scenes, the Judge allows the Keefers to reconsider their impending divorce, but not before offering a few understanding and unobtrusive words of advice. Judy Holliday is in top form, while Aldo Ray delivers what may be his finest performance. Featured in the cast as Ray's sister-in-law is Peggy Cass in her film debut. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judy Holliday, Aldo Ray, (more)
Pat (Katharine Hepburn), a college phys-ed instructor, enters into professional competition as a golf and tennis player. Mike (Spencer Tracy), a likeable but unscrupulous sports promoter, first attempts to bribe Pat to lose, but later becomes her manager. Pat performs brilliantly until her insufferable fiance Collier West (William Ching) shows up; West always manages to make Pat so nervous that she can't win to save her life. At long last, West walks out, having found Pat in a compromising situation with Mike. Though she'd previously kept her distance from Mike, Pat suddenly realizes that she's fallen in love with him and--after a few crooked gamblers are disposed of--Pat and Mike become partners on a permanent basis. Pat & Mike reunited Tracy and Hepburn with their favorite director, George Cukor, and their favorite scenarists, Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin. Watch for real-life golf and tennis champs Gussie Moran, Babe Didrickson Zaharias, Don Budge, Alice Marble, Frank Parker, Betty Hicks, Helen Dettweilerand Beverly Hanson as "themselves" -- and also keep an eye out for ex-ballplayer Chuck Connors, making his acting debut as a highway patrolman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, (more)
Garson Kanin's Broadway hit was transferred to the screen with only a few passing nods to the stricter censorship required by films. Judy Holliday won an Oscar for her portrayal of Billie Dawn, a strident, dim-bulbed ex-chorus girl who is the mistress of millionaire junk tycoon Harry Brock (Broderick Crawford). In Washington to put a few senators and congressmen in his pocket (the better to lay the groundwork for an illegal cartel), the rude-and-crude Brock realizes that the unrefined Billie will prove an embarrassment. Thus he hires idealistic but impoverished Paul Verrell (William Holden) to pump some intelligence and "class" into Billie. Paul does his job too well; by awakening Billie's social and political consciousness, he turns the girl into Brock's most formidable foe in his efforts to buy influence in DC. Along the way Paul and Billie fall in love. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Broderick Crawford, Judy Holliday, (more)
Written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, Adam's Rib is a peerless comedy predicated on the double standard. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn play Adam and Amanda Bonner, a husband-and-wife attorney team, both drawn to a case of attempted murder. The defendant (Judy Holliday) had tearfully attempted to shoot her husband (Tom Ewell) and his mistress (Jean Hagen). Adam argues that the case is open and shut, but Amanda points out that, if the defendant were a man, he'd be set free on the basis of "the unwritten law." Thus it is that Adam works on behalf of the prosecution, while Amanda defends the accused woman. The trial turns into a media circus, while the Bonners' home life suffers. Adam's Rib represented the film debuts of New York-based actors Jean Hagen, Tom Ewell, and David Wayne (as Hepburn's erstwhile songwriting suitor), and the return to Hollywood of Judy Holliday after her Born Yesterday triumph. One of the best of the Tracy-Hepburn efforts, it inspired a brief 1973 TV series starring Ken Howard and Blythe Danner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, (more)
Ronald Colman won an Academy Award for his portrayal of an off-the-beam actor in A Double Life. A beloved stage star, Anthony John (Colman), has problems with his private life due to his unpredictable outbursts of temper. This trait has already cost him his wife, Brita (Signe Hasso), and threatens to sabotage his career. Nonetheless, Anthony makes his peace with Brita, and the two actors star in a new Broadway staging of Othello. The play is a hit, running over 300 performances, but the pressures of portraying a man moved to murder by jealousy takes its toll on Anthony. In a fit of delirium, he strangles his casual mistress, Pat (Shelley Winters), but retains no memory of the awful crime. Press agent Bill Friend (Edmond O'Brien), unaware that Anthony is the killer, uses Pat's murder as publicity for Othello. Anthony becomes enraged at this cheap ploy, and attacks Friend. At this point, Anthony realizes that he has been living "a double life" and is in fact Pat's murderer. A Double Life was written for the screen by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, who occasionally digress from the melodramatic plotline to include a few backstage inside jokes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Colman, Whit Bissell, (more)
- 1946
In this romantic drama, Bill and Susan Cummings (Mark Stevens and Joan Fontaine), a couple from the Bronx, look back at the early days of their marriage. When they meet in 1938, Bill is working as a machinist, and Susan is a clerk in a bookstore. They fall in love and decide to wed, but it's not long after the honeymoon that Bill is drafted and sent to war. When Bill comes marching home, he finds that it's not easy to find a new job, and economic hardship puts their marriage to the test. The supporting cast includes Harry Morgan and Bobby Driscoll. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Fontaine, Mark Stevens, (more)
British filmmaker Carol Reed and American playwright Garson Kanin team up to direct the war documentary The True Glory. The movie was assembled from actual footage of the WWII allied invasion of Europe, captured by thousands of different camera operators. Starting with D-Day, the documentary covers the major battles all the way to the fall of Berlin, along with personal vignettes. The prologue is read by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, with Robert Harris and Peter Ustinov providing narration. The True Glory won an Academy award for Best Documentary in 1945. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
To fully appreciate The More the Merrier, it is important to know that, during WW2, there was an acute housing shortage in Washington DC. This is why elderly Benjamin Dingle (Charles Coburn) is obliged to share a tiny DC apartment with pretty Connie Milligan (Jean Arthur) and handsome Joe Carter (Joel McCrea). After nearly two reels of misunderstandings, the trio becomes accustomed to their curious living arrangement. Joe takes a platonic liking to Connie, but she's engaged to stuffy bureaucrat Charles J. Pendergast (Richard Gaines). Sizing up the situation, foxy Benjamin contrives to bring Connie and Joe together, in spite of themselves. Things get dicey when Joe endeavors to complete a top-secret mission for the Air Force, which leads to all sorts of comic complications and misguided remonstrations. Throughout the film, director George Stevens and the four-man screenwriting staff deliberately tweak the noses of the Hays Office, getting by with any number of censorable offenses by deftly and tastefully sidestepping the obvious. Especially potent is the scene in which Joe tries to seduce Connie by talking about everything except seduction: it's also fun to watch Dingle robustly repeat the word "Damn" over and over, getting away with this breach of censorship because he's quoting Admiral "Damn the Torpedoes" Farragut. An Academy Award went to Charles Coburn, while nominations were bestowed upon Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, George Stevens, the screenwriters, and the film itself. The More the Merrier was remade in 1966 as Walk Don't Run, with Cary Grant, Jim Hutton and Samantha Eggar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, (more)
- 1941
- NR
Working girl Ginger Rogers (who dresses like movie star Ginger Rogers, despite her meager salary!) cannot decide which of her three suitors will march her down the aisle. Will it be fast-talking automobile salesman George Murphy, wealthy Alan Marshall, or free-spirited, eternally unemployed Burgess Meredith? She mulls over her choices in a series of hilarious dream sequences (the best involving Meredith, along with three baby Merediths crawling on the floor). If her final decision takes you by surprise, you're in good company: according to one of the cast members, director Garson Kanin and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Paul Jarrico kept the denouement a secret until the last day of shooting. Featured in the cast is Phil Silvers as a delightfully obnoxious ice cream vendor, and, in a microscopic role, Jack Briggs, who would eventually marry Ms. Rogers. A favorite with both audiences and critics, Tom, Dick & Harry was ineffectively remade in 1957 as the Jane Powell musical The Girl Most Likely. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ginger Rogers, George Murphy, (more)
Leo McCarey was supposed to both produce and direct My Favorite Wife, but an illness forced him to relinquish the director's chair to Garson Kanin, who did a splendid job. This hilarious retread of the old "Enoch Arden" legend stars Irene Dunne as Ellen, who returns home to her husband Nick (Cary Grant) and children Tim (Ann Shoemaker) and Chinch (Mary Lou Harrington) after being marooned on a desert island for seven years. Thing of it is, Ellen has been declared legally dead, and Nick has taken unto himself a second wife, the bitchy Bianca (Gail Patrick). Upon discovering that Ellen is still alive, Nick is on the verge of a tender reunion-until it discovers that she spent those seven lost years in the company of handsome Mr. Barkett (Randolph Scott). The superb supporting cast includes Granville Bates as a flummoxed judge, Chester Clute as a meek shoe salesman whom Ellen tries to pass off as Barkett, and Donald MacBride as a beetle-browed honeymoon-hotel clerk. My Favorite Wife was remade in 1963 as Move Over Darling, in which Irene Dunne and Cary Grant were replaced by Doris Day and James Garner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, (more)
