1 of 2 copies available
“North by Northwest isn’t about what happens to Cary Grant, it’s about what happens to his suit. The suit has the adventures, a gorgeous New York suit threading its way through America. The suit, Cary inside it, strides with confidence into the Plaza Hotel. Nothing bad happens to it until one of the greasy henchmen grasps Cary by the shoulder. We’re already in love with this suit and it feels like a real violation.”
Todd McEwen grew up in Southern California, so his head was hopelessly messed with by the movies. As the son of relatively normal people, Todd had no in with Hollywood, a mere thirteen miles away, yearn and try as he might.
This is a kid who loved the movies so much, he got up at 4:30 in the morning to watch Laurel and Hardy. A kid who insisted on his birthday that his father project 8mm cartoons onto the family’s dining room curtains so they could be slowly parted, just like at a real cinema.
This is a kid who liked to leave the movie and trudge up hundreds of dangerous iron steps to visit the lugubrious and always surprised projectionist. This is a kid who, years later, watched Chinatown over 60 times.
A love letter to old Hollywood, this is a book for anyone interested in film. Movies discussed include Blotto, The Wizard of Oz, The Three Stooges, To Catch a Thief, North by Northwest, The 39 Steps, The Trouble with Harry, and many, many more.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
March 7, 2023 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781912559411
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781912559411
- File size: 199 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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March 1, 2023
McEwen (Fisher's Hornpipe) brings an intellectual and humorous perspective to the films that have shaped his personal journey. For example, there's his terror of Bambi, his childhood fascination with Laurel and Hardy, his obsession with Chinatown, and his appreciation for the survival of Cary Grant's suit in North by Northwest. The book is infused with personal anecdotes, including his regular visits to theater-projection rooms, his disdain for all things Disney, and his neighborhood re-enactments of The Wizard of Oz every time it was shown on TV. McEwen invites readers to revisit his chosen films with fresh takes on everything from the use of technicolor to the number of cigarettes smoked by each character in Casablanca. McEwen's passion for movies encompasses an appreciation of sight gags, the comedic timing of classic cartoons, his reaction to Captain Nemo's death, the gleeful audience reaction to Mon Oncle, and the horror and precision of the nostril-slicing in Chinatown. VERDICT The subject matter might appeal only to a limited audience of strict cinephiles, but McEwen's sentimental devotion is both noteworthy and impressive in this entertaining work.--Lisa Henry
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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