Idle comments from someone whose been rewatching too many movies lately:
LauraC just posted a quiz question on The Tender Trap and lo! I stumbled across it on TMC. Debbie sings the song in her chirpy voice at the wrong tempo as part of a song and dance Broadway number and Frank says, "No, that's all wrong. Try it like this," and sings. I forgive a great deal when Frank sings.
Also noteworthy for Celeste Holm, one of the most bright, likeable, intelligent screen personalities ever to come out of Hollywood, playing yet another of those incredibly competent, bubbly career woman. This time, at least, she gets a guy. Maybe not the guy, but it'll do.
Last night, I watched part of His Girl Friday, and was struck again by my favorite scene, which isn't comedic at all. The boys in the pressroom have just ruthlessly and quite wittily skewered and humiliated poor, desperate, unhappy Molly, who ran out in tears. They sit there, suddenly ashamed of themselves. Not overplayed, nothing said in so many words, just a realization that the fun went way the hell too far. Rosalind Russell comes back in, after comforting her, and pauses.
"Gentlemen of the press," she says, just the smallest extra amount of sarcastic emphasis.
Happily, they go right back to being ruthless newsmen, not renouncing their crassness as penance for the error of their ways.
Odd moment in a screwball comedy. But I always find it very touching.
