Cary Grant in Name Only

by Martin Sterling

Cary Grant became one of Hollywood's iconic leading men, in an era when glamour was prevalent. He cultivated a unique screen presence - one of timeless style and elegance - as he starred in a total of over seventy films including the critically acclaimed Hitchcock classics North By Northwest, Suspicion, Notorious and To Catch A Thief. Yet this man who was the epitome of Hollywood's sophistication started off life as Archie Leach (the name adopted by John Cleese's character in A Fish Called Wanda) in the distinctly unglamorous milieu of provincial, post-Victorian Bristol. The authors explore how he overcame the difficulties of his dysfunctional and unprivileged background and built his career. A reporter once asked Grant, 'Who is Cary Grant?' His telling response was, 'When you find out, tell me.' Cary The Legend provides an objective critique of the real, fallible man behind the projected screen image. Grant's private life was kept strictly secret at the time, when there was rigid studio control of stars and much less press intrusion than in contemporary times. Here, the authors uncover what happened off the film sets.

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Graceann]

This book failed to pass my 50 Page Rule. Full of psychobabble about Grant's many marriages and inability to commit being related to being abandoned by his mother, and so full of exclamation points that I couldn't decide if it was a biography or a fourteen-year-old girl's diary. Not for me.