Country: USA
Year: 1952
Duration: 97'
In a research laboratory, a chimpanzee used as a test subject accidentally spills several experimental substances into the water dispenser. Unaware of what has happened, scientist Barnaba Fulton (Cary Grant) and his wife Edwina (Ginger Rogers) gradually experience the effects of what turns out to be nothing less than an elixir of youth: first they regain the energy and vitality of their younger years, and then they become, in spirit, two mischievous, bumbling troublemakers. Written and directed by four masters of the genre—screenwriters Ben Hecht, Charles Lederer, and I. A. L. Diamond, together with director Howard Hawks—this is perhaps the ultimate screwball comedy: frenetic, irreverent, and characteristically daring in its play with gender and power relations. Marilyn Monroe plays Cary Grant’s secretary, already displaying the beauty, comic timing, and effortless charm that would soon make her a star.
Biography
film director
Howard Hawks
(Goshen, 1896 – Palm Springs, 1977) after graduating at the Cornell University, moved to Los Angeles, where he entered the world of cinema as a prop master at the Famous Players-Lasky. Hired by Paramount in 1922 as a screenwriter, he debuted in directing at Fox in 1926 and had his first big success thanks to the producer Howard Hughes, who chose him to direct Scarface, Shame of the Nation (1932). One of the top directors during the golden age of Hollywood, he was famous for his eclectic genres and masterly use of the classic style, alternating comedies (Bring Up Baby, 1938; I Was a Male War Bride, 1949), noir (The Big Sleep, 1946), Westerns (Red River, 1948, Rio Bravo, 1959), war movies (Air Force, 1943), and musicals (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, 1953). He received an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement in 1975.
FILMOGRAFIA
The Road to Glory (Bolidi in corsa, 1926), Fig Leaves (Le disgrazie di Adamo, 1926), The Cradle Snatchers (Amanti per burla, 1927), Paid to Love (Passione di principe, 1927), Fazil (Oasi dell’amore, 1928), A Girl in Every Port (Capitan Barbablù, 1928), The Air Circus (La via delle stelle, 1928), Trent’s Last Case (L’affare Manderson, 1929), The Dawn Patrol (La squadriglia dell’aurora, 1930), The Criminal Code (Codice penale, 1931), The Crowd Roars (L’urlo della folla, 1932), Scarface, Shame of the Nation (Scarface - Lo sfregiato, 1932), Tiger Shark (Le tigri del Pacifico, 1932), Today We Live (Rivalità eroica, 1933), The Prizefighter and the Lady (L’idolo delle donne, 1933), Viva Villa! (id., 1934), Twentieth Century (Ventesimo secolo, 1934), Barbary Coast (La costa dei barbari, 1935), Ceiling Zero (Brume, 1936), The Road to Glory (Le vie della gloria, 1936), Come and Get It (Ambizione, 1936), Bringing Up Baby (Susanna!, 1938), Only Angels Have Wings (Avventurieri dell’aria, 1939), His Girl Friday (La signora del venerdì, 1940), The Outlaw (Il mio corpo ti scalderà, 1941), Sergeant York (Il sergente York, 1941), Ball of Fire (Colpo di fulmine, 1941), Air Force (Arcipelago in fiamme, 1943), To Have and Have Not (Acque del sud, 1944), The Big Sleep (Il grande sonno, 1946), Red River (Il fiume rosso, 1948), A Song Is Born (Venere e il professore, 1948), I Was a Male War Bride (Ero uno sposo di guerra, 1949), The Thing from Another World (La cosa da un altro mondo, 1951), The Big Sky (Il grande cielo, 1952), O. Henry’s Full House (La giostra umana, 1952), Monkey Business (Il magnifico scherzo, 1952), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Gli uomini preferiscono le bionde, 1953), Land of the Pharaohs (La regina delle piramidi, 1955), Rio Bravo (Un dollaro d’onore, 1959), Hatari! (id., 1962), Man’s Favorite Sport? (Lo sport preferito dall’uomo, 1964), Red Line 7000 (Linea rossa 7000, 1965), El Dorado (id., 1966), Rio Lobo (id., 1970).
Cast
& Credits
DIRECTOR: Howard Hawks. STORY: Harry Segall. SCREENPLAY: Ben Hecht, Charles Lederer, I.A.L. Diamond. CINEMATOGRAPHY: Milton R. Krasner. EDITING: William B. Murphy. PRODUCTION DESIGN: Walter M. Scott. COSTUME DESIGN: Travilla. MAKE-UP: Ben Nye. MUSIC: Leigh Harline. CAST: Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Charles Coburn, Marilyn Monroe, Harry Carey Jr., Hugh Marlowe, Kathleen Freeman, George Winslow, Douglas Spencer, Henri Letondal. PRODUCER: Sol C. Siegel for 20th Century Fox. CONTACT:
