Mary Beth Prondzinski

Not having seen this movie since it came out, it was a delightful surprise watching the chemistry between Fonda and Redford (RIP) in their youthful prime. Everything about this film is spot on... especially having lived in NYC for eleven years in the 80's and 90's and seeing how they navigated the challenges of a tiny, poorly layed out apartment. Kids today have no idea how we had to make do back then... even a young lawyer! This is not "dated" as some people yawned; it is a true slice of life in twentieth mid-century Big Apple. Sorry to say there are no fucks, no drugs or gratuitous sex to make it currently relevant 🙄 A very enjoyable movie.

This movie came out in 1954, not long after the end of WWII when Italy was still recovering from its damage. Whomever thought "Rome was as full of tourists back then as it is today" must be a kid. People were barely flying commercial jets at that time! Also, to me the Roman backdrop did nothing to entice my wish to go there. Everything looked gray and depressing, not the least bit inviting. You could already see Venice was sinking. The villas were, on the other hand, luxurious. But those anomalies aside, what grabbed me was the story, because I was an impressionable 4 year old at the drive-in with my parents seeing my first movie which was pretty racy to my innocent eyes! I have never forgotten that moment or the story... It is deeply embedded in my psyche.

I've seen this movie quite a number of times, and have even played the part of Abby in the stage play version, but watching it last night in 2022, I found myself laughing aloud with delight at the wonderful characterizations and zany comedy that gives this movie the transcendent charm needed to bridge the 21st century. This has to be a tour de force for Cary Grant, who's suave, sophisticated persona only became more evident later in his career. But here he is the delightful comedian with impecable timing and totally spot-on facial expressions reacting to the horror that unfolds before him. You can just mentally "see" his reaction even when the camera is focused on the back of his head! One of the best, and best looking, comedic talents of all times. Peter Lorre is at his best playing the sniveling Dr. Einstein, a diversion from his usual diabolical roles, and Raymond Massey, done up to look like Boris Karloff, is the perfect, understated-criminal brother-nephew. The two aunts are a delight with their unassuming charm and diabolical "mercy" killing of lonely old men. And of course, UncleTeddy (Roosevelt), who has the unfortunate habit of disrupting the goings on with badly timed horn blasts and presidential soliloquies. The lesser characters: the bumbling cops, the adorable newlywed bride, and Edward Everett Horton's "Mr. Witherspoon," are all perfectly cast to round out what is surely the perfect "Halloween treat" for all!