Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

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102 min – view video trailer

Starring: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone

Genres: Action, Adventure, Family

IMDB 8.0 / Amazon 4.8 / MRQE 93% / Decent Films A+

Oscars: nominated for 4, won 3 (Best Art, Editing, Music)

Ranked #34 Greatest Movies Through 1960

When Prince John and the Norman Lords begin oppressing the Saxon masses in King Richard’s absence, a Saxon lord fights back as the outlaw leader of a rebel guerrilla army. IMDB 8.0 rating from over 28,291 users

Dashing Errol Flynn is the definitive Robin Hood in the most gloriously swashbuckling version of the legendary story. Warner Brothers reunited Michael Curtiz, their top-action director, with the winning team of Flynn and Olivia de Havilland (Maid Marian) and perennial villain Basil Rathbone as the aristocratic Sir Guy of Gisbourne, and pulled out all stops for the production. It became their costliest film to date, a grandly handsome, glowing Technicolor adventure set to a stirring, Oscar-winning score. Amazon 4.8 stars from over 346 users

The archetypal Hollywood swashbuckler, The Adventures of Robin Hood is everything big-screen derring-do should be: rousing, lighthearted, witty, romantic, colorful, moralistic, and richly satisfying. In his defining role, Errol Flynn establishes himself as the quintessential Robin Hood, jaunty, dashing, and fearless, while Olivia de Havilland (Maid Marian), Basil Rathbone (Sir Guy of Gisbourne), and Claude Rains (Prince John) shine in supporting roles. Read full Decent Films review (rated A+, Superior artistic-entertainment for Kids & Up)

MRQE 93% from over 56 reviews

Madison Public Library

Bringing Up Baby (1938)

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102 min – G – view video trailer

Director: Howard Hawks
Starring: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant

Genres: Comedy, Romance

IMDB 8.1 / Amazon 4.6 / MRQE 87 / Decent Films A+

Oscars: none

Ranked #24 Greatest Movies Through 1960, a Zagat Top Movie

While trying to secure a $1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard “Baby.” IMDB 8.1 rating from over 28,681 users

Grant and Hepburn are a match made in movie heaven, in sync with each other throughout. Not a great box-office success when first released, Bringing Up Baby has since taken its place as a high-water mark of the screwball form, and it was used as a model for Peter Bogdanovich’s What’s Up, Doc?  Amazon 4.6 stars from over 192 users

The zaniest, most delightful, most romantic screwball comedy of them all, Bringing Up Baby features Katherine Hepburn at her effervescent best and Cary Grant in a marvelous performance combining stuffiness and injured dignity with his usual debonair charm. In a performance reportedly inspired by silent comedian Harold Lloyd, the bespectacled Grant does the slow burn beautifully; and Hepburn’s battering-ram personality and non-sequitur repartee are irresistible rather than irritating. From the rollicking dialogue to the daft situations to the deft physical comedy, Bringing Up Baby has it all. Read full Decent Films review (rated A+, Superior artistic-entertainment and for Kids & Up)

MRQE 87% from over 47 reviews

Madison Public Library

Holiday (1938)

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95 min – view video clips (did not find a trailer)

Director: George Cukor
Starring: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Doris Nolan

Genres: Comedy, Romance

IMDB 7.8 / Amazon 4.7 / Decent Films A+ / Movie Mom A+

Oscars: nominated for 1, won 0

Ranked #69 Greatest Movies Through 1960, a Zagat Top Movie

A young man falls in love with a girl from a rich family. His unorthodox plan to go on holiday for the early years of his life is met with skepticism by everyone except for his fiancée’s eccentric sister and long suffering brother. IMDB 7.8 rating from over 6,696 users

This absolutely charming, wholly engaging romantic comedy is the hidden gem of the four collaborations of Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. Most everyone’s seen The Philadelphia Story, but few know of this unorthodox, hilarious comedy of life among the rich and privileged. Amazon 4.7 stars from over 106 users

Dialogue and characterizations are note-perfect, and the story never missteps. This is one of the great ones. Decent Films A+ , superior artistic/entertainment value

Cary Grant began in show business as an acrobat, and you can see him show off some of that prowess in this movie. BeliefNet Movie Mom A+

MRQE links to over 28 reviews

Madison Public Library