Only Angels Have Wings (1939)

Baranca, a small stop in South America where Dutchman owns an airmail service, is where Bonnie (Jean Arthur) makes a stop. She encounters a group of mail pilots in a social shack.

The head of these mail comrades is Geoff Carter (Cary Grant), who has ample confidence yet retains the charm and sophistication.

It isn’t surprising Bonnie is falling for him. These mail pilots’ work is quite a tricky one, as the natural mountain slides coupled with tropical weather are always a recipe for an aviation disaster, the main being the plane crash—Geoff ventures to flying only under challenging circumstances.

Bonnie, amazed by Geoff, is repeatedly shut off whenever she tried getting to know Geoff better. It is evident, Geoff is cynical towards women and vows not to take any favours from them.

Each of his choices has a history behind it. His daring lifestyle didn’t go well with his ex, and as a result, she left him. It had a profound effect on his way of thinking. He became tougher, a touch more than what he was.

In the sub-plot, a couple comes down to Baranca. They both have a connection to Geoff and the group of mail pilots. Bat Macpherson (Richard Barthelmess) is seen as a villain in the eyes of all the pilots.

He once jumped out of the plane leaving behind the mechanic moments before the plane crash. This didn’t go well with the team and more so with Kid, who lost his brother in that crash. The agency was on the lookout for more pilots, and Bat was looking for a new challenge.

Bat’s wife Judy (Rita Hayworth) was Geoff’s ex. Her presence made Geoff a bit tougher on Bat and made it difficult to forget the past. One of the best scenes is when Judy gets drunk and has a word with Geoff; in some ways, clarity is provided as to why things happened and how it unfolded in the past.

Not a man to live in his emotions, Geoff is in serious need of workforce to get the Government’s contract. He offers the job to Bat, as he realises there is none better than him to weather the storm.

In a mission to deliver the cylinders, Bat is accompanied by Kid. Not in good terms, while flying, they encounter the storm as they try to deliver the goods.

Flying across Andes Mountains during a storm isn’t an easy task, and while Bat is trying his best to reach the destination, a bird hits the plane, and it catches fire. Bat battles it out and lands the aircraft amidst the fire on it. Kid is badly injured, and he dies not before he tells Geoff about Bat’s bravery.

Bonnie, unable to get the attention from Geoff, decides to leave Baranca. – “I am hard to get Geoff; all you have to do is ask me”. Geoff offers her a coin. Heads – she stays and Tails – she leaves.

Before he starts to toss the coin, the clouds clear and Geoff runs down to the flight for his next mission. Bonnie waits as she decides not to leave hurriedly and hopes to toss the coin with heads being on both sides.

I was amazed by Jean Arthur’s characterisation in this movie. This was my first movie of hers, and I was fascinated by her charm, and no wonder she remains one of my favorites. Beauty, brains, and a wonderful actor, that’s Jean Arthur to sum it up.

On the other hand, it was another scintillating performance by Cary Grant, who puts his coat of sophistication to perfection.

Rita Hayworth was provided with the acting platform to play prominent stream roles and achieve fame in the years to come. Directed by Howard Hawks, this 1939 classic was nominated for two Oscars under Best Cinematography (B/W) and Best Special effects (Audio and Visual).

Holiday (1938)

We live in a world where numbers form a majority. How much ever an individual tries to be different, he or she often encounters the majority, be it in the form of opinions, values, or the way things need to be handled, and the best of all is, the way to lead one’s life.

Wish it was as simple as following a book of code written by one individual. The point is not to berate or deride the opinions made by the person who shared his views on leading life; the mistake is to believe that is the only way to lead a life.

Holiday epitomises such kind of mood through various protagonists who dare to question the status quo. Johnny Case (Cary Grant) a charming young businessman who goes by his inner voice. One can see how he goes about his life and the view he holds for his life.

He is in love with Julia Seton (Doris Nolan) and proposes to her to marry him. She agrees. How often we marry the person we love and say we share each other’s vision for life?

Are we complacent that we can persuade the other partner to make them come to terms with our expectations?

Well, to make love, it isn’t. To marry, it becomes the talking point. The free spirit that often embodies the lovers is narrowed when the talk of marriage does the rounds.

What is it that marriage continues to hold a different view?

Marriage involves society to a more considerable extent, and this has continued through ages and will continue. One can fall in love, and that’s acceptable, but can we marry the same in all situations? Often society comes to the picture, and in immense interest, I believe it’s a form of excuse unless it considers the individual.

Johnny is surprised to know the wealthy status of Julia. He meets Linda (Katherine Hepburn), Julia’s free-spirited sister, and Ned (Lew Ayres), who feel bottled up under their father’s authoritarian behaviour.

The movie has a kid’s playroom analogous and quite a contrast to the outer world, which calls for increased sophistication and hypocrisy. Linda is in love with Johnny as she finds him to be the right guy who would respect and complement her free-spiritedness.

Although Johnny is in love with Julia, he can’t deny that he is intellectually connected to Linda.

Irrespective of her being rich, he is keen on holding on to his dreams. On the other hand, Julia is convinced about Johnny accepting her dad’s proposal of working and earning money. While asking Julia’s hand, Johnny speaks his heart to her dad, which surprises Julia.

The idea of Johnny working for few years and then taking a holiday to discover his life doesn’t fit the bill of pragmatism as per Julia and her dad. Although he couldn’t convince Julia, Johnny convinced Linda with his Vivre de Joie without convincing her.

The movie isn’t a serious one; it has well-written dialogues and is more of a romantic comedy-drama.

The child playroom is often seen as a metaphor to allow the kid within us to be playful even while growing each day.

Directed by George Cukor, this movie brings out the best of Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant, and the chemistry they share on-screen is something that’s been talked about by many over the years. The storyline isn’t out of the box but a simple reflection on the society we live in.

The playroom scenes of tricycles, puppets, and other horse saddling remind us that each individual has a fearless child inside us who loves to enjoy irrespective of what others think in its fashion. This certainly is one of my favourite Cary Grant movies.

Released in 1938, Holiday is a remake of the 1930 movie of the same title. Holiday managed to get a Oscar nomination under the category of Best Art direction with the affluent sets being used.

Bringing Up Baby (1938)

When there is confusion, it cannot be delightful. Well, move to the other end of this spectrum of convolution; one can have some fun as well. As an audience, I would say it is more enjoyable to watch both ends than face one.

Bringing up Baby is one such movie that I believe was ahead of its era. Comedy had a taste of logic in it. The confusion was more attributed to thrillers and dramas than to comedy in general. It was quite a bomb when this movie was released so much that director Howards Hawks had to be removed from the existing contract with RKO Productions.

Katherine Hepburn enters the world of comedy with her spectacular performance in the role of Susan Vance.

Susan Vance is eccentric, at times lunatic, teams up with the sophisticated palaeontologist Dr. David Huxley (Cary Grant) in a series of misadventures that take them from one place to another.

Their lines, witty jokes, and, more importantly, demonstrate why they are still revered among the legends in Hollywood’s comedy history.

In need of $ 1 million to complete the brontosaurus skeleton’s project, David is trying hard to please the endower Mrs. Carleton Random. In that case, he accidentally encounters Susan at a golf course.

A young terrier steals the fossil bone and buries it under the earth. Taming the baby (a leopard), which was a gift from Susan’s brother. When David says, ‘he went gay’ when questioned about his female attire. These are some of the goofy incidents that pack up this movie.

David is misunderstood by Susan to be a zoologist and begs him to help her transport the baby to her aunt. He postpones his marriage to help Susan well; he is forced into it.

Susan believes she is in love with David and tries her best not to let go of David. Upon reaching the aunt’s place, one has many more fun situations with George (Asta, the terrier), leopard escaping, etc.

In search of the baby, George, and the missing bone, David and Susan both end up in prison due to confusion. In the end, everything clears up like all the comedies. David remains unmarried, and his donation to complete the project has also been rejected.

Susan meets David to return the bone and gets to know the situation David is in. She decides to donate $1 million through her Aunt Elizabeth and makes him confess that he likes her standing on the brontosaurus’s skeleton.

Considered to be one of the classic movies and one of the best from Howard Hawks, this screwball comedy got its due at a later stage after the public and critics’ initial rejection.

Cary Grant plays the role to perfection. Quite zany, he is apt for a researcher’s part, who is engaged and trying to coax the endowers so that he could complete the project. His character David Huxley’s looks were modelled on the real-life silent comedian Harry Lloyd. The title role of Baby was played by Nissa (II), a leopard.

Some of the movie scenes, such as the torn dress scene in the restaurant, have been re-made in other movies like the 1964 Man’s Favourite Sport and has also been adapted loosely twice in 1972 Peter Bogdanovich’s What’s Up Doc?, and the 1986 Madonna starrer Who’s that Girl?

Released in 1938, this movie was adapted to screen by writers Dudley Nichols and Hagar Wilde from a story written by Wilde, published in Collier’s Weekly magazine in 1937.

The Amazing Adventure (1936)

It can be tedious when there are no challenges to earn one’s bread. This is Ernest Bliss’s (Cary Grant) story, who plays a rich man unable to find happiness with all the wealth he has at his disposal.

Depression as a result of boredom being the reason, he consults Sir James Alroyd (Peter Gawthorne), who happens to be more than just a doctor, a philanthropist of sorts. He is aware of Ernest’s depression and suggests getting out of his comfort zone to earn a living for a year on his own.

He also challenges not using the ancestral money and condemns him not being able to live a year on his own. Ernest gets a dose of realism and accepts the challenge, and places a bet of £50,000 for the same.

On the high road to win the challenge, Bliss soon discovers it isn’t easy as he thought it would be. He starts off being a stove salesman and realises the difficulty of being a part of the working class. He understands the big-hearted working masses who give affection and learn a bit about humanity by staying with them. He frequently changes jobs and finally settles in as a chauffeur.

In this amazing quest, he encounters Frances Clayton (Mary Blain), his love interest. He leads a life in which he camouflages his true identity to her. During this adventurous journey, Ernest uses his wealth to help the people in need. Although the challenge involved him not using his wealth, I guess to help people in need, but you are acceptable.

In the end, he does manage to win the challenge and, along the way, wins quite a lot of things that would make him get rid of boredom. A life turning moment indeed.

This movie is based on a theme which standard working class would identity with. Although it is shot with poor technical standards, one can appreciate the acting of Cary Grant. It remains one of the last low budget movies he would be ever part of and also the only film he appeared for a home studio in London.

Owing to many problems, the movie I saw is about 61 minutes, although the DVD suggests the official time to be 80 minutes.

One of the observations was the low production quality, and I was curious to know why.

I read an article that stated UK studios took a lot more time, and they were a step behind in acquiring the technical acumen compared with Hollywood when this movie was shot.

Directed by Alfred Zeisler, The Amazing Adventure was inspired by the novel written by E. Philipps Oppenheim and was released in the US under the name Romance and Riches.

A serial from 1920, The Amazing Quest of Ernest Bliss is a silent precursor to this 1936 movie. Henry Edwards acts as Ernest Bliss while Henry Vibrant and Chrissie White play the physician’s role and Ernest’s love interest.

In my childhood, I happened to watch a Dev Anand starrer movie Asli-Naqli directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. This Bollywood entertainer resembles the plot successfully adapted to suit the Indian culture and audiences in 1962.

Suzy (1936)

This is a story where one has love, marriage, accusations of murder, falling in love with another man, World war, and reuniting with an ex-lover. At second glance, it is indeed a movie that contains many themes tied by a heavy screenplay, and we have George Fitzmaurice’s drama ‘Suzy.’

Title protagonist Jean Harlow is an entertainer who dreams big of marrying a rich guy. Luck has it; she falls in love with an inventor Terry (Franchot Tone), in London.

This was the time when World War I was in progress. Early days of marriage, Suzy’s husband discovers her employer to be a German spy. He is killed by Madame Eyrelle (Benita Hume) after becoming aware of her true identity (spy). The blame is put on Suzy, and to avoid imprisonment, she flees to Paris.

Part two of the story takes place when she encounters Andre (Cary Grant), a French aviator and a famous playboy. Suzy falls in love with Andre, and they both decide to get married. Love is a strange thing, and the reciprocations didn’t seem to be present, although they both seem to like each other a lot. Expectations, I suppose.

Andre was the son of a rich French celebrated hero. A palatial place to live, often Suzy is found alone in Andre’s absence. Andre’s father ensures Suzy is well-taken care of, and very soon, they become quite good pals. She writes letters under the pretext of Andre to keep the older man going.

Part Three of the movie – Surprise, Surprise. Terry is alive (he was severely wounded, not killed), and more so, he is Andre’s buddy. Terry is livid to hear about Suzy, and he blames her nature of being a gold digger. He questions her decision to leave him and flee. She takes it as a sponge would soak water without disclosing the accusations she had to bear for his supposed murder.

Part Four shows – Once a playboy, you remain one throughout. Andre’s fascination and slip for women are exploited by Madame Eyrelle, who now need to know more about the war plans through Andre.

Surprisingly Terry and Madame do not recognise each other when they bump into each other. The damage had been done before Madame Eyrelle’s true identity is revealed to Andre. He is killed, and Terry dons Andre’s plane and fights it out, ensuring enemies have none of it.

Part five – A celebrity burial is provided to Andre as Suzy strongly believed, any disclosure of the truth would hurt Andre’s father’s sentiments. Andre’s behaviour was close to being detrimental to his country.

Suzy and Terry reunite, and there ends this drama. The movie has a song, “Did I remember,” which was nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar, tailor-made for Jean Harlow.

Released in 1936, the war flying scenes from this movie were the outtakes from the 1930 super hit Howard Hughes movie ‘Hells Angels.’ Herbert Gorman’s write up on the newspaper inspires the screenplay written by four writers.

The Blonde Venus (1932)

What is love? Is it in the form of a role adorned by a particular person for another? One cannot define precisely, as it is based on situations limited by one’s thinking and feeling.

Blonde Venus is one such story where love at first sight, so to speak, hooks Helen (Marlene Dietrich), a German entertainer with an American chemist Ned Faraday (Herbert Marshall). They meet on a picnic accidentally, and soon they get married.

Helen is a family woman, and they both have a kid; it is like any other story next door until Ned becomes unhealthy due to radium exposure at his lab. Treatment costs money, and while he was being treated in Germany, to support him and the kid, Helen gets back to her entertaining profession and soon becomes popular as The “Venus Blonde.”

As the film points, she gets into an affair of sorts with the millionaire Nick Townsend (Cary Grant) to earn more money for the treatment. As it is left to one’s interpretation, I believe it was a bit hard on Helen to make this choice.

What’s important here is, it is Helen’s choice, victimised by the circumstances. She did care for her husband. And this very fact did not go well with Ned when he accidentally discovered Helen’s affair with Nick when he returns home 15 days in advance.

Unable to accept the reality, he expresses his angst at Helen. Helen flees with her kid away from Ned as he tried to separate them. She runs from one town to another before being caught by Missing Person’s Bureau.

Away from her kid and her husband, she returns to her old profession to live the remaining days when she could have chosen to go back with Nick. It shows she wasn’t entirely interested in Nick. Infidelity can occur if one is not interested in a partner, but in this case, it was for her husband’s sake Helen chose to stay with Nick. But she was not interested in getting back with Nick.

In her new avatar, she reencounters Nick while on tour in Paris, away from family. There comes a time for every human to move on. It was one such occasion for Helen to move on and start a new chapter.

The new chapter, which she hoped to start with Nick, was entwined with the previous chapters, and it wasn’t easy to remove the links of the past. Upon returning to America, unable to hide missing her family, she goes to Ned.

Time is a great healer if one can understand what one truly needs. Ned also recognises the efforts made by Helen, and in the end, they both get together.

What can one say about Nick? It wasn’t an emotional attachment of sorts with Helen. So he should be ok. From the beginning until the end, this movie is all about Marlene Dietrich who supersedes her two male colleagues for the movie’s entire duration.

Released in 1932, the movie was directed by Josef von Sternberg, mentor of Marlene Dietrich, who also made a significant contribution to the style quotient of Cary Grant through this movie.

He suggested Cary have the hairstyle (which he retained for the rest of his life), which would become a trademark and helped Cary Grant be recognised as one of the stylish actors in Hollywood’s history.

Big Brown Eyes (1936)

Eve Fallon (Joan Bennett), upset for having not received the correct judgment that had political interference quits being a reporter and goes back to her other manicurist profession.

Her boyfriend, Danny Barr (Cary Grant), a detective who is equally upset with this injustice, quits the police. Now, they are secretly on their way to find the evidence. This movie had comedy, witty one-liners, romance, and mystery.

Eve comes across as a big mouth and has some of the best lines in the movie. Among frequent banters, Eve and Dan are very much in love. Dan is investigating a series of jewel robberies, and one of them turned severe with a baby being killed by a stray bullet.

The killer was identified, but the system had loopholes and wasn’t punished against the charges. In his way, Dan privately starts a trail on Cortig, as he is convinced about his involvement.

He gets support from Eve as she is always curious and in constant look for any news. While manicuring, she figures the role of a prominent personality’s involvement in the jewel robberies. The missing piece in Dan’s investigation is filled by the discovery made by Eve.

Richard Morey, a local politician, played by Walter Pidgeon, is the main man behind the crime, and he is nabbed by the teamwork of Eve and Dan. Comical performances by Marjorie Gateson in the role of Mrs. Chesley Cole and Douglas Fowley as Benny provide some exercise to the laughter muscles.

Released in 1936, Big Brown Eyes, directed by Raoul Walsh, was an experimental movie considering that this movie genre was limited to Warner Bros in the mid-1930s. Paramount managed to get the bearing with the story and the screenplay and was well accepted at the box office.

Madame Butterfly (1932)

Love has no boundaries, and it has no language. Madame Butterfly is one such story of different cultures and how one can get caught in the web of hope. The story is about lust on one side and love on the other.

Lieutenant Pinkerton (Cary Grant) arrives on the shore of Japan for a holiday. Lt Barton, his buddy, accompanies him to a local establishment to look out for food, drinks, and girls. Pinkerton gets attracted to the local muse Cho-Cho San (Sylvia Sidney).

Pinkerton is given Barton’s advice to marry Cho and enjoy her company with the family’s approval. Although not serious, he was concerned about what would happen to Cho once he leaves Japan.

Abandonment is considered equivalent to divorce in Japan. Barton stressed this point to Pinkerton, saying Cho will be free to marry any local guy once he abandons her and returns to America. Pinkerton marries Cho and spends few days at her place.

Cho’s mom and grandfather treat Pinkerton well. Cho is in love with him, and it was hard for her to accept that he will be away in a few days. With no promise, Cho waits for the return of Pinkerton. Three years pass by; she eagerly waits to meet her husband and give him a surprise, their son. She makes frequent visits to the harbour in the hope of seeing Pinkerton coming to meet her.

Pinkerton does arrive in Japan, along with his American bride. He meets Cho and tells the true story, and apologises to her. This admission by Pinkerton dashed the hope through which Cho lived for the past three years.

This is the story of Madame Butterfly. Paramount’s 1932 movie and directed by Marion Gering, was a non-singing version of the opera by the same name by Giacomo Puccini. The opera is based on the short story written by John Luther Long in 1898 and dramatised by David Belasco.

Gunga Din (1939)

Inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s poem, the movie is set in the mid-1800s when the British regiment had made a settlement in India. There were quite a few rebellious groups formed to eliminate the British rule, with resistance coming from all quarters.

This movie had one such group who revered Goddess Kali (an important deity in Hindu mythology, Goddess of Blood) dedicated their lives to destroy the British army.

The movie is about a Hindu water carrier called ‘Gunga Din.’ Since childhood, he always wanted to be in the army. He was not allowed, which never bothered him as he learned the military’s tricks by observing the soldiers.

He gets friendly with Sgt Cutter and also tells him about the gold which can be taken back from a Kali temple. Parallely, there is an uprising of a religious group under the leadership of Swami, played by Eduardo Ciannelli.

The group had previously attacked many such regiments at different villages, and now they had made arrangements to eliminate the British army in that area.

I am not comfortable using the technical word for such groups. Although in English and the movie, they are referred to as ‘Thuggees’, I will not use the name. During the British rule, it was the perception, and often such groups were branded as enemies and not seen as patriots.

From a movie’s point of view, I can only talk about performances on screen. The film talks about three army sergeants and the rapport they shared working together. Sgt Archibald Cutter (Cary Grant), Sgt Mac Chesney (Victor Mc Laglen), and Sgt Ballantine (Douglas Fairbank Jr) are fun-loving army personnel who love going on adventures together.

All was fine until one of them decides to leave the service to get married. In what is called a final mission, the two trick the soon to be groom to be a part of the troop.

In search of gold, Sgt Cutter and Gunga Din get trapped in a massive religious group gathering. As a part of the plan, Sgt Cutter surrenders to the group while instructing Gunga Din to inform his army troop about the place and situation.

Call it miscommunication; the two friends, along with Gunga Din, turn up at the temple. All are caught, and Gunga Din is branded as a traitor for helping the British. While in the temple, the three musketeers get to know the master plan of the rebellion to eliminate the entire British army.

The last part of the movie talks about Gunga Din’s gallantry, who risks his life to warn the British troops and manages to convey the message of the traps set by the rebellion.

On the other hand, it talks about the patriotism of Swami and his men, who are fighting for their freedom, for their country.

Although, the methods employed are violent, it wasn’t for fun. They had a purpose, and they went about in their way.

In a periodic movie to some extent, George Stevens displays his taste for humour showcases army staff enjoying a good laugh as they went about waging wars. Joan Fontaine plays the sole female in few scenes and fails to capture the audience in a bland role. Sam Jaffe in the title role impresses with his tailor-made acting of a Hindu water carrier.

“Tho’ I’ve belted you and flayed you, by the livin’ Gawd that made you, you’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din!” – Rudyard Kipling, last line of his highly acclaimed poem of the same name.

Released in 1939, RKO productions made this movie, which was the costliest at that time. Considering the war scenes and sets resembling rural India, the film was aptly nominated for an Oscar in the Best Cinematography Black and White category.

Kiss Them for Me (1957)

In my opinion, there was a void among war heroes as they battled day and night in places away from home. It was the call of duty more than a willingness to battle it out in a certain way.

While some of them took pride in fighting it out, many wanted the war to finish and return home. If the craving indeed gets worse, few men did take a chance to get back home while on duty. Kiss them For Me is a comical version of how three navy men, tired of war, want to when the war was on.

Cmdr Andy Crewson, played by Cary Grant, convinces his two colleagues to go away from a navy base. Homesickness coupled with being away from loved ones made them rusty to have such a runaway plot. They all land up in San Francisco, and with Lieutenant Wallace’s help, they manage to get a posh luxury suite in a famous hotel.

Andy manages to gather the party crowd, and all look like a great party time. Girls, alcohol, no war, life outside of being a navy pilot were better.

To maintain relations with top businessman, Wallace arranges for a meeting with Andy and the shipyard owner Eddie Turnbill. Turnbill wants to promote his warships and to increase and motivate his fellow workers, requested Andy and his two decorated pilots to give a small talk at his factory.

Andy refused and even embarrassed Eddie, but considering Eddie had good relations with the Admiral, he reversed his stand upon the insistence of his friends who convince him. Helping Eddie would allow their leaves extended without spending the ‘vacation’ in a navy hospital for check-ups.

While Turnbill is happy making plans for the talk, Andy sets his eyes on Eddie’s fiancée Gwinneth Livingston, played by the stunning Suzy Parker. Gwinneth, as evident from the first scene, is an epitome of an unhappy woman who requires a stable life.

Yet, in search of love, she isn’t entirely on good terms with Eddie’s relationship. It was as though love could blow away the relationship with Eddie. She ensures this point of hers is well expressed to Andy.

Instead of turning up and talk to labours, Andy decides to spend the night with Gwinneth and takes her out to a music bar and a restaurant. He was here to enjoy his vacation, not talk about the war.

Andy meets his old friends from the war, one handicapped, and gets to know he has few days left. He is in a strange mood, wondering he did the right thing running away from the action while many of his countrymen are fighting it out.

His two friends talk to labours on his behalf, and this didn’t go well with Eddie, fumingly tries to create a scene. Andy confronts Eddie and gives a blow instead of talking. Gwinneth breaks up with Eddie and joins Andy. Love is it.

Party time is over, guys, as Eddie turns up the heat and ensures the holiday is cancelled. In the meantime, Lt Mc Cann gets the ticket to join Congress, and he takes his two friends on board for this mission. The two friends get the call of war from inside; decide to join the navy instead. Mc Cann was not to be left behind; he gives up the ticket and joins his two friends.

In her role as Gwinneth, Suzy Parker makes her movie debut in an acting performance in a grand style. Previous was a cameo in the movie ‘Funny Face.’ Her beauty is the main strength in this movie, as her voice was given by another stunning actress of that era, Deborah Kerr.

A special mention of Jayne Mansfield makes a good impression and, in a significant way, imitates Monroe with her looks and talks. She is often mentioned as the poor man’s ‘Marilyn Monroe’ in reel and real life. Jayne’s character Alice Kratzner defines the title of the movie very aptly. In memory of her war husband in the film, he tells her, “Look me in all the war heroes and Kiss them for me.”

Famous for the song of the same name by The McGuire Sisters, this 1957 Stanley Donen directed movie is a good watch about war pilots’ back-stage lives.