Come Live With Me (1941)

This film is absolutely delightful!

Illegal immigrant Johnny Jones (Hedy Lamarr) needs to get married for a visa. The man she loves is already married, so when she meets down on his luck Bill Smith (Jimmy Stewart), she offers to settle all his bills each week, in return for a marriage.

He accepts.

But then Bill begins falling in love with this mystery woman who comes by on a weekly basis. Unfortunately, her heart is with another man who happens to be a wealthy book publisher. 

Our hero Johnny Jones happens to be a struggling author. Inspired by his mysterious wife, he pens a great novel about their bizarre relationship. It's so good that the publishers get interested. 

Of course, when book publisher Barton Kendrick reads the story of a Viennese woman who has married a man for a Visa, it strikes a chord, it's too coincidental to be fiction.

Here's where it gets hilarious. The publisher, Barton, wants to meet this author who is clearly writing about his woman. Bill comes to the office, excited about the prospect of being published. One problem, they disagree on the ending. Bill wants a happy ending, whereas Barton thinks she should run off with the other guy. Barton's wife Diane (Verree Teasdale) watches them argue in the meeting, wondering why they're both so passionate about these characters.

Barton pays Bill an advance for the story; and then asks his wife for a divorce. He's going after his true love Johnny Jones.

But of course; now the poor author Bill has a big advance! So he goes to see Johnny and demands she take a trip with him. Barton had unwittingly played a part in his own demise.

And on it goes and various other things happen to take the film to its ending. I'll hold back taking you directly to the finishing line, just in case you decide to watch it, which I think you should.

Don't you just love old movies? Give me some black, some white, a Jimmy Stewart and a beauty like Hedy Lamarr and I'm the happiest guy in the world. 

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JIMMY STEWART in HARVEY

"At first Dr Chumley seemed a little frightened of Harvey, but that gave way to admiration as the evening wore on.

The evening wore on. That's a very nice expression isn't it. With your permission I'll say it again.

The evening wore on."

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Jimmy Stewart & Jean Arthur in Frank Capra's 'You Can't Take It With You'

I was about to upload this scene to YouTube but luckily it was already there. Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur in one of my favourite films, 'You Can't Take It With You,' from way back in 1938.

Look at how natural they both are. What's remarkable is that it is all one single take - no cuts, no funny stuff -- just movie magic. Capra magic. In just four and a half minutes- we see the romance between the two of them, we see the idealism and imagination of Jimmy Stewart-- and the heartbreaking talk about fearmongering and personal courage - which is as relevant now as it ever was.

It's December. And in December, I watch Jimmy Stewart films. So expect some more on Mr. Stewart from me.

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I wish Jimmy Stewart was still making movies.

"I'm shakin' the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and I'm gonna see the world. Italy, Greece, the Parthenon, the Colosseum. Then, I'm comin' back here to go to college and see what they know. And then I'm gonna build things. I'm gonna build airfields, I'm gonna build skyscrapers a hundred stories high, I'm gonna build bridges a mile long... "

-George Bailey

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Steven Spielberg is remaking 'Harvey' - This had better be the greatest film of all time.

So, Steven Spielberg is remaking 'Harvey.'

And I really hope he knows what he's doing.

'Harvey' is magic. It's one of those rare films that isn't just about words and acting and what you see. It has that something underneath it that makes it magic. Like 'The Kid,' like 'The Apartment,' like 'Shawshank Redemption.' It's a film that goes beyond being just something well made. It is a movie that I never thought would get remade. Just like one of those buildings you can never knock down, because it's just too amazing.

"Hey everyone, let's go to Egypt and build new pyramids! We have more money now. We can make them out of metal! They'll be great!". NO, they wouldn't be great. The new 'Harvey' won't be great.

Okay, maybe it will be great. Maybe remakes can be awesome, it's just that I've never seen one. Well, I've seen some good films that have been remade out of decent older stuff. But when it comes to the TRUE classics, like the outrageously PERFECT 'Harvey' - you wonder why they're doing it.

Specifically, you wonder why Steven Spielberg is doing it. Spielberg, a man who's been at the forefront of black and white film preservation, a man who loves old cinema as much as anyone in the world. If he wants a film about an invisible rabbit, I'll write him one. Or, fuck, just remake 'Donnie Darko' -- but why oh why does he need to remake the original 'Harvey'?

I can understand some random producer hack wanting to remake the film. It's a great idea, it could do very well commercially. I just don't understand why one of the geniuses of cinema would even think of remaking it. And yes, I know, I read what everyone is saying, about how 'oh, he's remaking the play, not the film.' That really makes no difference here.

Rumours abound that Tom Hanks will be filling the shoes of Elwood P. Dowd. Hanks is my favourite actor. Spielberg is one of my heroes. But I don't want this to happen. If 'Harvey' gets remade then before we know it all of the old films will be up for grabs. We'll be going to see 'Alien Versus The Odd Couple,' 'Some Like It Hot 3D,' it'll be horrific.

I want us to be more careful. If we are really and truly out of ideas, then let's just shut the film industry down. That's it, thank you, goodnight. Let's end all filmmaking and instead people can just sit in empty cinemas and update their Facebook statuses. 'Harvey' is magic. Leave it alone.

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