Ten Favorite GEORGE CUKOR Movies
Below are my top ten favorite movies directed by the Academy Award winning director, George Cukor:
TEN FAVORITE GEORGE CUKOR MOVIES
1. “Camille” (1936) - Cukor directed this Irving Thalberg production about a Parisian courtesan, who must choose between the young man who loves her and the callous baron who wants her, even as her own health begins to fail. Greta Garbo and Robert Taylor starred in this production of Alexandre Dumas' 1852 novel, "La Dame aux camélias".
2. “Dinner at Eight” (1933) - This adaptation of George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber's Broadway play is a entertaining comedy of manners about the hosts and guests of an upcoming society dinner. The cast included John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Jean Harlow, Wallace Beery and Marie Dressler.
3. "My Fair Lady" (1964) - This Award winning adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play "Pygmalion"; and Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's 1956 Broadway play is about a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from a phoneticist, so she can pass as a lady. Audrey Hepburn and Oscar winner Rex Harrison co-starred.
4. “Adam’s Rib” (1949) - Starring Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn starred in this hilarious romantic comedy about a husband and wife work as opposing lawyers in a case involving a woman who had shot her husband. A very funny Judy Holliday and David Wayne co-starred.
5. “Holiday” (1938) - Cukor directed this second adaptation of Philip Barry's 1928 play about a man who has risen from humble beginnings, only to be torn between his free-thinking lifestyle and the tradition of his wealthy fiancée's family. Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, Doris Nolan and Lew Ayres starred.
6. “What Price Hollywood?” (1932) - This adaptation of a story by Adela Rogers St. Johns is about a young waitress and aspiring actress who becomes a Hollywood star. Starring Constance Bennett and Lowell Sherman, this movie became the genesis for three versions of "A STAR IS BORN" - including one directed by Cukor.
7. “The Women” (1939) - This adaptation of Claire Luce Booth's 1936 play featured an all-female cast and centered around a New York socialite dealing with her husband's infidelity and a divorce. Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Paulette Goddard, Joan Fontaine, Mary Boland and Rosalind Russell starred in this delicious, cinematic cat fight.
8. “Pat and Mike” (1952) - Tracy and Hepburn starred in another hilarious comedy about a sports promoter and a brilliant, all-round female athlete. Aldo Ray co-starred.
9. “Gaslight” (1944) - Ingrid Bergman won her first Oscar, staring in this adaptation of Patrick Hamilton's 1938 play about a Victorian woman who moves back into the very house, where her aunt was murdered years ago; with a new husband. Charles Boyer, Joseph Cotten and Angela Landsbury co-starred.
10. “The Philadelphia Story” (1940) - Cukor directed another adaptation of a Philip Barry play about a socialite whose wedding plans are complicated by the simultaneous arrival of her ex-husband and an attractive journalist. Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Oscar winner James Stewart starred.