- Actors: Cary Grant, Janet Blair, James Gleason, Ted Donaldson, William Demarest
- Directors: Alexander Hall
- Writers: Irving Fineman, Lewis Meltzer, Lucille Fletcher, Norman Corwin, Oscar Saul
- Format: Black & White, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
- Language: English
- Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Japanese
- Region: (US and Canada This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
- Number of discs: 1
- MPAA Rating:
- Studio: Columbia/Tristar Vid
- Release Date: Feb 25 2003
- Run Time: 89 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B000083C8L
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#47,929 in DVD (See Top 100 in DVD)
- #34 in DVD > Comedy > Comedy Stars > Cary Grant
- #38 in DVD > Classics > Classic Stars > Cary Grant
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon.com
Cary Grant is, irrefutably, the greatest movie star of all time. For evidence, take a look at Once Upon a Time, an airy soufflé of a movie about a once-hot Broadway producer named Jerry Flynn (Grant), now on a cold streak, who discovers a young orphan boy with a dancing caterpillar. Convinced this will save his theater from being reclaimed by the bank, Flynn skillfully turns the caterpillar into a media sensation and becomes a substitute father for the boy--but he plans to sell the caterpillar to the highest bidder, even though he promised the boy that he wouldn't. The surprise in the movie is not how impossibly charming Grant is, but how willing he was to take chances; Flynn becomes more of a villain than you'd ever expect before he sees the right path, and Grant doesn't shy away from it. A slight movie, but a superb performance. --Bret Fetzer
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
RIDICULOUS PLOT THAT STRANGELY WORKS!,
By
This review is from: Once Upon a Time (DVD)
Cary Grant had the uncanny knack for making even the most hollow of plots seem like high art. Consider the irrefutably light-hearted "Once Upon A Time" in which Grant is Jerry Flynn - a has-been Broadway producer who discovers an orphan with a dancing caterpillar. Flynn's savvy for creating a media event, turns the caterpillar into an off Broadway sensation. But when Jerry decides to sell his investment to the highest bidder, he must choose between fame and fortune and the respect and genuine love that the orphan has developed for him. The genuine surprise in this film is not how irrepressibly charming Grant is, but how willingly he steps into the unbecoming role of the villain who eventually chooses goodness over celebrity - a subtle bit of advice that most stars of today would do well to heed. "Once Upon A Time" is not high art, but it remains an enjoyable movie helmed by a finely wrought performance.THE TRANSFER: Relatively clean for Columbia Tri-Star. The gray scale has been nicely balanced with solid blacks and nicely rendered contrast levels. There's a lot of age related artifacts for a picture that is inconsistent and not very smooth. However, once you've accepted these shortcomings, the film becomes reasonably enjoyable to view. Fine details are nicely rendered. There are no digital anomalies. The audio is mono but very well represented. EXTRAS: Nothing of merit. BOTTOM LINE: "Once Upon A Time" offers the chance to appreciate Cary Grant at his most subtly challenging and engagingly.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Loved watching this fairy tale again!!,
By
This review is from: Once Upon a Time (DVD)
I watched this film a long time ago, when I was a kid, and now being 35 years old, it made just the same effect on me, I was thrilled all the same. It is an innocent, naive little story from another time, that makes you feel like a child all over again!!Grant's performance is excellent, as the cynical and self centered (at first) producer who, by chance, meets this little kid who states he owns a dancing caterpillar!! This child actor, Ted Donaldson, is absolutely believable as the kid, and gives a heart-wrenching performance, like an old pro. James Gleason, once more, is all right as Grant's pal, and Janet Blair, a beautiful, lesser known actress from the '40s, is very good as the kid's elder sister, and besides, she's pretty, sexy and has a beautiful voice. Apart from a couple of trailers, the dvd edition hasn't got any bonuses at all, and the picture quality is OK, but not as good as that of another Columbia Classic releases, but nevertheless, if you're a classic film buff, and you still got a kid's heart, hidden there inside, this movie belongs to your dvd collection.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Better than anticipated, but subtle.,
By
This review is from: Once Upon a Time (DVD)
Subtly effective fantasy drama - you never see the dancing caterpillar in the box, but the movie is about the people and how they react to the simple, almost insignificant miracle, and the relationship between the sneaky showman (unusually cynical role for Grant) and the boy who owns the caterpillar. Their relationship is wonderful except for one thing: Grant is trying to steal the boy's pet and sell it to Walt Disney, though he promised he wouldn't. For a mild, subtle story, the surprise ending is surprisingly satisfying. The DVD quality is fine.
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