Cary Grant. Katharine Hepburn. James Stewart. Perhaps no film in history packed as much star power as The Philadelphia Story, at least none that turned out as great as this one. It turned out so well in fact, they remade it as a musical in 1956. High Society stars Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, so at least the singing is pretty good. The movie though is “meh”. Want to play a nerdy film fan game? Recast The Philadelphia Story. Mine is Robert Downey Jr., Cate Blanchett, and Christian Bale.

Standing all of 5’5″, James Cagney was nevertheless one of the most imposing forces of nature in all of film history. White Heat is perhaps his most famous gangster role. Or perhaps I should say firey (you’ll get that joke after you see the movie). 

Need more James Cagney in your life? His portrayal of the real-life songwriter George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy was arguably his most famous role, despite the fact he doesn’t shoot or punch anyone. A perfect pic for the 4th. 

It’s a holiday weekend, so here’s another day for free! Duck Soup finds Groucho Marx named the leader of Freedonia in what is not only the Marx Brothers’ funniest movie, but one of the best comedies ever. A little later, Charlie Chaplin rips Hitler a new arschloch in The Great Dictator.