Unveiling the Acrobat Within: A Volunteer’s Deep Dive into Cary Grant’s Early Career
One of our dedicated volunteers, Jo Weeks, has been delving deep into Cary Grant’s early life, uncovering fascinating details about his acrobatic training and his time with the Pender Troupe. This research has led to the creation of three insightful articles:
Searching for Cary here and in New York: This article explores the young Archibald Leach’s journey from Bristol to New York, tracing his steps as he embarked on a career as a performer.
Chronology of Cary Grant’s training as an acrobat: This detailed timeline outlines the key stages of Cary Grant’s acrobatic training, from his early days with the Pender Troupe to his time performing on the vaudeville circuit.
Cary on Tumbling: This article delves into the specific acrobatic skills that Cary Grant mastered, such as stilt-walking and tumbling, based on his autobiography published in Ladies Home Journal in 1963.
These articles offer a fascinating glimpse into the early life of a Hollywood legend and highlight the physical prowess and dedication that shaped his iconic screen presence.
We’re excited to share these insights with you and invite you to explore the rich tapestry of Cary Grant’s life and career.
A new commemorative plaque has been erected by Historic England on one of Cary Grant’s childhood homes. Our festival director, Professor Charlotte Crofts (UWE Bristol), was delighted to be invited to speak at the unveiling ceremony on Friday 22 November, alongside Sir Chris Bryant, Minister of State for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
(Left to right) Historic England CEO, Duncan Wilson, , Cary Comes Home festival director, Charlotte Crofts and Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism Sir Chris Bryant unveil an Historic England blue plaque in honour of Cary Grant at his early childhood home, 50 Berkeley Road, Bishopston, Bristol. Picture date: Friday November 22, 2024. PA Photo. Photo credit: Anthony Upton/PA Media Assignments
This year marks 120 years since the birth of Archie Leach, who ran away from his Bristol home to join an acrobatic troupe, travelling to America and re-inventing himself as Cary Grant, the Hollywood actor. The blue plaque honours not just the Hollywood icon, but also the resilient and talented man behind the screen.
Grant spent his early years in various homes around Bishopston, Horfield, and Montpelier, facing the hardships of a working-class life. Despite these challenges, he fondly remembers this home, 50 Berkely Road, as being a happy home with its large garden with a long lawn, vegetable patch and an old apple tree, where his father had built a sturdy swing. Although he took pride in owning the swing, his fear of heights prevented him from fully enjoying it, finding even his father’s gentle pushes too daunting. Grant’s early fears of heights, were later contradicted by his later daring performances on stage and screen. As a teenager, he joined the Pender Troupe of Knockabout Boys and Comedians, where he honed his acrobatic skills. These talents became a hallmark of his acting career, with iconic roles that showcased his agility and grace, such as in To Catch a Thief and North by Northwest.
Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint scaling Mount Rushmore in North by Northwest (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)
This year’s Cary Comes Home Festival happening next weekend, will celebrate his acrobatic talents and the breadth of his career. Beyond his on-screen heroics, Cary Grant’s story is one of overcoming personal fears and challenges. His journey from the fields and gardens of Bristol to the heights of Hollywood continues to inspire us all.
Sir Chris Bryant and Charlotte Crofts during the unveiling.
Our festival director said “We extend our gratitude to Historic England for recognising Cary Grant with this plaque. His legacy lives on not just in his films, but in the spirit of determination and grace that he embodied. As we unveiled this plaque, we remembered the boy who played under the apple tree, the young man who dared to dream, and the star who never forgot his roots.”
Historic England plaque celebrating Cary Grant’s childhood home. Photo credits: Anthony Upton/PA Media Assignments
With the Cary Grant Festival just around the corner, it’s time to start planning your outfits for the best dressed competition! This year, our gala film is To Catch A Thief, featuring the stunning costumes designed by the legendary Edith Head. Let’s dive into some style inspiration to help you channel the glamour of Cary Grant and his leading ladies.
Cary Grant wasn’t just a silver screen legend; he was a style icon, too. His effortless elegance and timeless appeal continue to inspire fashion trends today.
Key elements of Cary Grant’s style:
Tailored Suits: Grant was a master of the tailored suit. His suits were always impeccably fitted, with clean lines and a perfect drape.
Casual Chic: Even in casual wear, Grant exuded a certain sophistication. Think crisp white shirts, well-cut trousers, and stylish sweaters.
Accessories: Grant knew the power of a well-chosen accessory. A pocket square, a stylish hat, or a pair of sunglasses could elevate any outfit.
Cary Grant’s outfits in To Catch A Thief
Cary Grant’s suave and sophisticated style in To Catch A Thief is a masterclass in classic men’s fashion. His tailored suits and effortless charm make him the epitome of elegance and style but it’s his casual looks in the film which are really memorable and create a sense of John Robie’s character as an ex-acrobat and retired jewellery thief, as outlined this BAMF Style post (Best Action Movies Fashion).
“Do you mind if I put on something more formal?” – Cary Grant’s Breton jumper in To Catch A Thief
Cary Grant’s Suit in North by Northwest is often voted the best suit in the history of cinema. This iconic look is a great source of inspiration for those aiming to capture the essence of Cary Grant’s timeless style. His sunglasses have been
Want to learn more about the man behind the style? For more on Cary Grant’s impeccable fashion sense, take a look at this GQ article that delves into his principles of good dress. And check out the latest issue of Detail magazine (#14), where Michael W. Salter delves into the “method and madness behind Grant’s very particular style decisions.”
Cary Grant on the cover of Detail Magazine #14“Cary on regardless. ‘Style begins and ends with Cary Grant’ wrote Alan Flusser. But Cary Grant’s elegance was not merely a product of his sartorial choices, it was a reflection of his intrinsic grace, wit and deportment. He just made it all look so easy… and that took a lot of effort” (Michael W Salter)
Grace Kelly’s wardrobe in To Catch A Thief is the epitome of 1950s elegance. Designed by Edith Head, her outfits range from chic casual wear to breathtaking evening gowns. For inspiration, check out this Classic Critics Corner post highlighting ten of her most elegant outfits from the film. Think flowing chiffon, sophisticated silhouettes, and timeless accessories. Below are several of Edith Head’s designs for the film:
Below is a photo of Grace Kelly with Edith Head, showcasing the collaboration that brought such iconic fashion to the screen. Their work together is a testament to the power of costume design in creating memorable film moments.
Grace Kelly with Edith Head on the set of To Catch A Thief (1955)
The film culminates in an extended masquerade ball sequence, where the 1950s meets 18th-century style in all its technicolor glory. Edith Head pulls out all the stops. The lavish 18th-century masquerade costumes, while visually stunning, reflect the racial and gender biases prevalent in both the 18th century and the mid-20th century Hollywood film industry, as outlined in this great blogpost from Frock Flicks.
Grace Kelly and Jessie Royce Landis at the masked ball in To Catch A Thief
So, as you prepare for the Cary Comes Home Festival, why not channel your inner Grace Kelly or Cary Grant? Whether you’re attending the gala screening or a casual daytime event, there’s an opportunity to dress with style and sophistication. Remember, it’s not just about looking good; it’s about feeling confident and expressing your individuality.
Join the Fun!
Take this opportunity to immerse yourself in the charm of classic Hollywood fashion. Whether you’re inspired by Grace Kelly’s elegant gowns or Cary Grant’s timeless suits, there’s plenty of inspiration to help you stand out at the festival. Don’t forget to visit our website for all the details on how to participate in the best dressed competition and to plan your festival experience. See you at the festival, dressed to impress! 🌟
Online Events for More Inspiration
CINEMATIC SYTLE
Join us for a deep dive into film and fashion, exploring the wardrobes of Cary Grant and his leading ladies. This event will give you plenty of ideas for the best dressed competition!
TO CATCH A SPY
Discover the new sequel to the original novel, approved by the estate of David Dodge.
Best dressed family or group– Family Ticket (2 adults and 2 children) – home to the Megascreen, our wonderful venue partners!
Avery’s Wine Merchants
Best dressed couple of any description– Ticket for 2 Wine and Jazz event. Cary Grant is likely to have introduced Alfred Hitchcock to Avery’s
Bristol Old Vic
Best dressed inspired by Cary Grant – £50 Gift Vouchers, one for the Gala and one for the Megascreen – Cary Grant visited Theatre Royal with girlfriend Maurine Donaldson in 1970s
Watershed Cinema
Best dressed inspired by a Leading Lady – £50 Gift Vouchers, one for the Gala and one for the Megascreen – they have been huge supporters for the festival since 2014!
We are delighted to announce our judges for this year’s Best Dressed Competition, Dominique Breckenridge and Keith Lodwick. Their expertise and passion for fashion and the arts will undoubtedly bring a unique and exciting perspective to our event. We also encourage everyone to check out our recent Cinematic Style event where we explored the fascinating world of costume designers and fashion in film, featuring legends like Edith Head, Travis Banton, and Robert Kalloch. Don’t miss out on this insightful conversation that celebrates the artistry behind the costumes in our festival’s film lineup!
We are incredibly excited to have Dominique and Keith with us, and we look forward to the insights and expertise they will bring to this year’s competition. So get your your outfits planned and we look forward to seeing you on the red carpet!
Dominique Breckenridge is an art/film creative and fashion designer behind Dominique Revue and Dominique Private Collection. Her work is a continuous homage to Old Hollywood, inspired by her love for classic cinema. A self-taught artist, Dominique began creating and sewing clothes by hand from an early age, leading to her first collection of garments. Dominique’s diverse career includes designing for runway shows, producing theatrical fashion shows, and directing documentaries. Her passion for classic cinema is evident in all her work, from her mini-series BETTYE to her period piece novel THE SOCIETY. Discover more about Dominique’s dedication to costume design and classic cinema at dominiquerevue.weebly.com and on her YouTube channels, Dominique Revue and Dominique Revue Productions
Keith Lodwick is an independent curator and writer. He is the former Curator of Theatre and Screen Arts at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Keith curated the V&A touring exhibition Vivien Leigh: Public Faces, Private Lives, created from Leigh’s archive and has written extensively about Leigh’s life and work. Keith was the assistant curator for the major V&A exhibition Hollywood Costume, one of the most successful exhibitions in the museum’s history. Keith has contributed to a wide range of publications including Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes (2010), Oliver Messel: In the Theatre of Design (2011), Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty (2015), Shoe Reels: The History and Philosophy of Footwear in Film (2020) and Performance Costume: New Perspectives and Methods (2021). Keith has appeared in several television programmes including the BBC TV series Secrets of the Museum.
Woo-hoo! On top of our amazing prizes for the Best Dressed competition, we have a treasure trove of other goodies. Boost your festival experience by purchasing a festival or day pass and get entered into our exclusive prize draw! Here’s what you could win:
Weekend Festival Pass: Bed and breakfast for two at the Royal Marriott Hotel for 2, for 1 night – where Cary Grant honeymooned with Dyan Cannon.
Saturday Pass: Cheetah Experience for two at Bristol Zoo (the closest thing to Leopards in homage to Bringing Up Baby!). 🐆
Sunday Pass: Dinner for four at the Avon Gorge Hotel, where Cary Grant used to stay and was often photographed on the Terrace. 🍽️
Raffle Prizes:
We’re also holding a raffle across all days of the festival for a chance to win:
Annual memberships to Bristol Zoo;
Family ticket to SS Great Britain; or ⚓️
Wine-tasting experience at Woodchester Valley Vineyard.🍷
Don’t miss out on these fantastic prizes – grab your passes now and join us for an unforgettable celebration of Cary Grant’s legacy! 🌟
Visit www.carycomeshome.co.uk to book your passes and explore the full programme. See you there! 🎬
Make Your Pilgrimage to Cary Grant’s Birthplace Extra Special!
We’re thrilled to partner with these hotels, many of which have a unique connection to Cary Grant’s time in Bristol. Enhance your festival experience by staying at one of these iconic locations:
Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel
College Green, Bristol UK, BS1 5TA. Tel. +44 117 925 5100
Cary Grant stayed here regularly on visits home, and honeymooned here with his fourth wife Dyan Cannon– offering special rates for (Link: Cary Comes home Festival 2024) or you can book this rate through the Marriott Website and App by using the Code E7653
Dyan Cannon and Cary Grant in Clifton.
Avon Gorge by Hotel du Vin
Sion Hill, Clifton, Bristol UK, BS8 4LD. Tel. +44 117 403 0210
Cary Grant often stayed here too, and is pictured on the terrace overlooking the Clifton Suspension Bridge in several photographs by Bristol Post – offering 10% discount for Cary Comes Home Festival ticket holders. Use Code: CARY900 (see instructions)
Ibis Bristol Centre
Explore Lane, For Car Park use BS1 5LL, Avon, Bristol UK, BS1 5TY. Tel. +44 117 319 9000
Opposite the Cary Grant Statue in Millennium Square (you can see him from reception and it’s the starting point of the Raising Cary Grant theatre walk) – offering 10% discount for Cary Comes Home Festival ticket holders, quote Cary Grant Festival
Cary Grant statue in Millennium Square.
Brooks Guesthouse
Exchange Ave, Bristol UK, BS1 1UB. Tel. +44 117 930 0066 or email info@brookesguesthousebristol.com
Special rates for Cary Comes Home ticket holders: £100 for Friday night; £130 for Saturday night, £230 for both nights (£57.50 pp), call or email and quote Cary Grant Festival
Take this opportunity to immerse yourself in the charm of Bristol, explore Cary Grant’s birthplace, and stay in the very hotels he frequented. Visit www.carycomeshome.co.uk to book your passes and plan your stay. See you at the festival! 🌟
We’re really excited to be partnering with AUK Studios who have produced a new audio drama, Cary On, which focuses on Cary Grant’s experimentation with LSD, which is being released as a special edition audio CD (digital release to follow). Read on to find out about the chance for you to win one of these exclusive CDs!
Written by Kenton Hall, starring Barnaby Easton-Jones and Wink Taylor as Cary Grant, the project explores a lesser-known period of Cary Grant’s life as he struggles with fame and his own identity.
“Cary On was a joy to perform… Ever since I can remember I have always loved Cary Grant,” says Taylor. “When I found out that the super smooth Cary Grant was, in reality, an anxious man from Bristol called Archibald Leach I became even more fascinated.”
Cary On is a journey into the heart and mind of a cinematic icon. And, more importantly, of the man who brought him to life. About Cary On It’s 1958 and Cary Grant is at the height of his fame and his powers. He is adored by cinematic audiences around the world but there’s something missing. On screen, he is the sophisticated romantic. In the real world, he’s staring down the barrel of yet another divorce. On screen, he’s light-hearted and level-headed. In the real world, he hides from (and is troubled by) the dark secrets of his past. If he’s honest, the biggest problem is that he doesn’t have the slightest clue who he really is. He just knows he’s not Hollywood’s Cary Grant. But he also knows he’s not Archie Leach either, his birth name in Bristol, England. What can he do about that? Well, he does what any self-respecting Hollywood movie star would do, under the circumstances. He decides to try LSD.
“Cary Grant has always struck me as a wounded soul, in search of something. For me, that’s what Cary On is really about. The universal search for meaning and for self. Just in a finely tailored suit and with a twinkle in its eye,” says Cary On writer Kenton Hall. “I was exceedingly fortunate to be asked to write it.”
The concept of Cary On came from producer/director Barnaby Eaton-Jones, who adapted Kenton’s theatre script for audio. Nearly 20 years ago, Eaton-Jones had written a televised documentary about Cary Grant. Fascinated by the actor’s experimentation with LSD and how it freed him from his anxieties, worries and insecurities, Cary On was born. From there, Kenton Hall (‘London After Midnight’, ‘Getting Better: The Fight for the NHS’, ‘Bisection’) wrote the script and Wink Taylor (Winston Churchill in ‘Getting Better: The Fight for the NHS’) was cast in the lead role.
For a chance to win a copy of this exclusive audio drama, then put your glad rags on – the production team have offered us a special edition CD as a prize for our best dressed at our screening of An Affair to Remember at the Curzon on 25 November 2023. Click here for tickets and more information.
Our festival director Professor Charlotte Crofts presented on her chapter about the Looking For Archie Walking Tour at the Book Launch of Screen Tourism and Affective Landscapes, and spoke about her collaboration with Show of Strength Theatre Company to develop a new, actor-led theatre walk of Cary Grant/Archie’s Bristol – Raising Cary Grant – the SOLD OUT pilot is happening on 18 & 19 November this year, but we’re hatching plans to run the walk regularly to keep Cary alive in Bristol between festivals so do subscribe to our mailing list for updates. You can watch just Charlotte’s bit here, or you can watch the whole event here.
If you are interested in purchasing the book, then the publishers Routledge have very kindly offered our audience a 20% Discount Code: EFL04. More information on this flyer.
Before our screening of Night and Day on Saturday 21 October at St Mary Redcliffe Church, you will be serenaded by show songs from the era by Keep It Vocal choirs, lead by Anya Szreter, a highly experienced and enthusiastic choral director now based in Bristol:
“I’m delighted to be collaborating with Charlotte Crofts for Cary Comes Home Festival’s screening of Night and Day. I run three choirs in Bristol: Nightingale Valley Choir, The Redcliffe Singers and Arnos Vocale. It has been a fun and rewarding challenge involving all three of them. I’m so proud of how they’ve risen to the occasion and hope there will be opportunities to work together again. After the thrill of being involved in the first Singing City choirs day in 2022, at St George’s, Brandon Hill, we have relished the excitement of performing in these iconic Bristol locations and feeling we are part of the wider musical life of the city. I’m looking forward to posting some clips of the event on my website, www.keepitvocal.com” (Anya Szreter)
A huge thank you to Anya and all her choristers for singing Cole Porter classics and other show tunes before the screening! If you are interested in joining one of Anya’s choirs, please see more information below:
Word got around and in 2019, Anya was asked to start a choir for volunteers on the SS Great Britain, re-named, The Redcliffe Singers after jumping ship in 2022!
NIGHTINGALE VALLEY CHOIR
ST PETER’S CHURCH BS4 4NZ
MONDAYS 7.30-9pm
ARNOS VOCALE
KNOWLE METHODIST CHURCH
BS4 2EP
TUESDAYS 7.45-9.45pm
REDCLIFFE SINGERS
FAITHSPACE
PREWETT STREET
BS1 6PB
THURSDAYS 5.30-7.00pm
Our festival director, Professor Charlotte Crofts was featured on Andy Bennet’s afternoon show on BBC Radio Bristol (at timecode: 02:42:00) and she was also inteviewed by BCFM’s Billy Quain in the lead up to our screening of Night and Day, discussing the production history of the film and the exciting wrap around content, including working with local choir director Anya Szreter to provide musical entertainment before the film:
If you want to learn more about the production history of the film, then tune in to the recording of our recent online event, “You’re The Tops: The Making of Night and Day” with Cary Grant experts Mark Glancy and Kathrina Giltre here – warning there are plot spoilers so you might want to watch this after the screening! You can also watch a piano concert of Cole Porter music with Cate Bryan here.
