Professor Charlotte Crofts joins Frame to Frame to discuss a couple of Cary Grant classics as only a ‘Bristolian’ could!
One of Bristol’s (and indeed Great Britain’s) most famous cinematic exports is Cary Grant. To the riches of Hollywood from the relative rags of Horfield, Archibald Leach blazed his own trail by joining The Bob Pander Stage Troupe, a travelling group of acrobats and music hall artists. Celebrating his life, films and legacy is the Cary Comes Home festival - which has been running for over 10 years - as it returns from 27th-29th November 2026.
Joining Andy Williams and Sean Wilson this week to help discuss Cary by air and sea is festival co-founder and Professor of Cinema Arts at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) Charlotte Crofts. She brings her passion and knowledge on the two films as well as the wider topic of Cary Grant’s career and how these two films dovetail nicely.
Only Angels Have Wings (1939) shows a Grant in his golden age - post-Bringing Up Baby and pre-His Girl Friday - here opposite Jean Arthur as an airmail pilot in the fictional South American port town of Barranca who faces danger every time his feet leave the ground.
Operation Petticoat (1959) is more light-hearted and shows Grant opposite future lifelong friend Tony Curtis in a World War II comedy that is both regressive in some ways but sneakily progressive in others.
Both Only Angels Have Wings and Operation Petticoat are screening at the Bristol Megascreen as part of the 2026 festival which you can find at https://www.carycomeshome.co.uk/.
To listen to this episode, search for ‘Frame to Frame’ wherever you listen to podcasts, follow this link, or enjoy the embedded link below!
