I love Jean Arthur and think she was a fantastic actress. Hope to check out as many of her films as I can. She should have received an Oscar nomination for her performance in this movie. Anyone else agree?
"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today."
I thought she was great as well, and extremely attractive. I love when she sends the note down to Mr. Smith and he looks up at her and her eyes are watery. Beautiful!
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Jean Arthur is above Barbara Stanwyck ---Ms. Arthur is wonderful in this movie and everything eles she has ever done.
shareI agree that Jean is great in everything (especially Easy Living, Only Angels Have Wings, and Shane).
"Dry your eyes baby, it's out of character."
I must say after seeing somemore of Barbara Stanwyck I think they are both at the highest. They have different acting types. Jean played more out for money and doesn't realize what she really needs till the end of the movie characters and Barbara played more of the characters who did everything possible for her family and money doesn't really play a factor. So I guess you can say that I somewhat take back what I said, but I still think Jean is wonderful.
shareI love that scene too!! It has been several years since I have seen this film, and when I saw it recently I realized I had forgotten how good it was. There are several times where the expression on Jean Arthur's face says more than words could every convey. She's a wonderful actress!
~ I also enjoy the scene between her and Stewart when he baits Saunders to find out her first name. The dialogue in that scene is great!
And on a shallow note, she's *beep* hot in this movie.
shareI agree with all the posts here. Jean Arthur was smokin' and brilliant although I would have liked to have seen a bit more screen time with her and Stewart, also would have liked to seen them together at the end.
I'm looking foward to seeing more of her films and other classic stars. In many ways the best days of movies and hollywood have been over for quite some time.
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Definitely! She was feisty, strong, energetic. Great performance.
"How could I have known that murder can sometimes smell like honeysuckle?"
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Another Her good movie, Shane 1953
shareI agree wholeheartedly; Jimmy Stewart delivered a tour-de-force performance, but Jean Arthur matched his talents. While Smith is such a black-and-white character and perhaps a little too naive and idealistic for his own good (I understand that this is Capra, but at times I feel he goes over the top), but Saunders provided a nice contrast, with so many shades of gray. Her best moment is when she's giving Smith the lowdown on how a bill is really proposed. 1939 is famously an amazing year for American cinema, but all the Oscar love went to Gone With the Wind, which is hardly fair. Jean Arthur deserved an Oscar nomination, and I believe that this is her best role/performance ever.
Jean Arthur is perhaps the most underrated actress ever, despite appearing in so many classic movies such as this, and shared the screen with John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, Ronald Coleman, and Gary Cooper among others. That perfect comedic timing and genuine tenderness she brought to every film just shines through, with so much confidence it's hard to believe that she had the biggest case stage fright.
Did he train you? Did he rehearse you? Did he tell you exactly what to do, what to say?!