Cary Grant Almost Came Out of Retirement for This?

Cary Grant had one of the most unique movie star careers in Hollywood history -- MOST unique after he retired in 1966...and lived another 20 years until his death in 1986. At 82.

Like many of his Golden Era movie star peers -- stars from the 30s, 40s, and 50s -- the 60s was a decade of decision.

Clark Gable died of a heart attack in 1960. Gary Cooper died of cancer in 1961. These men were 60 or less at death.

Spencer Tracy died in 1967 at age 67...but he had looked 87 for the past few years. (He dropped dead of a heart attack just a few weeks after making his final film, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.)

Meanwhile, James Cagney retired in 1961, and stayed retired until returning to the screen 20 years later(looking very old and infirm) in 1981's "Ragtime."

James Stewart and Henry Fonda both tried TV series in the 1970s...rather embarrassing choices, for these two great movie stars saw their TV shows cancelled right out from under them.

Which brings us to Cary Grant. He chose James Cagney's "out" -- early retirement. At age 62. And after a lifetime of romantic leads, Grant chose in his final film -- Walk Don't Run -- to play the matchmaker for a YOUNG couple (Samantha Eggar and Jim Hutton.) Though in the final scene, Cary lets us know that he's heading back to London from Japan with the specific intention to impregnate his wife. Cary left the movies "just right."

Cary Grant looked fine in 'Walk Don't Run" -- oh, gray hair and a bit heavier, but he still had the voice and the movement and the elegant style and -- studios kept PURSUING him to come out of retirement and do another movie. (And why not? Modernly our movie stars work all through their 60's, into their 70's, sometimes beyond, like Clint at 90.)

It became great sport to announce that maybe Cary Grant would be doing a movie. But the choices offered were ...wrong. Sleuth, for instance -- the role(eventually played Laurence Olivier) was of an impotent older man dueling with his wife's younger lover. Warren Beatty pursued Grant heavily to play the "mentor angel" role in Heaven Can Wait. He'd give Grant top billing and everything. But what a mistake. This was a REMAKE, and in the original, the angel was played by CLAUDE RAINS, who was Grant's SUPPORT in Hitchcock's Notorious. The angel role went to James Mason, Grant's nemesis in North by Northwest.

And so forth and so on.

However, I have read, in several places, that Cary Grant was evidently INTERESTED in a role in The Verdict. Not just pursued, but INTERESTED. Almost came out of retirement.

I wish more information had come out about Grant's interest. He read the novel? He read the script? His agent(or lawyer) sent the script to him? Is this TRUE?

Other confusion arose. Exactly which role was the one for Grant? (Which one did he WANT?) The more obvious choice is the villain's role -- played (yet again) ultimately, by North by Northwest bad guy James Mason(much older than in NXNW, but still smooth of voice and sleek of menace.) Grant would have come out of retirement to play a VILLAIN?

OK...so was Grant really interested in the LEAD? The Paul Newman role? Its not impossible to consider. Grant would have been in his late 70's(roughly the age of Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro a few years ago) and the "broken down alcoholic lawyer" could have been an OLD broken down alcoholic lawyer. With perhaps a late middle-aged female love interest(Lauren Bacall, maybe? Ingrid Bergman? Was she alive?)

The more I think about it, the less it makes sense. But there it is, Cary Grant listed as "under consideration" for a role in The Verdict.

For the record: the one role I think maybe Cary Grant COULD have played out of retirement -- particularly when I saw a photo of him with a late-age goatee in retirement -- was .....Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars. Grant was alive and still fit in 1977 and could have done ghost cameos in 1980 and 1983 when the sequels were made.

Cary Grant's voice saying "trust the force, Luke." I can hear it. I can see him. THAT's the one role I think maybe he could have taken to leave retirement. I don't think it was even offered. And if it were, he'd probably have turned it down, not understanding it.