Marion Barry isn’t the only rake with a milestone to celebrate. Also today: Cary Grant turns 106! Since Grant (né Archibald Alexander Leach) isn’t around to receive our happy returns—he died in ’86 and now serves principally as a touchstone for anyone writing about this guy—we thought we’d honor him with a rundown of his 10 greatest performances. Select videos below the jump:
1. To Catch a Thief (1955): Classic bad-guy-turned-good-guy-fights-to-clear-own-name; starring Grant, Grace Kelly, and the detective dude from Dial M for Murder.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ48kqGa_N4]
2. Charade (1963): A graying Grant runs twelve different games on Audrey Hepburn. Music by Mancini.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW0WvxztERA]
3. Notorious (1946): Fighting Claude Rains with Ingrid Bergman.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0wFV6D3-2E]
4. The Philadelphia Story (1940): Immaculate sparring with Katharine Hepburn. Jimmy Stewart co-stars.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH2DKZ-2m74]
5. Some Like It Hot (1959)…oh wait, just kidding:
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JCPzDXJa6g]
6. Bringing up Baby (1938): Screwball comedy featuring Katharine Hepburn and a curiously docile tiger.
7. Gunga Din (1939): Plays it straight in classic Kipling story.
8. North by Northwest (1959): His iconic scene:
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6gm5n5WmxY]
9. Suspicion (1941): Appropriately sinister (opposite Nigel Bruce) as gold-digging husband of Joan Fontaine.
10. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944): In which Grant writes book called Mind Over Matrimony, gets married.