Summary
Tired of living in his cramped Manhattan apartment with his wife and
two teenage daughters, advertising executive Jim Blandings is smitten
by the dream of owning a house in the country. He finds what he
believes to be his dream home, a dilapidated old villa in Connecticut,
but once he has bought it he discovers that it is structurally unsound
and has to be pulled down. Undeterred, Mr Blandings perseveres
and organises a new house to be built on the site, only to end up
spending far more than he had intended, thanks partly to his wife
Muriel’s involvement in the design. No sooner has the house been
built than Jim begins to suffer from a mental block. Unable to
think up new slogans for his clients, he quits his job – and then
discovers that his wife has spent the night with an old flame...
Review
One of the most entertaining of Cary Grant’s comic outings, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
is a film that has been imitated many times since, its jokes endlessly
pillaged by writers of TV sitcoms and films, but it still manages to be
an enjoyable humour fest. It may have lost something of its
topicality (the shortage of housing was a hot issue in many towns
across the United States in the immediate aftermath after WWII), but
the film still strikes a chord, particularly as more and more of us
dream about leading a better life in the country.
Here, Cary Grant is partnered for the third and last time with the enchanting Myrna Loy, following their successful appearances in Wings in the Dark (1935) and The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947). Whilst many of the jokes are predictable, their sheer abundance, together with the unflagging energy in Grant and Loy’s performances, prevents the film from ever having a dull moment. If you are tempted to switch that box in the town for a country manor, this is the film to put you off the idea once and forever.
Here, Cary Grant is partnered for the third and last time with the enchanting Myrna Loy, following their successful appearances in Wings in the Dark (1935) and The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947). Whilst many of the jokes are predictable, their sheer abundance, together with the unflagging energy in Grant and Loy’s performances, prevents the film from ever having a dull moment. If you are tempted to switch that box in the town for a country manor, this is the film to put you off the idea once and forever.
© filmsdefrance.com 2009
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Related links
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To buy this film
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Credits
- Director: H.C. Potter
- Script: Eric Hodgins
- Photo: James Wong Howe
- Music: Leigh Harline
- Cast: Cary Grant (Jim Blandings), Myrna Loy (Muriel Blandings), Melvyn Douglas (Bill Cole), Reginald Denny (Simms), Sharyn Moffett (Joan Blandings), Connie Marshall (Betsy Blandings), Louise Beavers (Gussie), Ian Wolfe (Smith), Harry Shannon (Tesander), Tito Vuolo (Mr. Zucca), Nestor Paiva (Joe Appollonio), Jason Robards Sr. (John Retch), Lurene Tuttle (Mary), Lex Barker (Carpenter Foreman), Emory Parnell (Mr. PeDelford), Stanley Andrews (Mr. Murphy), Robert Bray (Workman), Don Brodie (Charlie, Painter), Cliff Clark (Jones), Kernan Cripps (Policeman), Frank Darien (Judge Quarles), Hal K. Dawson (Harry Selby)
- Country: USA
- Language: English
- Runtime: 94 min; B&W
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- The Merry Widow (1934)
- My Favorite Wife (1940)
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Comedy / Romance






