Director: Leo McCarey
Distributor: Columbia Pictures Corporation
Top Billed Actors: Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy
Won 1 Oscar:
Best Director - Leo McCarey
Nominated for 5 more:
Outstanding Production - Columbia
Best Actress - Irene Dunne
Best Supporting Actor - Ralph Bellamy
Best Adaptation - Viña Delmar
Best Film Editing - Al Clark
Plot: A supposedly amicable divorce devolves into the man ruining the woman's new relationship and vice versa.
Distributor: Columbia Pictures Corporation
Top Billed Actors: Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy
Won 1 Oscar:
Best Director - Leo McCarey
Nominated for 5 more:
Outstanding Production - Columbia
Best Actress - Irene Dunne
Best Supporting Actor - Ralph Bellamy
Best Adaptation - Viña Delmar
Best Film Editing - Al Clark
Plot: A supposedly amicable divorce devolves into the man ruining the woman's new relationship and vice versa.
As we near the end of the 10th Awards, we finally visit the Best Director winning film, The Awful Truth (1937). Although Leo McCarey commented that he won this award for the wrong movie (he preferred his other 1937 offering more), this is a fitting win due to McCarey's unique brand of filmmaking. The shoot of the film has just as much drama as the movie itself. Apparently, the script was being written on the fly and McCarey fostered a hugely-improvised environment. He would purposely leave his actors in the dark and even have them block and write their own lines. Then, he would build off of that and alter the movie as he saw fit. Cary Grant tried to quit the filming due to this approach as he was used to the Paramount ways of churning out films factory-like. However, all parties seemed to get on board after a week or so and the screwball comedy really shines through as a result. Although Grant may have carried a grudge against McCarey throughout his career, this was really his breakout role as a comedic actor. Irene Dunne has her moments as well - she improvised her dance sequence when she pretended to be Grant's character's sister as well as singing "Home on the Range" with Ralph Bellamy. Both Dunne and Bellamy were rewarded for their efforts with Oscar nominations.
The fruits of everyone's improvised efforts result in a classic comedy. There are numerous laughs to be had and the chemistry that Grant and Dunne have is extraordinary. Every time we see Grant or Dunne in a scene without the other, there is an absence felt. They play off of each other so well and you can just tell how much fun they were having together. Little digs at each other, snide gestures they make behind each others' backs, and hilarious pranks they pull are all scattered throughout the film. I especially adore the scene in which Grant is hiding behind a door and tickling Dunne as she listens to an awfully-written poem recited by Bellamy. Its moments like these that give this film character and a light tone that keeps you coming back scene after scene.
Although I enjoy each prank and disparaging remark, I wish the structure of the story was set up in a different manner. Instead of man and wife trying to one-up each other as the narrative progresses, Dunne is first seen with a new man. Then, after that is eventually stamped out by Grant, its Dunne's turn to ruin a relationship. Grant is the wise-cracker during the first two thirds of the movie and he suddenly becomes the straight man leading up to the conclusion. Its a hard shift that didn't sit right with me and I think that could have been alleviated if they both entered into a relationship right away rather than taking turns.
Overall, the comedy is timeless, the actors are having the times of their lives, and there's a dog that plays hide-and-seek. Cary Grant and Irene Dunne are drenched in chemistry and each and every prank or comment is as fresh as the last.
My Score: 7/10
The fruits of everyone's improvised efforts result in a classic comedy. There are numerous laughs to be had and the chemistry that Grant and Dunne have is extraordinary. Every time we see Grant or Dunne in a scene without the other, there is an absence felt. They play off of each other so well and you can just tell how much fun they were having together. Little digs at each other, snide gestures they make behind each others' backs, and hilarious pranks they pull are all scattered throughout the film. I especially adore the scene in which Grant is hiding behind a door and tickling Dunne as she listens to an awfully-written poem recited by Bellamy. Its moments like these that give this film character and a light tone that keeps you coming back scene after scene.
Although I enjoy each prank and disparaging remark, I wish the structure of the story was set up in a different manner. Instead of man and wife trying to one-up each other as the narrative progresses, Dunne is first seen with a new man. Then, after that is eventually stamped out by Grant, its Dunne's turn to ruin a relationship. Grant is the wise-cracker during the first two thirds of the movie and he suddenly becomes the straight man leading up to the conclusion. Its a hard shift that didn't sit right with me and I think that could have been alleviated if they both entered into a relationship right away rather than taking turns.
Overall, the comedy is timeless, the actors are having the times of their lives, and there's a dog that plays hide-and-seek. Cary Grant and Irene Dunne are drenched in chemistry and each and every prank or comment is as fresh as the last.
My Score: 7/10