There are still some Cary Grant movies out there I’ve
never seen, and until recently this was one of them. THE AWFUL TRUTH came out
in 1937, when the country was starting to recover from some hard times but
staring others right in the face, and I think people were anxious to be
distracted from real life by the foibles and misadventures of rich, beautiful,
and witty people. Who better to play those parts than Cary Grant and Irene
Dunne? (Well, to be honest, I might have substituted Katherine Hepburn for Irene
Dunne, but BRINGING UP BABY and THE PHILADELPHIA STORY were still in the
future.)
Anyway, Grant and Dunne play a young, independently wealthy married couple with no children but an adorable dog. A series of misunderstandings convinces both of them that the other has been unfaithful, so they decide to get divorced. The divorce is granted, but it doesn’t become effective for 90 days. During that time, each moves on to a new romantic partner, but they also try to sabotage those new relationships. Dunne’s character falls for Oklahoma oilman Ralph Bellamy (playing basically the same role that Bellamy always plays), while Grant gets mixed up with a young heiress played by Molly Lamont. Mildly amusing hijinks ensue before the inevitable happy ending.
I dunno . . . I read the reviews for this movie on IMDB and people rave about how hysterically funny it is. Really? I think I laughed out loud once. There are quite a few absurd moments that made me smile a little, but THE AWFUL TRUTH is certainly no laugh riot as far as I’m concerned. And it’s so lightweight it almost floats away.
However, I always enjoy watching Cary Grant in anything, the rest of the cast is okay, and director Leo McCarey keeps things moving along fairly briskly. For a Grant fan, this one is worth watching, but I don’t think it’s anywhere close to the top rank of his movies.
Anyway, Grant and Dunne play a young, independently wealthy married couple with no children but an adorable dog. A series of misunderstandings convinces both of them that the other has been unfaithful, so they decide to get divorced. The divorce is granted, but it doesn’t become effective for 90 days. During that time, each moves on to a new romantic partner, but they also try to sabotage those new relationships. Dunne’s character falls for Oklahoma oilman Ralph Bellamy (playing basically the same role that Bellamy always plays), while Grant gets mixed up with a young heiress played by Molly Lamont. Mildly amusing hijinks ensue before the inevitable happy ending.
I dunno . . . I read the reviews for this movie on IMDB and people rave about how hysterically funny it is. Really? I think I laughed out loud once. There are quite a few absurd moments that made me smile a little, but THE AWFUL TRUTH is certainly no laugh riot as far as I’m concerned. And it’s so lightweight it almost floats away.
However, I always enjoy watching Cary Grant in anything, the rest of the cast is okay, and director Leo McCarey keeps things moving along fairly briskly. For a Grant fan, this one is worth watching, but I don’t think it’s anywhere close to the top rank of his movies.
3 comments:
I totally agree, James. I remember recording this on my VCR back in the '80s and sitting down with great anticipation, only to feel the same as you. Is that all there is? It was nominated for 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Actress and Supporting Actor (Bellamy). Shouldn't it be better, and funnier?
In AWFUL TRUTH my old friend Bob Allen had the role of "Frank Randall." It was his last assignment as a Columbia contract player; he began work in it shortly after completing the last of his six-film "Ranger" series of B Westerns for the studio. Bob had prominent roles in a few important Columbia movies of the mid-Thirties (in CRIME AND PUNISHMENT with Peter Lorre, LOVE ME FOREVER with Grace Moore, CRAIG'S WIFE with Rosalind Russell, THE BLACK ROOM with Boris Karloff) but never really caught on, despite being a favorite of studio prexy Harry Cohn. After leaving Columbia he freelanced for other studios and finally returned to his native New York in the '40s, concentrating on stage work. For a time he was also a photographer's model; a Chesterfield ad that shows him smoking appeared on the back cover of many pulps in the late '30s.
Thanks, Ed. I always enjoy learning about stuff like this.
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