Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)

   "...you may agree with Grant that anyone who builds these days is crazy..."

With Myrna Loy and Melvyn Douglas.

Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House - Review is taken from 'The Films of Cary Grant' by Donald Deschner (1973):

"Next to an exciting mystery or horror film there's nothing so relaxing as a good comedy.  But what makes one man laugh makes the next guy scowl.  I have listed below a few notes on recent pictures that may tickle your funny bone.  Blandings is the only one that had me rolling in the aisles (what a silly figure of speech!), however the others may roll you.  Every man to his own aisle.  

No doubt the secret of Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House is that you see yourself, as this city dweller and his family endure the confinements of a small New York apartment, dream of a home in the country, buy one, get fleeced right and left as they rebuild, but finally survive everything and live to enjoy the place in spite of all the plotting of man and nature against them.  Director H. C. Potter knows people and has given us a series of funny episodes that range from documentary-like shots of New York and its crowded millions to bucolic scenes of the hinterlands complete with the vicissitudes of the open spaces and commuter trains.  Of course Eric Hodgins's original story deserves much of the credit for the fun; scriptwriters Norman Panama and Melvin Frank have broadened the themes, but they have retained the warm humor and clever satire of the Hodgins book.  The cast is excellent: Cary Grant giving one of his best portrayals as the frustrated advertising man, Myrna Loy looking like and acting like the ideal wife, Melvyn Douglas responding as this couple's best friend and lawyer, and a large group of supporting players, not forgetting the real estate agent who knows a sucker when he sees one and he sees one.  The Grant-Loy-Douglas triangle is a little forced, and the film is rather long for its single home-building theme.  But the laughs continue to the end; and while you may agree with Grant that anyone who builds these days is crazy, you are more likely to agree with Douglas that the result is worth it."

Philip T. Hartung, Commonweal

New Artwork by Rebekah Hawley at Studio36 -
Number 52 - Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House (Lobby Card Style)

Part Of

For more, see also:

On This Day, 25th March 2021

Quote From Today, 25th March 2022

Quote From Today.... Madame Butterfly (1932)

"Oh, I guess she'd pass in a crowd"

With Sylvia Sidney.full-length

Madame Butterfly was Cary Grant's 7th full length feature film.

Cho-Cho San: [Cho-Cho San has found Adelaide's photo in Pinkerton's trunk. She brings it to him with the pipe cleaners] I found them like this

Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton: Thank you very much, Cho-Cho San

[he puts the photo aside]

Cho-Cho San: She very beautiful, that American lady

Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton: Oh, I guess she'd pass in a crowd

Cho-Cho San: She some lady you know very well?

Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton: Sure, sure. We've known each other for years

Cho-Cho San: She love you very much, perhaps?

Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton: No, of course not

Cho-Cho San: [she picks up the photo and points to the inscription that reads 'To Bin with all my love always'] What this writing say?

Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton: Oh, that. That just says 'lots of luck'

Cho-Cho San: Oh. But maybe you very much in love with her?

Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton: How can I have room in my heart for anyone but Madame Butterfly?

Quote From Today... Alice in Wonderland (1933)

   

"...because he taught us,..."

With William Austin and Charlotte Henry.

Alice in Wonderland was Cary Grant's 13th full-length feature film.

Alice: Why did you call him Tortoise, if he wasn’t one?

Mock Turtle: We called him Tortoise because he taught us, really you are very dull!”

Quote From Today... Charade (1963)

"...I didn't have the sense in those days to be sensible."

With Audrey Hepburn.

Charade was Cary Grant's 70th full-length feature film.

Adam Canfield: All right, get set for the story of my life.

Reggie Lampert: Fiction or non-fiction?

Adam Canfield: Eh, why don't you shut up?

Reggie Lampert: Well!

Adam Canfield: Are you going to listen?

Reggie Lampert: Go on...

Adam Canfield: Now, when I was a young man, my father expected me to go into his business. Umbrella frames. That's what he made. A sensible business, I suppose, but I didn't have the sense in those days to be sensible.

Reggie Lampert: [looking skeptical] I suppose all this is leading somewhere...

Adam Canfield: Well, it led me away from umbrella frames, for one thing. But that left me without any honest means of support.

Reggie Lampert: What do you mean?

Adam Canfield: Well, in this highly competitive world, when a man has no profession, there isn't much choice, so I began looking for people who had more money than they needed... including some, they'd barely miss.

Reggie Lampert: You mean you're a thief?

Adam Canfield: Well, that's not exactly the term I'd have chosen, but it sort of captures the spirit of the thing.

Reggie Lampert: I don't believe it!

Quote From Today... Houseboat (1958)

"You are looking at her!"

With Sophia Loren

Houseboat was Cary Grant's 65th full-length feature film.

Cinzia Zaccardi: Where is their mother?

Tom Winters: What did you say?

Cinzia Zaccardi: Their mother?

Tom Winters: You are looking at her. I'm a little new at the job.

Quote From Today... The Bishop's Wife (1947)

"Tell the world you're being visited by an angel? You can't do that."

With David Niven.

The Bishop's Wife was Cary Grant's 51st full-length feature film.

Dudley: You have some problems with the building of this cathedral, haven't you?

Henry Brougham: Yes.

Dudley: It's a fine cathedral. Ought to look magnificent up there on the top of Sanctuary Hill. Well, Henry, do you believe I am what I say I am?

Henry Brougham: Well, how can I? I've only got your word for it.

Dudley: But you're a bishop. You, of all people, can trust the word of an angel.

Henry Brougham: I'd like to. What do you... What do you propose to do? Perform a miracle?

Dudley: If necessary.

Henry Brougham: Well, why don't you? Why don't you create the cathedral with one wave of your hand?

Dudley: You wouldn't want me to do that, would you? How would you explain it?

Henry Brougham: Well, I...

Dudley: Tell the world you're being visited by an angel? You can't do that.

The Cary Grant Collection: Part 1 - Biographies.

 “To write an autobiography, you’ve got to expose other people. I hope to get out of this world as gracefully as possible, without embarrassing anyone.”

“I have no plans to write an autobiography, I will leave that to others. I’m sure they will turn me into a homosexual or a Nazi spy or something else.”

Cary Grant never wrote an autobiography, quite simply for the reasons he himself expresses in the quotes above.

The closest he came was writing a three-part article for The Ladies Home Journal, entitled 'Archie Leach'

(January/February 1963 (Part 1), March 1963 (Part 2), April 1963 (Part 3))

Maybe because of this, so many other people wrote about him.

Some, trying to get to the truth of how Archie Leach became Cary Grant, and others just repeating unfounded rumors and gossip.

But as a complete body of works...all add something to the story of a boy from a working-class upbringing in Bristol, who became one of, if not the greatest Hollywood Star ever.

Below are listed the biographies that grace my collection - The Cary Grant Collection.

(I have listed them in date order and scaled the pictures to give an idea of how the books compare to each other in size)

Cary Grant: An Unauthorized Biography by Albert Govoni (1971)

Back Cover

Ian Allan Film Albums - 3: Cary Grant (1971)

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The Pictorial Treasury of Film Stars - Cary Grant by Jerry Vermilye  (1973)

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The Films of Cary Grant by Donald Deschner (1973)
Introduction by Charles Chaplin

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The Life and Loves of Cary Grant - A Biography by Lee Guthrie (1977)

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In The Spotlight - Cary Grant by Gallery Press (1980)

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Cary Grant: The Light Touch by Lionel Godfrey (1981)

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Cary Grant: A Celebration by Richard Schickel (1983)

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Cary Grant: Haunted Idol by Geoffrey Wansell (1983)

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The Private Cary Grant by William Currie McIntosh ans William Weaver (1983)

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Cary Grant by Jean-Jacques Dupuis (1984)

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Cary Grant by Chuck Ashman and Pamela Trescott (1986)

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Cary Grant: A Touch of Elegance by Warren G. Harris (1987) 

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Cary Grant by Pamela Trescott (1987)

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An Affair to Remember: My Life With Cary Grant by Maureen Donaldson and William Royce (1989)

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Cary Grant: The Lonely Heart by Charles Higham and Roy Moseley (1989)

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Cary Grant: A Portrait in His Own Words and by Those Who Knew Him Best by Nancy Nelson (1991)
Foreword by Barbara and Jennifer Grant.

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Cary Grant: Dark Angel by Geoffrey Wansell (1996)

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Cary Grant: A Class Apart by Graham MaCann (1997)
Hardback

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Cary Grant: A Class Apart by Graham MaCann (1997)
Paperback

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Legends: Cary Grant by Richard Schickel (1998)

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Cary Grant: A Life in Pictures by Jerry Curtis (1998)

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Cary Grant: In Name Only by Gary Morecombe and  Martin Sterling (2003)
Foreword by Sheridan Morley

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Evenings With Cary Grant: Recollections in His Own Words and by Those Who Knew Him Best by Nancy Nelson (2003)
New Foreword by Barbara and Jennifer Grant

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Cary Grant: A Biography by Marc Eliot (2004)

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Cary Grant: The Wizard of Beverly Grove by Bill Royce (2006)

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Cary Grant: A Celebration of Style by Richard Torregrossa (2006)
Foreword by Giorgio Armani
Afterword by Michael Kors

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Movie Icons: Grant by Taschen (2007)

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Dear Cary: My Life with Cary Grant by Dyan Cannon (2011)

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Good Stuff: A Reminiscence of My Father, Cary Grant by Jennifer Grant (2011)

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Cary Grant: A Life in Picture by Pavilion (2011)

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How to Become Cary Grant: A Remarkable Life in Quotes and Remembrances by Horace Martin Woodhouse (2013) 

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Cary Grant Movie Poster Book: Special edition by Greg Lenburg (2016) 

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Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise by Scott Eyman (2020)

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Cary Grant: The Making of a Hollywood Legend by Mark Glancy (2020)

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American Legends: The Life of Cary Grant by Charles River Editors (?)

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Etre Cary Grant (To Be Cary Grant) by Martine Reid (2021)

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Some Versions of Cary Grant by James Naremore (2022)

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Listed below are writers who have put their name to more then one Cary Grant Biography:

Cary Grant by Chuck Ashman and Pamela Trescott (1986)

Cary Grant by Pamela Trescott (1987)

Cary Grant: Haunted Idol by Geoffrey Wansell (1983)

Cary Grant: Dark Angel by Geoffrey Wansell (1996)

An Affair to Remember: My Life With Cary Grant by Maureen Donaldson and William Royce (1989)

Cary Grant: The Wizard of Beverly Grove by Bill Royce (2006)

Cary Grant: A Portrait in His Own Words and by Those Who Knew Him Best by Nancy Nelson (1991)
Foreword by Barbara and Jennifer Grant.

Evenings With Cary Grant: Recollections in His Own Words and by Those Who Knew Him Best by Nancy Nelson (2003)

New Foreword by Barbara and Jennifer Grant

The Cary Grant Collection - 2022