The Awful Truth (1937)

 "A great many funny things happen... maneuvered, to some extent, by Mr. Smith."

With Ralph Bellamy and Irene Dunne.

The Awful Truth - Review is taken from 'The Films of Cary Grant' by Donald Deschner (1973):

"The Awful Truth is one of those mile-a-minute comedies which never makes sense but which makes you giggle outrageously.  At the beginning Irene Dunne and Cary Grant are a young married couple on the verge of divorce; but they soon prove to be a couple of cut-ups who delight in bedeviling each other.  A great many funny things happen, most of which are maneuvered, to some extent, by Mr. Smith.  He is the biggest bone of contention.  Mr. Smith is a Scottish terrier.  

The dialogue is snappy, the action fast, and often furious, and Irene Dunne proves herself better as a comedienne than as the beautiful-but-dignified star she once was.

- Scholastic Magazine

New Artwork by Rebekah Hawley at Studio36 -
Number 29 - The Awful Truth (Lobby Card Style)

Part Of

For more, see also:

Quote From Today - 21 October 2022

On This Day - 21 October 2021

On This Day - 21 October 2020

Quote From Today.... The Awful Truth (1937)

"With a minute to go, Dad had the ball..."

With Molly Lamont and Irene Dunne.

The Awful Truth was Cary Grant's 29th full length feature film.

Lucy Warriner: [pretending to be Jerry's lower-class sister "Lola" at a gathering with his girlfriend's family] I'm sorry to interrupt you again, Jerry. Now, what were you saying?

Jerry Warriner: I was just telling one of Father's stories. You've heard it. With a minute to go, Dad had the ball...

Lucy Warriner: -A ball? What ball?

Jerry Warriner: -The football.

Lucy Warriner: Well, what in the world was Dad ever doing with a football, for heaven's sakes?

Jerry Warriner: I was just telling a story about when Father was at Princeton. You remember...

Lucy Warriner: [suddenly very enthused] Oh, Pop loved Princeton! He was there nearly 20 years, and if ever a man loved a place, he did. He just adored it. And he certainly kept it looking beautiful!

On This Day...The Awful Truth (1937)

 Today back in 1937 saw the release of Cary Grant's 29th full length feature film, The Awful Truth.

Synopsis:

Jerry (Cary Grant) and Lucy (Irene Dunne) are a married couple who doubt each other's fidelity: Jerry suspects Lucy and her music teacher (Alexander D'Arcy) of spending an evening together, and Lucy is convinced Jerry lied about a business trip. 

When the jealous pair file for divorce, both rush into new relationships, but quickly realize their love never died. The soon-to-be-divorced husband and wife then both scramble to spoil each other's chances for newfound romance.

With Ralph Bellamy and Irene Dunne.

"The season's smartest drawing-room comedy arrives unheralded, to run faster, funnier and finer than any of the all too many widely ballyhooed farces immediately proceeding. Every contributor to this film stands high in accomplishment, from the ideally executed performances of Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy and Alexander Darcy, to Leo McCarey's direction, second to none in the rare field of good comedy, and to the screen writing of Vina Delmar, whio brings Arthur Richman's play of fifteen years ago to the screen without loss of verve and with gain of freshness". - James P. Cunningham, The Commonweal

In court with Irene Dunne and Mr. Smith.

Did You Know:

Adapted from a Broadway play. The original stage production of "The Awful Truth" opened on Monday, September 18th, 1922, at Henry Miller's Theatre in New York and ran for 144 performances.

"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on Tuesday, January 18th, 1955, with Cary Grant and Irene Dunne reprising their roles from the film.

The dog playing Mr. Smith was named Skippy, and was most popular for its role in The Thin Man (1934) movie & its sequel, as Asta. On those movies, he was notorious for trying to bite the actors. Even in this film, there's a scene where Cary Grant is trying to play with the dog, and the dog very obviously snaps and growls at him.

Cary Grant was so convinced this film was not working, he begged to be released during production. The film turned out to be a big hit.

While Cary Grant was initially working with Leo McCarey, he was unaware that McCarey was deliberately creating nervous tension in the actor, in order to enhance his performance. By keeping the cast slightly off balance, the director was building scenes from spontaneous moments between his actors. Giving the barest outlines of a scene, he would have his actors try something on their feet. For instance, in one rehearsal, he told Irene Dunne to simply open the door of her apartment and say, "Well, if it isn't my ex." He told Grant to answer with whatever came into his head. Grant replied, "The judge says this is my day to see the dog." McCarey then built the scene around that moment. The line, and the subsequent scene, stayed in the picture.

Cast:

Irene Dunne...LucyWarriner
Cary Grant...Jerry Warriner
Ralph Bellamy...Daniel Leeson
Alexander D'Arcy...Armand Duvalle
Cecil Cunningham...Aunt Patsy
Molly Lamont...Barbara Vance
Esther Dale...Mrs. Leeson
Joyce Compton...Dixie Belle Lee
Robert Allen...Frank Randall
Robert Warwick...Mr. Vance
Mary Forbes...Mrs. Vance

Lobby Cards:

International Posters:

Directed by Leo McCarey.

Distributed by Columbia Pictures.

Running time: 89 minutes.

"Lights, camera...action!" - The Directors - Part 4

So there were four directors who worked with Cary Grant on three films each.

They were, Marion Gering, George Cukor, Leo McCarey and George Stevens.

Marion Gering:

19th June 1901 - 19th April 1977

Devil and the Deep (1932)

With Charles Laughton and Tallulah Bankhead.

Madame Butterfly (1932)

With Sylvia Sidney

Thirty-Day Princess (1934)

Again with Sylvia Sidney

George Cukor:

7th July 1899 - 24th January 1983

On Grant -"One of the reasons he was so successful as an actor was that he truly just behaved like he was a normal guy and like he didn't look like that."

Sylvia Scarlett (1936)

With Katharine Hepburn.

Holiday (1938)

Again with Katharine Hepburn.

The Philadelphia Story (1941)

With George Cukor, John Howard and Katharine Hepburn.

George Cukor was awarded an Oscar for Best Director for The Philadelphia Story. He also directed many Oscar nominated performances.

Leo McCarey:

3rd October 1898 - 5th July 1969

The Awful Truth (1937)

Publicity shot with Irene Dunne and Leo McCarey.

Leo McCarey won the Oscar for Best Director.

Once Upon A Honeymoon (1942)

With Ginger Rogers.

An Affair to Remember (1957)

With Deborah Kerr.

George Stevens :

18th December 1904 - 8th March 1975

Gunga Din (1939)

On the set of Gunga Din (above) relaxing and (below) with George Stevens.

Penny Serenade (1941)

On set of the film that bought him his first Oscar nomination.

The Talk of the Town (1942)

With George Stevens, Jean Arthur and Ronald Colman.

Four directors completed two film projects each with Cary Grant...

..."Lights, camera...action!" - The Directors - Part 5

My favourite film of the 1930's...The Awful Truth.

The Awful Truth, was released in 1937, and directed by Leo McCarey.

Its a classic screwball comedy that sees Cary Grant becoming the complete package as a screen actor.

Playing opposite Irene Dunne, who is so funny, in the

role of his estranged wife.

They play the roles of Jerry and Lucy Warriner, a Manhattan society couple who are bent on divorce.
In the 90 days it takes for the divorce to become final, they embark on a new relationship and at the same time do whatever it takes to sabotage the other's budding romance.

Great performance too, by Ralph Bellamy, who gets caught up in all the chaos. So good, he received an Oscar nomination!