One of the Greats - The Awful Truth (1937) Discussion

[–] Autlan 20 years ago

It is good, I watched it for the first time the other day. There's something great about seeing a movie from the 30s dealing with a topic like divorce. My great great grandmother was divorced and I've been told it was never discussed even inside the house. It's also nice to see a bad point in a relationship dealt with comically, rather than the same drawn out 'meet someone and fall head over heels in love' drivel you see in so many other movies. You get the impression Lucy is really trying to stick it to Jerry hard to choose a mismatched like Dan, but Jerry turns it back on her masterfully although it does seem it's what Lucy really wants. Another plus is that Cary Grant doesn't do his doze shock routine too much in this film. I love the sharp verbal sparring between Cary and Irene. She's one of the few girls I've seen match Cary in dialogue rather than swoon.

I agree with the falling out the chair scene, it's one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time.

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[–] 20 years ago

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[–] csu16387 19 years ago

I think it took Howard Hawks for Cary Grant to fully become Cary Grant. That's probably why he doesn't do his "shock routine" in The Awful Truth. Leo McCarey certainly helped shape Grant to what we know him for in his movies. Grant's performance in Bringing Up Baby, however, takes his routine to another level. All of his mannerisms, gestures, noises are on full display in 'Baby' and he never looked back.

Still surprising, though, that there are only three posts here discussing this classic movie. I thought there would be many more people on this message board.

"Dry your eyes baby, it's out of character."

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] BennetDarcy 19 years ago

I actually prefer this movie to Bringing Up Baby.

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[–] gabmooch 19 years ago

I liked this movie very much, too. I was watching it at the gym and laughed out loud at the chair tipping scene. However, Dunne left me cold in this role. I really felt she was doing a Kate Hepburn imitation, and poorly at that. I would have preferred Hepburn in the role. I think there was better chemistry between Hepburn and Grant.

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[–] BennetDarcy 19 years ago

Interesting. Well, you might want to watch Bringing Up Baby or Holiday if you like the Hepburn/Grant chemistry. I prefer Dunne/Grant (in all three of their movies, really, but particularly My Favorite Wife) and Hepburn/Tracy.

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[–] gabmooch 19 years ago

I was just going to say, I LOVED My Favorite Wife, and did not have the same reaction, so I don't really know why I dislike her so much in this role. Oddly, although I am a big Hepburn fan, as well, I am not crazy about Bringing Up Baby, but I love Holiday, and love most of the Hepburn/Tracy movies.

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[–] BennetDarcy 19 years ago

yeah, Bringing Up Baby is my least favorite Hepburn movie that I've seen.

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[–] hodie 19 years ago

Funny. My husband and I saw this film for the first time last week. We loved it, and both of us heard a little Hepburn in some of Dunne's lines.

My favorite single moment in the film was the expression on Grant's face as he pulled up a chair to watch Dunne unwillingly dancing with Bellamy.

I haven't seen many of the screwball comedies of the 30s and 40s but now I'm gonna make it a point to see as many as I can.

"Woses. How ordinawy."

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[–] BennetDarcy 19 years ago

haha, I love that part too! And then he asked for an encore so she could keep dancing. Fun stuff.

You and your husband definitely should check out screwball comedies (it's one of my favorite genres). My favorite: It Happened One Night. I also recommend You Can't Take it With You... okay, I'm a Frank Capra nut. I just adore his movies. Some people get annoyed with Bringing Up Baby.... I guess that's the "Napoleon Dynamite" of screwball comedies: some people ADORE it, and some LOATHE it. You should check it out though... You might be surprised. Um... oh, and I find Ball of Fire adorable, but that one may be hard to find.

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[–] coldcapuchinoooooo 19 years ago

Do any of you know what the song was that Lucy sang, where Jerry comes in, falls of his chair etc.

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[–] joes119 19 years ago

La Serenata by Tosti

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[–] hodie 17 years ago

You and your husband definitely should check out screwball comedies (it's one of my favorite genres). My favorite: It Happened One Night. I also recommend You Can't Take it With You... okay, I'm a Frank Capra nut. I just adore his movies. Some people get annoyed with Bringing Up Baby.... I guess that's the "Napoleon Dynamite" of screwball comedies: some people ADORE it, and some LOATHE it. You should check it out though... You might be surprised. Um... oh, and I find Ball of Fire adorable, but that one may be hard to find.
_____________________________________________________________________________
LOL, sorry to be answering your post just now (I never saw it til now -I'm sorry) but since you wrote, we have seen Ball of Fire (which we loved! I love Barbara Stanwyck), It Happened One Night and You Can't Take it With You. We loved them and got the DVDs for some of them. Happily, since you wrote we've been able to get Turner Classic Movies and that's an awesome channel for great old films.

We watched Bringing Up Baby last month and I liked it but not nearly as much as the others I've mentioned.

We got some DVDs of Preston Sturges films but I haven't watched them yet.

I've liked Frank Capra since It's a Wonderful Life!

I trust I make myself obscure.

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[–] Wakanohana 17 years ago

Hodie wrote: "My favorite single moment in the film was the expression on Grant's face as he pulled up a chair to watch Dunne unwillingly dancing with Bellamy. "

I agree -- I would love to have a still photo of that perfectly evil glee.

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[–] joanmcgittigan 17 years ago

Dunne and Grant are great together, what a team! They respected and had the highest esteem for each other. She was his favorie and he was her's and it showed. I only wish we had more movies with this duo!

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[–] BKRudy-1 17 years ago

This movie is over 70 years old and is still ten times funnier and sexier than most of what passes for romantic comedy spewed out today. Cary Grant didn't have to walk around shirtless to melt Irene Dunne's butter!

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[–] commalette 19 years ago

I like him with Katharine Hepburn, but I think he was at his best with Irene Dunne. Those two were phenomenal together! 'The Awful Truth' is my absolute favourite Cary Grant movie. He was the best.

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[–] sonofabird 18 years ago

However, Dunne left me cold in this role. I really felt she was doing a Kate Hepburn imitation, and poorly at that.

That wasn't a Kate Hepburn; that was wealthy white woman, and it was done well.

Not many people wanted to copy Kate Hepburn considering that for the bulk of her career she was viewed a box office poison. By 1937, Dunne was a star in her own right, having starred in Show Boat and Roberta (billed ahead of Astaire and Rogers). She had 2 academy award nominations under her belt (Hepburn had 1 win and 1 nomination). And most of Hepburn's key roles before 1937 had nothing to do with comedic rich, white society women (the actress in Morning Glory, a con artist in Sylvia Scarlett, Alice Adams, etc.).

I think what you're seeing is revisionist history. Get out a timeline and you'll see it's unlikely that Dunne would be, or would want to, copy Hepburn in 1937 for that role.

"Always look on the bright side of life. Do do. Do do do do do do."

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[–] MerryArtist 18 years ago

I didn't feel like Dunne was trying to copy Hepburn. The style that the dialogue was carried out and the fact that it was one of those typical screwball comedies may give off an Hepburn-like nuance, but this was pure Irene Dunne and I enjoyed every minute of it.

I see a lot of people comparing this movie to Bringing Up Baby. Well, I love both but this one I can watch time and again and still continue to enjoy it heartily whereas Bringing Up Baby is not as good when you watch it for the second time (at least for me).

"Life, is not a having and a getting, but a being and a becoming." - Myrna Loy

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[–] gabmooch 17 years ago

I cannot agree with the contention that Hepburn was "box office poison" for the "bulk" of her career. She definitely went through a bad patch after Sylvia Scarlett, Spitfire and Break of Hearts until she did Stage Door and Philadelphia Story. Maybe it is just the stereotypical "wealthy white woman" accent, but I find Dunne's vocal characteristics distracting in this movie, whereas I loved her in "My Favorite Wife". And Hepburn did do wealthy white woman in Bill of Divorcement. Come to think of it, Kate WAS wealthy white woman ;-)

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[–] jgroub 15 years ago

"I really felt she was doing a Kate Hepburn imitation,"

Their upper-crust society accents are very similar. While watching this, I also kept thinking of Kate Hepburn, and how she would have been in this role. She would have been great! And I think Kate's so much more beautiful than Irene Dunne, that I would have preferred watching Kate to Irene every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

I asked the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

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[–] rck1 9 years ago

I love this movie. I'm also not a fan of Bringing Up Baby.

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[–] mptnla 19 years ago

I just saw this movie for the first time last weekend and I just howled! I thought Grant was at his best in this movie -- funny and subdued, and not over the top as in some of his other performances. I had never heard of this movie but I'm glad I have now. Now rates as one of my favorite comedies. Loved the Grant and Dunne combo.

"Thank you for the coffee...and the SEVENTEEN floor climb!"

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[–] coldcapuchinoooooo 19 years ago

Does anyone know what the song is that Dunne sings in the scene at Duvelles apartment when Grant stumbles in?

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[–] commalette 18 years ago

I think that question is one of the FAQs on carygrant.net. They have a wealth of information on that site and I think they have the name of that song. I just watched the movie again and realized that I would love to know more about the song. It is just funny how she laughs at him when he falls off the chair. I think they enjoyed each other and it showed especially in "My Favorite Wife" when they were playing against each other.

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] joes119 18 years ago

[PLONK!!]

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[–] Wakanohana 17 years ago

I'm watching "The Awful Truth" on TCM right now, it's barely started and I've already laughed out loud half a dozen times. Cary Grant is wonderful, and Ralph Bellamy is excellent as the straight man. (not sure if it deserved a supporting actor nomination, but still quite good)

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] sludgehound 17 years ago

Right. This is as smooth as the second bottle of "wine" Jerry offers her
for breakfast. Classy opening of that second bottle of Champaign "wine"/
Is it just me of does the air blowing up the skirt routine in club bring to
mind the Monroe staged upskirt shot over the subway went?
And when the wife does sister routine with the snows....Madonna look?
Even the "madcap heiress with more money than sense" is our Paris Hilton.
Things never change.
Loved Grant's lines about how much the wife was going to love Oklahoma!
Oh you're going to live in Oklahoma City! Just think, if you get bored you can always go to Tulsa on the weekend.
No wonder there's such anti-NYC feeling in the US that is just beginning
to get put into a more balanced perspective now.
This must have had especial meaning in 1937 as America was in depths of
the mini-depression within the ongoing Great Depression.
Who wouldn't want Champaign for breakfast, time in Paris, and daddy from the
Ivy League when papers were reporting a kid in Brooklyn who'd hung himself because he was too proud to beg for food.
Loved that beginning with the Calif orange.
Later, "Does he carry a gun?
This was such a treat to see the players chew the place up. Bet Grant made
up those sexy pokes with the pencil....

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[–] dvbar1 17 years ago

Love this movie, always a Grant fan but really like him teamed with Irene Dunne she's just great in this.

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[–] griffinresurgent 17 years ago

I've found this movie the best that I've seen so far of the Grant-Dunne team.

Penny Serenade and My Favorite Wife were great in their own way too, but this is a real laugh-out loud movie, especially the scene where Grant demolished that chair in his ex's recital.

Makes me sort of wonder why nobody knows now who Irene Dunne is. I mean I never heard of her until I started my Netflix classic movie binge. SHe is one funny lady.

Oh, and as usual, Skippy was wonderful as Mr. Smith. Such a vibrant personality!

Griffin

Evolution takes no prisoners.

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[–] rrb 11 years ago

My faith in humanity is restored! I'm SO gratified that so many people hold this film in high regard, and enjoy it so. While I laugh heartily each time I watch this film, I also poignantly think that the age of wit and class in which such films, and brilliant, elegant comic stars like Cary Grant and Irene Dunne, were popular, are "gone with the wind".

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