Dad's Movies: "The Awful Truth"

Up first:  The Cary Grant classic, The Awful Truth (1937).

I think my folks had/have pretty much the entire Cary Grant filmography; our family were exposed to his movies at an early age and many of them still hold up well today.

I can't believe I never got around to watching this one as it's really one of his better films. The performances and script are tight and funny. The basic idea of its plot probably dates back to Shakespeare and the whole "broken up couple tries to sabotage the other's romances" thing has been done many time; but rarely better than this. Grant and Irene Dunne really nail the comic timing and have a good on-screen chemistry. Dunne is possibly underrated; she totally holds her own in her scenes with Grant, not an easy feat.

Naturally this being 1937, the film has the typical Depression-era trappings of many Hollywood films of the time:  relatively wealthy people in swanky apartments and clubs with an endless supply of booze. People must have enjoyed seeing movies in these settings as they cranked out a lot of them. When done right, the effect is quite charming. In fact, this is one of those movies where you pretty much know how things are going to turn out and getting there is all the fun.

I've read that a lot of the performances on this film were improvised and that Grant really disliked working in this way; to the point of wanting off the film. It doesn't show and he really seems to be perfecting his "Cary Grant" persona.

So, this is an easy one:  if you like Grant/Dunne at all, seek this one out.