The Oscar-winning film “The Awful Truth,” starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne, is a remarkable film in many ways. First, much of it was unscripted. The director was an eccentric sort of personality who believed in doing things spur of the moment, so much of what you see on the screen was ad-libbed by Grant and Dunne, who do a superb job. Second, while this was not Grant’s first film, it was the one in which he hits upon that “Cary Grant” persona we are so familiar with today. It’s also downright hysterical.
Cary Grant plays Jerry Warriner, a bit of a playboy who thinks he’ll never get caught. His wife, Lucy (Irene Dunne) isn’t as clueless as he would like her to be, and upon his return from a business trip, she’s just returning from a trip with her music teacher. Jerry immediately leaps to the conclusion that Lucy is having an affair with her teacher and decides to sue for divorce. Lucy, tired of all Jerry’s accusations, agrees to it.
When the date for the court appearance arrives, Jerry is devastated to find that Mr. Smith, the couple’s dog, will be award to Lucy. He insists on visitation, which he gets, and during the month until the divorce is final, becomes a frequent visitor in the house.
What neither Lucy nor Jerry want to admit is that they are still in love with each other, and they try to move on, Lucy with a rich oil mogul (Ralph Bellamy) and Jerry with a rich heiress. I guess there’s nothing like the prospect of money to mend a broken heart. At any rate, Jerry does everything he can to ruin Lucy’s relationship, and Lucy shows up at Jerry’s fiance’s house, pretending to be his sister, and embarrasses him horribly.
In the end, of course, they end up back together. The road to that end is full of twists, turns, and great humor. I recommend this unrated movie whole-heartedly.
Related Blogs:
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dreamhouse