THE AWFUL TRUTH: THE BEGINNINGS OF CARY GRANT

It’s a sad day to realize that young people today have become so enamored of themselves that they fail to believe anything good took place before they were born. In so doing they short change themselves from discovering some of the greatest things entertainment has to offer them. Books that were written, music that was recorded and movies that were filmed before they entered this world. Fortunately before many of those items are lost to the world, film in particular, there are companies that are striving to make these items available. On such company has been Criterion.

Criterion has strived to save some of the most influential films from obscurity and released them on disc in the most comprehensive and splendid formats possible. They set the benchmark for many companies that have followed like Arrow and Twilight Time, both of which you will find my praises for here in past reviews. One new item from Criterion features a director that many will not recognize even though he could possibly be considered the godfather of screwball comedies. The movie is THE AWFUL TRUTH and it was directed by Leo Carey.

The film stars Cary Grant as Jerry Warriner and Irene Dunne as his wife Lucy. As the film opens Jerry is returning home early from a trip claiming he was in Florida but discovers Lucy isn’t home. She finally shows with her music instructor in tow, claiming that they would have been home the night before but his car broke down. Offended and accusing her of lying, the two argue and he suggest they divorce. Both angry and a bit stubborn they file and have no problem dividing assets with the exception of Mr. Smith, their dog.

Lucy moves in with her Aunt Patsy (Cecil Cunningham) and mopes. To get her out of the dumps her aunt sets her up with a new neighbor, a well to do man from Oklahoma named Dan Leeson (Ralph Bellamy). While this is transpiring Jerry pops in now and then on his days to visit their dog. The pair is still waiting for their divorce to be finalized and each shows glimmers behind the other’s back that perhaps this wasn’t the right move. But both remain stubborn and unbending.

It isn’t long before Lucy and Dan are engaged much to the consternation of Dan’s overbearing mother. Meeting Jerry doesn’t help her disposition much and neither does the things she hears about the duo’s divorce. But Jerry comes to Lucy’s defense and smooths things over. He just wants her to be happy.

The crux of the film lies between these two married people and their love for one another. But rather than admit that love they instead push each other away in the most roundabout ways possible. The comedy here lies in that misunderstanding that each refuses to admit. It seems as if they’re willing to let things disappear from their fingertips in an effort to not be the first to admit they were wrong.

As with most movies from this time the film is fueled with a combination of visual gags combined with fast paced, snappy dialogue. Pay attention or you’ll miss one joke or another. The humor is as dry as it is broad and one style or another while working perfectly in synch is bound to make you laugh. The jokes her range from those inspiring a chuckle to others that will result in full on belly laughs.

While many may remember Cary Grant as the suave leading man he became prior to this film that persona wasn’t set in stone yet. While playing some substantial roles beside some major stars of the time it wasn’t until this film and TOPPER, released the same year, would cement him in place to be a star in his own right. The caricature of the dapper man about town, sophisticated and self-assured, stemmed from his performances in both films but certainly more so in this one. Jerry is comfortable in a New York nightclub where he’s well-known and at the same time baffled when he thinks he knows something he honestly doesn’t. Grant followed this film with BRINGING UP BABY which solidified his leading man status. He later teamed up with McCarey for several films most notably AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER. But this film, under McCarey’s influence, he became a star.

Leading lady Irene Dunne also worked more than this with McCarey and became one of the top comedic actresses of her time. She and Grant worked together in several films which the public flocked to. While a star at the time her career lagged in later years no doubt due to the fact that women aging in Hollywood were treated less kindly than men. But the film legacy she left behind proved she was up to the challenge of standing tall next to the men she was paired with.

McCarey had come up through the ranks of the silent film days before talkies came along. It was the later films that made him famous and earned him the distinction of being the king of screwball comedies. He worked with Laurel and Hardy, Eddie Cantor in THE KID FROM SPAIN, the Marx Brothers in DUCK SOUP, Charles Laughton in RUGGLES OF RED GAP, Bing Crosby in GOING MY WAY and THE BELLS OF ST. MARY’S and Gary Cooper in GOOD SAM. The films he created are considered to be among the best that Hollywood had to offer. He won the Oscar twice as director, the first time being this film.

Sadly many won’t recognize his name. That’s a shame because while so many undeserving director are recognized here is someone who earned the same name recognition now forgotten. As long as companies like Criterion release his pictures on disc though there is a chance that might change.

Criterion has done their best to offer the film in the most glorious looking version of the film ever to find its way to disc. The movie has been restored into a new 4k digital presentation and while a black and white film it never looked as good. Other extras here include a new interview with critic Gary Giddins about McCarey, a video essay by film critic David Cairns on Cary Grant’s performances, an illustrated 1978 audio interview with actress Irene Dunne, a LUX RADIO THEATER adaptation of the film from 1939 featuring performances by Grant and Claudette Colbert and an essay by film critic Molly Haskell.

If you love classic movies you could sit and wait for them to be entered into rotation on Turner Classic Movies. Or you could make a point of picking up this version of THE AWFUL TRUTH. It’s one of those classic film comedies that gets better with age and can be watched more than once. And if you’ve never been exposed to the wonders of McCarey, Grant and Dunne then perhaps this is your chance to find out just how fantastic they were together.

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