Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)

Post-WWII Housing Boom Provides Fodder for a Sharply Played Domestic Comedy

Coinciding with the start of the baby boom, the years after World War II saw an unprecedented exodus of Americans moving out of their city apartments into the suburbs where they could fulfill their dreams of owning their own homes. Directed by H.C. Potter and co-written by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank (White Christmas), this lightweight but surprisingly observant 1948 screwball comedy captures the feeling of that period very well. Of course, it helps to have a trio of expert farceurs - Cary Grant, Myrna Loy and an especially acerbic Melvyn Douglas - head the proceedings with their natural likeability at odds with the escalating frustrations of home ownership. Even though the film is sixty years old now, there is a timeless quality to the Blandings' dream and the barriers they face in achieving it. Obviously, Hollywood thinks so since it's been remade at least twice - first as a very physical Tom Hanks comedy, 1986's The Money Pit, and again last year with Ice Cube's Are We Done Yet?. One look at HGTV's programming schedule will show you how the situations explored here still resonate today.

The plot begins with ad man Jim Blandings, his wife Muriel and their two daughters cramped into a two bedroom-one bath Manhattan apartment. Rather than pursue Muriel's idea to renovate the apartment for $7,000, Jim sees a photo of a Connecticut house in a magazine and realizes this is where they need to move. With the help of an opportunistic real estate agent and against the advice of their attorney and family friend Bill Cole, the Blandings decide to buy a ramshackle house badly in need of repair. However, the foundation sags so badly that the house needs to be torn down in favor of a new one. This sparks the Blandings to push the architect to design a house so excessive that the second floor is twice as big as the first. Costs rise with each new complication, tempers flare, and even a romantic triangle is imagined among Jim, Muriel and Bill. Priorities finally sort themselves out but not before some funny slapstick scenes and clever dialogue that tweaks the not-so-blissful ignorance of the new homeowners.

With his double takes and flawless line delivery, Grant is infallible in this type of farce, and Jim Blandings epitomizes his more domesticated mid-career characters. In a role originally meant for Irene Dunne, Myrna Loy shows why she was Hollywood's perfect wife. She doesn't get many of the funnier lines, but she combines her special blend of flightiness and sauciness to make Muriel an appealing character on her own. Watch her deftly maneuver the overly agreeable house painter with her absurdly idiosyncratic color palette. As avuncular, pipe-smoking Bill ("Cole...Bill Cole"), Melvyn Douglas shows his natural, easy-going élan as Grant's foil and the story's jaundiced narrator. Smaller roles are filled expertly with particularly memorable turns by Harry Shannon as the laconic well-digger Mr. Tesander, Lurene Tuttle as Jim's officious assistant Mary, and Louise Beavers as the Blandings' lovable maid Gussie. The 2004 DVD provides some intriguing vintage material including two radio versions of the movie - the first a 1949 version that did end up pairing Grant and Dunne and then a second 1950 version coupling Grant with his then-wife, actress Betsy Drake. A most appropriate 1949 cartoon, "The House of Tomorrow", is also included giving us a comical tour of a futuristic dream house. The original theatrical trailers for ten of Grant's film classics complete the extras. July 21, 2008

What's Not to Love?

Hapless New York ad executive Cary Grant, his lovely wife Myrna Loy and their two girls live in a typically crowded apartment they grew out of years ago. It opens with a testament to anyone who has ever felt the need for more closet space. After getting an outrageous bid to remodel a property that isn't even theirs, Cary and Myrna head to Connecticut where they fall in love with the most dilapidated structure ever to grace the silver screen. Against the advice of their lawyer and best friend (Melvyn Douglas), they purchase the property. What follows is a merry romp for anyone who has wrangled with contractors, chosen paint colors for a room or been lucky enough to build their dream home. April 15, 2008

Funny, and realistic even by todays standards

Cary Grant and Myrna Loy are a married couple wanting to buy property outside of the hustle and bustle of the city, and to raise their children in a safer place. Needless to say they end up buying a money pit and the fun starts from there. Cary Grant is at his best in this movie. In regards to relevance to todays monitory standards, funds are often discussed and it is an amazing contrast between now and then. This is an old black and white film, however it still is a must see, especially for modern couples who are embarking on a similar project. It will give you many memories during your endeavor that will help you keep your sense of humor through your process.
Enjoy.
April 5, 2008

A delightful Myrna Loy/Cary Grant pairing

This is one of my favorite "old movies". A great gift for friends that buy a fixer or begin an extensive remodel.The part on wall colors is classic...shows how some of us view colors differently. A delightful time. February 14, 2008

A movie for builders as Tin Men was for siding sales

As a designer and builder, I found this classic Cary Grant/Myrna Loy comedy to be a side splitter. What Danny DeVito and Richard Dreyfuss did for the siding industry in the movie The Tin Men (some companies actually use it for training purposes), this movie can do for anyone about to build-or in the business.

Trapped in a tiny city apartment, Grant and Loy look to the suburbs to build their dream house amidst a chaotic ballet of building blunders and design disasters. Look for the carpenter asking if he "should rabbit the lintels between the lallycolumns".

February 8, 2008

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