Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, and Melvyn Douglass star in “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House”

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) is an American comedy film directed by H. C. Potter and starring Cary Grant, Myna Loy, and Melvyn Douglas. The supporting cast includes Reginald Denny, Sharyn Moffett, Connie Marshall, Ian Wolfe, and Louise Beavers. The screenplay was written by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama (White Christmas), the  music was by Leigh Harline, and the cinematography was by James Wong Howe.

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House follows the misadventures of a New York City advertising executive, Jim Blandings (Grant), and his wife, Muriel (Loy). Feeling cramped and fed up with their small apartment, they decide to escape the city's confines and build their ideal country home in Connecticut. Their pursuit of this "dream house" begins with an idyllic vision of pastoral bliss, promising a life free from urban stress and full of domestic tranquility.

The film chronicles the couple's journey from a naive fantasy to a harsh reality. They purchase an old, dilapidated farmhouse and a large plot of land, only to discover that their new property is riddled with unexpected problems. From a collapsing chimney to a waterlogged basement and a host of hidden structural flaws, their simple plan spirals into a series of costly and chaotic construction nightmares. The Blandings must contend with an assortment of eccentric contractors, rising costs, and a project that seems to have a mind of its own.

As their dream home transforms into a seemingly endless money pit, will the Blandings keep their sanity?

H. C. Potter (1904 - 1977) was an American theatrical producer and director, and a director of motion pictures. Potter graduated from Yale University in 1926 and was part of the Yale Dramatic Association. He founded a theater group, the Hampton Players, based in Southampton, Long Island. He eventually made his way to Hollywood, where he became a film director. Some of his popular films include The Shopworn Angel (1938) starring Margaret Sullivan and James Stewart, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939) starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Mr. Lucky (1943) starring Cary Grant and Laraine Day, and Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) starring Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, and Melvyn Douglas.

Cary Grant (1904 – 1986) was an English-born American actor who became one of the most popular leading men in film history. Grant started his career in vaudeville before heading to Hollywood. He became a superstar in the late 1930s in a series of screwball comedies, including The Awful Truth (1937) with Irene Dunne. He was a memorable C. K. Dexter Haven in The Philadelphia Story (1940) opposite Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart. He received two Best Actor nominations for Penny Serenade (1941) and None but the Lonely Hearts (1944). Other classic Grant films include Gunga Din (1939), Only Angels Have Wings (1939), and Arsenic and Old Lace (1944). He made four popular films with Alfred Hitchcock: Suspicion (1941), Notorious (1946), To Catch a Thief (1955), and North by Northwest (1959). He was presented with an Honorary Oscar at the 42nd Academy Awards in 1970.

Myrna Loy (1905 - 1993) was an American film, television, and stage actress. Loy was a trained dancer but decided to concentrate on acting, appearing in silent films before becoming a major star with the advent of sound. Perhaps Loy is most famous for playing Nora Charles opposite William Powell in The Thin Man (1934) and its subsequent sequels. Loy and Powell were one of the screen’s most popular acting teams; they appeared in 14 films together. Loy starred opposite the top leading men of the day, including Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Tyrone Power, and Cary Grant. Some of her films include Wife vs. Secretary (1936), Libeled Lady (1936), The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Test Pilot (1938), Too Hot to Handle (1938), The Rains Came (1939), Love Crazy  (1941), The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), and Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948).

 

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House trivia

• Mr. Blandings $15,000 a year salary would be equivalent to $193,000 today.
• The house built for the movie still stands on the old Fox Ranch property in Malibu Creek State Park, in the hills a few miles north of Malibu. It is now used as the park’s office and as offices for the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.
• Director H. C. Potter wanted Irene Dunne for the role of Muriel Blandings, but she was working on I Remember Mama at the time and was unavailable. Potter wanted Dunne because all three of her pairings with Grant were box office gold.

 

Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, and Melvyn Douglas

 

Click HERE to watch the movie on the Internet Archive.

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Discussion questions

1. Idealism vs. Reality: How does the film's portrayal of the Blandings' "dream house" project serve as a commentary on the American ideal of home ownership? In what ways do their romanticized expectations clash with the harsh realities of construction, and what does this say about the pursuit of perfection?
2. The Role of Consumerism: The film is set against the backdrop of post-war American consumer culture. How does advertising executive Jim Blandings' profession influence his decisions and desires regarding the house? What message does the movie convey about the pitfalls of consumerism and the pursuit of material goods?
3. Humor and Relatability: The film is a comedy, but it deals with serious themes like financial strain and marital stress. How does the use of humor, satire, and exaggeration make these challenges relatable to a modern audience? Can you identify specific scenes or characters that effectively use comedy to highlight the frustrations of building or renovating a home?
4. On-Screen Chemistry: This was the third and final film starring Cary Grant and Myrna Loy. What did you think of their on-screen pairing? Were they believable as husband and wife?
5. Recommendation: Would you recommend this film to your friends?

Tyrone Power heads the cast in “Witness for the Prosecution”

Witness for the Prosecution (1957) is an American mystery thriller directed by Billy Wilder and starring Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, and Charles Laughton. The supporting cast includes Elsa Lanchester, John Williams, Henry Daniell, Ian Wolfe, Torin Thatcher, Norma Varen, Uno O’Connor, and Ruta Lee.

Sir Wilfrid Robarts (Laughton), a senior barrister, who is recovering from a heart attack, agrees to defend Leonard Vole against the objections of his nurse Miss Pimsoll (Lanchester). Vole has been accused of murdering Emily French, a wealthy widow with no family who had left him the bulk of her estate.

Robarts interviews Vole’s wife Christine (Dietrich) who provides her husband with an alibi. Robarts finds Christine’s testimony off somehow and is suspicious of her motives.

Will Robarts be able to defend Vole against the charge of murder or will circumstances beyond his control change everything?

Henry Daniell, Tyrone Power, and Charles Laughton

Billy Wilder (1906 - 2002) was an Austrian-born American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He won six Academy Awards for his writing and direction and was nominated twenty-one times over a career that spanned five decades. Wilder started his career as a writer, penning the screenplays for Ninotchka (1939), Ball of Fire (1942), Double Indemnity (1945), The Lost Weekend (1946), Sunset Boulevard (1951)  Boulevard (1951), Sabrina (1955), Some Like it Hot (1960), and The Apartment (1961). As a director, he won Academy Awards for directing The Lost Weekend (1946) and The Apartment (1961). Wilder directed fourteen different actors in Oscar-nominated roles. He is considered one of the most versatile directors from Hollywood’s Classical period.

Tyrone Power (1914 – 1958) was a major movie star as well as a star on stage and radio. He was one of the biggest box office draws of the 1930s and 1940s. Power was under exclusive contract to 20th Century-Fox where his image and film choices were carefully selected by studio head Zanuck. After the war, Power wanted to stretch his acting past romantic comedies and swashbuckler roles. Nightmare Alley was Power’s personal favorite of all his films. Some of Power's films include Marie Antoinette (1938), The Rains Came (1939), Jesse James (1939), The Mark of Zorro (1940), and  Blood and Sand (1941). Later in his career, he starred in Captain from Castile (1947), The Black Rose (1950), and Witness for the Prosecution (1957). Power’s favorite of all his films that he starred in was Nightmare Alley (1947) even though it was a commercial and a critical failure when first released. Its status as a classic film noir has been recently reevaluated.

Charles Laughton (1899 – 1962) had a long career on the stage and in Hollywood. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Henry VIII in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) and was nominated for two other Best Actor Oscars for his performances in Mutiny on the Bounty (1933) and Witness for the Prosecution (1957). His performance in The Suspect is considered one of Laughton’s most natural screen performances, which is credited to director Siodmak, a close personal friend of the actor.

Marlene Dietrich (1901 – 1992) was a German and American actress. Dietrich got her start in silent films in her native Germany. She was directed by Josef von Sternberg in The Blue Angel (1930) which made Dietrich an international star. Its success also earned her a contract with Paramount Pictures in Hollywood. Dietrich had her biggest successes during the 1930s in films like Morocco (1930), Shanghai Express (1932), Blonde Venus (1932), The Scarlet Empress (1934), The Devil is a Woman (1935), and Destry Rides Again (1939). After World War II, Dietrich starred in A Foreign Affair (1948), Stage Fright (1950), and Judgment at Nuremberg (1960). 

Witness for the Prosecution trivia

• Marlene Dietrich was convinced she would receive an Academy Award nomination and was crushed when she did not.
• Agatha Christie was pleased with the film version of her novel.
• This was Tyrone Power’s last completed film. He died of a heart attack on the set of Solomon and Sheba in 1959.
• William Holden was the director’s first choice to play Vole but he was unavailable. Other actors considered include Gene Kelly, Kirk Douglas, Glenn Ford, Jack Lemmon, and Roger Moore.
• Actresses considered for the role of Christine include Ava Gardner and Rita Hayworth.

To watch the movie on YouTube, click on the link below.

To join the discussion on May 29, 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click here. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation and link to join the discussion on Zoom.

Discussion questions

1. What did you think of the film's casting?
2. Some critics thought Tyrone Power looked too old to play Vole. Do you agree?
3. The cast is impressive. Did any one cast member stand out to you?
4. Was the ending a surprise to you?
5. How does this film stack up to other Billy Wilder films?