THE AWFUL TRUTH

The first time I watched this I came away a little disappointed, but this time around I left totally on board with its reputation as one of the best 1930s romantic comedies.  OK it's not 'The Philadelphia Story' (what is?) but it's definitely up there with the likes of 'His Girl Friday', 'Holiday' and 'Bringing Up Baby'.

Mind you, reading the lengthy Wikipedia account of the making of this it seems something of a miracle that it got made at all, let alone be the classic it is.

The main problem was how to come up with a screenplay that turned the source play into a comedy.  It proved so difficult that when filming started the director Leo McCarey had no screenplay that he was satisfied with.  But McCarey already had a long career behind him as a writer and director of film comedy (including the immortal 'Duck Soup') so nothing daunted he sat doodling at his piano, as his way of seeking inspiration.  He also encouraged the cast, including Cary Grant and Irene Dunne, to improvise scenes.

At first Grant was so uncomfortable with this way of working that after a week he sent the head of the studio a memo titled "What's Wrong With This Picture", and tried various ways to get out of the film.

Understandably this enraged McCarey, which makes the success of this film yet more remarkable.

Grant must have got over this (even if McCarey seemed to bear a grudge for a long time thereafter) because he became a fan of improvisation for the rest of his career.  And it's claimed that this film was the one where Grant perfected his comic persona, which incorporated some of McCarey's mannerisms.

Certainly Grant is in fine form throughout, and there's one moment where he falls off a chair which I could never tire of watching.

Irene Dunne is somewhat forgotten now, it being her misfortune to be competing in this genre with the incomparable Katherine Hepburn.  But in this film she's quite superb especially in the scene towards the end when she goes about sabotaging her ex-husband's engagement by pretending to be a totally embarrassing and unsuitable sister.

It's sad that this sort of film is no longer made.