The Awful Truth 1937

 Tonight's Cary Grant fix is by way of the excellent screwball comedy, 1937's The Awful Truth. Also starring Irene Dunne and Ralph Bellamy, directed and ghost produced by Leo McCarey, with co-producer Everett Riskin.

Cary (Jerry) and Irene (Lucy) are man and wife until they start to get jealous. Jerry thinks Lucy is cheating on him with her foreign singing instructor, and Lucy thinks he is lying about his travels. They decide to get a divorce. But who will get Mr. Smith, their dog whom they both love? The court decides to let the dog choose, and he goes with Lucy.

Lucy moves in with Aunt Patsy and starts sulking because she misses her ex. Jerry gets visitation rights with the dog. One night Aunt Patsy scores a date for Lucy named Daniel played by Ralph Bellamy. He is an Okie visiting New York and Lucy thinks he is a bit of a dud. Jerry comes over to play with the dog so Lucy leaves with Daniel and third wheel Aunt Patsy. After one night on the town Daniel is in love. 

Before you know it, Lucy realizes Daniel has serious feelings for her, and realizes that she still has feelings for Jerry. Meanwhile Jerry does what he can to break off the engagement because he still loves her too.

Talk about awkward...

Lucy still has contact with her singing instructor and he and Jerry get in a shuffle when they both get sent to her room to hide from Daniel. Once Daniel gets wind of all Lucy's men, he is over it. Jerry starts dating a rich heiress and they make plans to wed.

While visiting his future in-laws, Jerry finds himself in a pickle when his fabricated sister shows up at the party, and it is Lucy! She plays a boozer and the in-laws are not impressed. She and Jerry take off once it is clear there will be no wedding bells for anyone.

On the way back, they get pulled over by the cops, and after Lucy lets the car run into a tree, they need an escort back to her folk's house for the night. I love the safe way the cops let them ride on the motorcycles. In the end they make a truce and realize the awful truth about their relationship. 

I love this film for many reasons. 

One: Cary - I mean, look at him. He had mastered the art of timing early on, with this film coming before Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday, or Monkey Business where he really could perfect his craft.

Two: Lucy's wardrobe is beautiful thanks to Robert Kalloch who worked as chief costume designer for Columbia pictures starting in 1933 and the later MGM in 1941. Some of his highlights at Columbia were designs for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, His Girl Friday, Holiday, and There's Always A Woman. 

And Three: The ultimate laughable scene where Jerry is hiding behind the door trying to make Lucy laugh while she is supposed to be serious with Daniel.

Cary tried to get out of finishing the picture due to the writers not telling the actors what scenes they would be doing the next day, which made Cary very anxious. Director Leo McCarey convinced him to stick it out, and The Awful Truth ended up being one of the best hits of the year. Irene said she and Grant "meshed from the first moment", and they would go on to star in two more pictures in the coming years.

Noir Greatness: Double Indemnity

I'm not sure you can call yourself an oldie film fan until you have seen this noir classic. Written by Billy Wilder, along with Raymond Chandler, and James M. Cain in 1944, it stars Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson. Directed by Mr. Wilder and produced (uncredited by the way) by Buddy G. DeSylva and Joseph Sistrom. The scene opens to Walter Neff (MacMurray) walking into his bosses' office after having a troublesome night to record the story as of late, the story of how he murdered a man for money and a broad, and how it ended up hurting him in the end.

As his story begins we see the spectacular Spanish house that Stanwyck's character, Phyllis lives in with her insatiable husband. This house is a great example of the beauty that Los Angeles was in the 1940's . 

With all that is torn down and demolished in Hollywood, it pleases me to say that the house is still there and virtually unchanged with exception to the garage door and some landscaping. 

Neff sells insurance and as the maid lets him in he gets a glimpse of Phyllis in a towel. She is half naked but gets dressed to come and see what Neff is all about. Right away Neff wants more than just to sell insurance. 

Neff gives her the sales pitch with some quick witted flirting, perfectly written by Wilder and team, and perfectly executed by MacMurray and Stanwyck. She mentions she wants accident insurance for her hubby but that she doesn't want him to know about it. She tells him to come back in a few days when her husband is supposedly going to be home. Neff thinks she is up to something but doesn't care as he practically drools out the door. 

Neff tries to concentrate at work but can't stop thinking about Phyllis. Boss Barton Keyes played masterfully by Robinson and Neff talk insurance business. Keyes is no nonsense and relies on his gut to help him decide which insurance claims are fraud and which ones are legit. You don't mess with Edward. 

 Before Neff can plan his next move, Phyllis shows up at his place. I don't want to give too much away, so if you haven't seen the film yet, beware. This is a rare oldie that keeps you on the edge of your seat, so this is your official spoiler alert! Needless to say as the sparks fly a plan is hatched to knock off the husband, make it look like an accident, collect insurance money, and live happily ever after.

The plan seems to work until Keyes hears about it and gets that gut feeling.

Neff is super paranoid and after a few close calls he only wants to meet Phyllis at the grocery store. 

A great set designed by Davis S. Hall and his art department team at Paramount including Hans Dreier, Hal Pereira, and Bertram Granger. Together these men earned a total of 48 Oscar nominations and 6 wins in their careers. They know their stuff!

Phyllis goes for the "discrete" look by wearing sunglasses indoors. 

Tensions starts to rise as Neff is worried the plan is going to fail and Phyllis gets mad that Neff won't hang out with her unless they are purchasing food. 

Their love is being complicated by Neff's paranoia, his boss, and the attention that Phyllis desires as she chose him over her late husband. The pressure is intense for Neff and he finds himself not sure what to do. A definite cliff hanger, which is rare in old films, that you will have to watch to find out.

Wilder had no trouble getting male lead for this part, many wanted it including George Raft, Alan Ladd,  and Dick Powell. Wilder wanted Barbara but she was worried about her reputation playing an adulteress. Wilder asked her," Are you an actress or a mouse?" She was so furious she signed on that instant.  Edward didn't want the part as he was far from the lead, but after learning he was receiving the same salary as Barb and Fred he agreed, and we are all glad he did. He might have been third billing, but his intensity brought to the film makes it all the more suspenseful. A fun goof in this film is where Neff and Phyllis first kiss. You get a glimpse of Fred's personal wedding ring on his finger, as in reality he was married to wife Lillian Wehmhoener for 17 years until her death. It wasn't noticed until post production. Ohhps! Double Indemnity was nominated for 7 Academy Awards for Barbara, and Billy, including best picture, but it won none, losing to Going My Way for best picture. 

Screen Debuts and Last Hurrahs: The Stylish World of Cedric Gibbons

My mind was racing as this blog-a-thon topic was announced. So many to choose from! We all have a list of favorite actors, actresses, and directors from the golden era. I decided to mix it up and write what brings me much joy; the art directors. I always mention them, as production design is something I worked in and is still a passion of mine. So what better than to write about the art director of all art directors. The man behind the team that shaped our favorite films, influenced design that went way beyond the set, and became iconic in film history. This is Cedric Gibbons' first and last film. 

I have blogged about Gibbons before, as he was the head of art direction at MGM during MGM's heyday. Cedric's father was an architect and after studying art, he followed his father's footsteps and worked as a draftsman before getting his first art job with Edison Studios before Edison sold the company in 1918.

Gibbons served in WWI, then got a job with Goldwyn Studios, which later formed into MGM in 1924. Gibbons' knowledge of architecture and design was useful when 1925's Ben Hur was being filmed under Irving Thalberg, and he proposed the use of the "up and coming" wave that is art deco. 

  

From there he would work for MGM until his retirement in 1956. He earned 11 Academy Awards and 37 nominations, although many awards were more or less for members in the art department rather than his individual work on each film, which was 1,500 by the end of his career. His early contract stated that any film released by the studio would have his name attached. But without his work, MGM would not have been such a powerhouse, and film would not have been as spectacular without Gibbons' eye for design. Some of the many well known films with his work (and his equally stellar set director Edwin B. Willis)  are The Patsy, Grand Hotel, When Ladies Meet, The Great Ziegfeld, The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind, The Women, The Thin Man films, High Society, the list could go on. 

But where it all started was with a silent film ...

The first film for Gibbons was 1918's The Unwritten Code. Directed by Bernard J. Durning, who also co- wrote the film. It follows a love triangle between Japanese Kiku-San, played by Durning's then wife, not Japanese Shirley Mason. Also on board are Dick Tower, played by Matt Moore, and Margaret, played by Ormi Hawley. Kiku-San plays the heroine and is in love with Tower. As a result of her drunk father running up a hefty bill at the geisha house, she is willingly given up as payment. Tower tries to rescue her, but in doing so is looked down upon by his peers. He starts canoodling with Margaret. Kiku-San sees the distress she is causing Tower, and his affections for Margaret. She lets her love go so that he can find happiness while she sacrifices her own.

           

  

                

     

Also featuring Frank O'Connor as Tower's not so loyal friend, and Japanese actor T. Tamamoto as Kiru-San's irresponsible father, this is one of the last films shot by Edison's production company. Before completion, the film had several working titles including Aliens, and The Wall Invisible.  

Gibbons' design is a work in progress, his signature grandiose sets are not yet present, but the scenes are beautiful, with paper shades, draping flowers, traditional Japanese rooms, and clean, straight lines. His use of art deco might not have come through in this film, as it was before the 1920s, and the storyline and location would make it out of place. 

Fast forward four decades; a great depression, several wars, new presidents, the invention of talkies, and Cedric Gibbons is still showing his talent at MGM. He even designed the Oscar statuette! His final film was 1956's The Opposite Sex, which comes full circle as it is a remake that showcased some of Gibbon's best work, 1939's The Women.

If you have not seen The Women, you should, it's one of the best. The Opposite Sex follows a very parallel storyline. Directed by David Miller, even some characters have the same names as the original. While it is a good film, it does not come close in comparison. There is the famous slap scene, but Joan Crawford even was quoted as saying the original "towered over the remake".  The players are June Allison, Joan Collins, Joan Blondell, Ann Miller, Ann Sheridan, and Charlotte Greenwood in her last film. But this time there are men on screen, mainly Leslie Nielsen, Jeff Richards, and Bill Goodwin, while Harry James plays himself.

In The Women, it was the heyday of the 1930s style. Gibbons displayed art deco sets with vaulted ceilings, and curved staircases. He and Edwin B. Willis' signature East Coast cottage home makes up the lead character's, with the maid's kitchen displaying all that is needed to host a fabulous luncheon, and lets not forget the infamous clear bathtub! In The Opposite Sex, the sets are now in color. Bright backdrops, filmed in Metrocolor, with smartly decorated sets of blues, greens, and pinks. It's the 1950s now, so many sets have muted greys paired with peach and cornflower blue which was very "in" thanks to Gibbons and his team. Add glamorous gowns by Helen Rose and it's candy to the eyes. The style had changed, but Gibbons' eye is still present.

 

     

   

   

   

   

    

What makes Cedric Gibbons my favorite is that he had such an eye. I am a huge fan of art deco, and Gibbons showed it well. Some films may have looked over the top, or maybe a bit unrealistic. But Gibbons always had a vision. Imagine if Dorothy followed a brick road that wasn't yellow, or Scarlett O'Hara lived without the grand rooms of Tara. Gibbons helped make MGM what it was, the king of studios, and someone had to show them how it was done. Gibbons is quoted as saying, "When I find things I like I see no reason to change them." Agreed, Cedric, agreed.