Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House

Superb and very intelligent SERIOUS comedy, that was of course, written off by the critics. A more telling title would have been "The nightmare of home ownership". A man decides to buy a house and move out of his cramped apartment. He buys an old one, but has to demolish it because it is rotten to the core. All sorts of complications ensue, costs pile up, the man loses his peace of mind and can no longer do his work. He is about to be fired. There is an obligatory and perfunctory happy ending, but the message was clear: SUCKERS BEWARE! Buying a home can be a nightmare. The movie was painful to watch because I know people who LIVED it. To buy a home is to buy an entire neighborhood and an entire destiny, because your life will be affected greatly.

My main attraction in seeing 'Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House' was the cast. It is hard to resist a film with Cary Grant, Myrna Loy and Melvyn Douglas and in the same film. They're great talented actors on their own (am especially fond of Grant), together it is just as good. Love classic film and a lot of comedy, especially the sophisticated and witty kind, too.

Expectations were high and they were met, if not quite exceeded. Mean every word of my review summary, 'Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House' was a dream to watch and it is far from bland with such a good cast carrying the film so well. My only complaint of 'Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House' is that for my tastes the ending came over as too neatly wrapped up and convenient. Otherwise, the film was a delightful joy and just perfect for a cheering up on a rainy day or after a hard one.

The best thing about 'Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House' is the cast. Grant is his usual urbane and charming self in the best of ways and Loy has charm, elegance and comic timing in spades. Best of all is a hilarious and understated Douglas. The interplay just sparkles.

Another star is the script. The comedy is sparkling in wit, pointed and full of sophistication, the social commentary is interesting regardless of how of the time it is and whether it holds up or not (was enjoying myself and invested in the film to care) and there is a depth that makes it easy to identify with the situation when it is a scenario that is relevant today.

Story-wise, 'Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House' is slight but is never less than absorbing and there is enough going on to not make it too simple, neither does it get over-stuffed or too complicated. The characters to me were likeable and easy to identify with and the pace matches the wild situations very nicely.

Visually, the film isn't audacious but it has an elegant stylishness that is easy on the eye, particularly the photography. The direction is more than just competent and it doesn't feel stagy.

Overall, apart from the ending a delightful film. 9/10 Bethany Cox

This film is a fantastic showcase for Grant's bewildered man of America, and he always did that so well. The Blandings, a 'typical New York family, on about 15,000 a year', decide to leave their four room apartment in the city and buy a 'dream house' in rural Connecticut.

Of course, this being a comedy, you know it won't go smoothly (you get a good clue as well from Melvyn Douglas' laconic narration here and there, as the Blandings' long-suffering lawyer, and Mrs B's high school sweetheart). First the picturesque little home is a wreck, then they start to plan a substitute (the scene where Mr and Mrs B plan what rooms their new house will have is classic), then everything that can go wrong goes wrong ... on top of this, Grant's harrassed advertising executive has to find a slogan for the bete noire of his company, Wham! ham.

My particular favourite scenes involve Myrna Loy, perfect as Mrs B, instructing which colours of paint each room will have; and a little room at the top of the house which regularly traps Grant inside. A highly recommended RKO goodie, this film. Hugely enjoyable.

I saw this movie when it was first released in 1948. Now 50 years later I watch it again. The comedy holds up remarkably well. Say what you like about the Hollywood studios of the forties but they could turn out these pleasant entertainments seemingly without effort. The perils of buying and building a house have not changed (although the prices certainly have!)It's a delight to watch three seasoned professionals (Grant,Loy and Douglas)play against each other so well. All the minor characters are well cast. The touches of sentiment are never over done. A movie well worth seeing more than once.

The film opens with Bill Coles (Melvyn Douglas) telling a story about how his best friend--make that client--Jim Blandings (Cary Grant) and his family are tightly packed into a small New York apartment, with not enough closet space and way too few bathrooms. When Jim's wife, Muriel (Myrna Loy), wants to renovate the apartment, advertising exec Jim falls in love with (or falls for!) an ad for a house. Once he's purchased the house, bills and frustration pile up incessantly as everything that can go wrong with the building of Jim's 'dream house' goes wrong.

One of three collaborations between Grant and Loy, this is a charming little comedy--not very taxing, with no real great message, but a great way to spend an hour or two. The laughs are there right from the start, when the alarm clock goes off and Jim tries to shut it off, only to be thwarted at every turn by Muriel. The timing and delivery of the comedic lines and situations can only be given by a couple of seasoned pros, and that's just what Grant and Loy give us: polished performances, simple chemistry, and a lot of fun. Myrna Loy is in a pretty thankless role (it's evident that Grant's character Jim gets the lion share of the lines and the acting, and Grant, as always, pulls both off with remarkable aplomb), but she gives Muriel a colour, life and bite that only Myrna Loy can give a character. Melvyn Douglas plays wry amusement to perfection as well, never hitting a single wrong note.

One of my favourite scenes has definitely got to be when Bill gets himself locked in the 'store room', and Jim goes to 'save' him... only to get everyone trapped inside! Every little problem that pops up for the Blandings renovation project--including petty jealousy and an ad campaign for 'Wham'--seems to bring together everything that *could* go wrong with building a new house but makes it believable and an enjoyable watch. 8/10