It Grows on Trees

This is one of those movies I saw YEARS and YEARS ago...and have been trying to find it ever since. It was really cute - a great little family piece. I would love to be able to show it to my kids...who seem to think that money DOES grow on trees! (Boy, wouldn't it BE great if it did!)

Irene Dunne finished her illustrious career with this so-so movie. She should have gone out with a bang, being the classy actress she was, not in this unmemorable, almost unknown film.

This lightweight comedy is okay, but nothing special. The first half of it is far better as it gets pretty stupid in the second half. Maybe Irene could see the handwriting on the wall and quit. Even her high-pitched voice got a bit annoying in here. Rumor has it she was not happy with this film. One can see why.

The story reminded me of a 1950s television sitcom. Speaking of that, I thought David Nelson from the Ozzie & Harriet TV show was in this movie but it turned out to be a very young Richard Crenna. He looked and sounded just like Nelson.

Overall, so-so at best and a sub-par ending for a great actress.

In the 1930s and 40s, Irene Dunne was one of the top actresses in Hollywood. However, by the time she made "It Grows on Trees" she was older and her prospects a bit dimmer. In fact, it would turn out to be her final movie and the rest of her career she'd appear in a few television productions. It's sad, though, that this final film appearance was in such a dopey production. Why is it dopey? Well, just listen to the plot...the Baxter family have a tree that begins growing money...money that appears to be 100% REAL!

When the picture begins, Phil and Polly Baxter (Dean Jagger and Irene Dunne) are arguing over money. It seems it's really tight in their household and Phil is trying to get Polly to live within their means. But she keeps wanting to spend it on various things for the kids...even though they cannot afford it. Suddenly, as if an answer to prayer, money starts appearing around their property and it takes a while for them to realize that they've got a money tree!

The plot to this film is pretty stupid...that's hard to deny. The actors seem to try their best to make it work, though with such a ridiculous plot even the greatest actors in history couldn't make much of this fluff. And, in this case, Dunne in particular is NOT very good...mostly because her character is pretty annoying.

This movie is not among her best; however, as most commentators agree, it is a delightful comedy. The device of money growing on trees is, indeed, a verbal cliché. But adapting that cliché to cinema seems highly creative to me. How many films have you seen with similar grounds for a modern cinematic fable? For that matter, how many other modern fables have the movies produced?

The device also leads to some unexpected consequences. It sets up several unforeseen complications and conflicts. It is used to contrast various characters' attitudes toward "easy money." And, it provides a vehicle for poking gentle fun at government. It has a little more satirical slant than other reviewers seem to suggest. I think that there is a little more here than meets the eye. Cliché may be the starting point of this movie, but after that the tale is surprising, original, clever and highly entertaining - with a light touch of satire and commentary on human nature.

Oh yeah, this movie also provides some very fun and likable characters. The ensemble cast delivers very good performances to sustain interest in this fable at a high level. Irene Dunne, as always, is a complete delight. Dean Jagger delivers a performance that I really enjoyed watching. How many leading roles did he play in light comedies?

I recommend this clever little comedy.

I still think back to this film and how delightful it was.

A common American housewife (Dunne) finds two trees that grow money in a yard sale, I believe my brother and sister said.

I erroneously believed the woman was Gracie Allen. Later I would learn it was Dunne.

Wonderful what became of the money, Dunne's husband, the nosy neighbor, everything.

I wish I remembered Richard Crenna in this, but I do remember the ending very well; what became of the money trees and then the overall ending of the film.

I had read once that Dunne regretted making this movie and it is surprising to see it was her final film as well.

She may not have liked it, but we sure did.