La casa dei nostri sogni

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.

Anyone who has ever embarked on a construction project, from a tree-house to a skyscraper, will identify with the beleaguered Mr. Blandings. His simple vision of an idyllic life in the suburbs encounters the harsh reality of recalcitrant geology, feuding contractors, exploding costs, and other complications -- all to hilarious effect.

The script has a perfect ear, the director's timing is impeccable, and the sophisticated style of the stars gives the entire production a polished sheen. Cary Grant, Myrna Loy and Melvyn Douglas are all brilliant, but this is much more than a star vehicle. It's one of the best sophisticated comedies Hollywood ever committed to celluloid. And even 60 years later, the story is all too true.

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.

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.

In Manhattan, the American middle class Jim Blandings (Cary Grant) lives with his wife Muriel (Myrna Loy) and two teenage daughters in a four bedroom and one bathroom only leased apartment. Jim works in an advertising agency raising US$ 15,000.00 a year and feels uncomfortable in his apartment due to the lack of space. When he sees an advertisement of a huge house for sale in the country of Connecticut for an affordable price, he drives with his wife and the real estate agent and decides to buy the old house without any technical advice. His best friend and lawyer Bill Cole (Melvyn Douglas) sends an acquaintance engineer to inspect the house, and the man tells that he should put down the house and build another one. Jim checks the information with other engineers and all of them condemn the place and sooner he finds that he bought a "money pit" instead of a dream house.

"Mr. Blandings Builds his Own House" is an extremely funny comedy, with witty lines and top-notch screenplay. Cary Grant is hilarious in the role of a man moved by the impulse of accomplishing with the American Dream of owning a huge house that finds that made bad choice, while losing his touch in his work and feeling jealous of his friend. In 1986, Tom Hanks worked in a very funny movie visibly inspired in this delightful classic, "The Money Pit". My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Lar, Meu Tormento" ("Home, My Torment")