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Griseries

Original title: I Dream Too Much
  • 1935
  • Approved
  • 1h 37m
IMDb RATING
5.3/10
649
YOUR RATING
Henry Fonda and Lily Pons in Griseries (1935)
MusicalRomance

Jonathan Street is a struggling composer when he meets and marries Annette. The problem is that Jonathan was drunk and does not want to be married. Annette does go with him to Paris and does... Read allJonathan Street is a struggling composer when he meets and marries Annette. The problem is that Jonathan was drunk and does not want to be married. Annette does go with him to Paris and does the cooking and cleaning. To get his music published, Annette takes it to Paul and he is ... Read allJonathan Street is a struggling composer when he meets and marries Annette. The problem is that Jonathan was drunk and does not want to be married. Annette does go with him to Paris and does the cooking and cleaning. To get his music published, Annette takes it to Paul and he is won over - by her voice and not the music. So he manages her career and she becomes a star... Read all

  • Director
    • John Cromwell
  • Writers
    • Edmund H. North
    • James Gow
    • Elsie Finn
  • Stars
    • Lily Pons
    • Henry Fonda
    • Eric Blore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.3/10
    649
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • John Cromwell
    • Writers
      • Edmund H. North
      • James Gow
      • Elsie Finn
    • Stars
      • Lily Pons
      • Henry Fonda
      • Eric Blore
    • 10User reviews
    • 4Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 3 wins & 1 nomination total

    Photos13

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    Top cast27

    Edit
    Lily Pons
    Lily Pons
    • Annette Monard
    Henry Fonda
    Henry Fonda
    • 'Johnny' Street
    Eric Blore
    Eric Blore
    • Roger Briggs
    Osgood Perkins
    Osgood Perkins
    • Paul Darcy
    Lucien Littlefield
    Lucien Littlefield
    • Hubert Dilley
    Lucille Ball
    Lucille Ball
    • Gwendolyn Dilley
    Mischa Auer
    Mischa Auer
    • Darcy's Pianist
    Paul Porcasi
    Paul Porcasi
    • Uncle Tito
    Scotty Beckett
    Scotty Beckett
    • Boy on Carousel
    • (as Scott Beckett)
    Oscar Apfel
    Oscar Apfel
    • Cafe Owner
    • (uncredited)
    Richard Carle
    Richard Carle
    • Snobbish Critic
    • (uncredited)
    Elise Cavanna
    • Darcy's Secretary
    • (uncredited)
    James Conaty
    • Audience Extra
    • (uncredited)
    Gino Corrado
    Gino Corrado
    • Waiter in Cafe
    • (uncredited)
    Esther Dale
    Esther Dale
    • Mrs. Dilley
    • (uncredited)
    Billy Gilbert
    Billy Gilbert
    • Cook at Cafe
    • (uncredited)
    Ferdinand Gottschalk
    Ferdinand Gottschalk
    • Snobbish Critic
    • (uncredited)
    Kirby Grant
    Kirby Grant
    • Violinist
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • John Cromwell
    • Writers
      • Edmund H. North
      • James Gow
      • Elsie Finn
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews10

    5.3649
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    10

    Featured reviews

    9runtexas

    Lily Pons' singing makes this movie

    I found this movie on TCM. Lily Pons' singing is awesome, it makes the movie. I was born too late to hear her sing in person, but thanks to movies like this I can hear her.
    4mossgrymk

    i dream too much

    Who's worse, Cyd Charisse when she's not dancing or Lily Pons when she's not singing? (And no, Doris Day, who could actually be a good actress on far spaced occasions, is not even in the running). It's a close call but my money's on Pons with that insufferable, nails on a French menu chalkboard Pepita Le Peu accent and simpering smile. Fonda really paid his acting dues having to team with this babe and that stupid seal, huh?
    5AlsExGal

    Lightweight musical designed to showcase opera star Lily Pons

    Struggling American composer Johnny Street (Henry Fonda) is in France where he stumbles across a naive, sheltered young woman, Annette Monard (Pons). After a drunken night out, they wake up married, and decide to give it a go. Johnny is stunned to discover that Annette is a gifted operatic singer, in training since childhood, and after impresario Paul Darcy (Osgood Perkins) hears her, she becomes a leading star of the European musical stage, much to the annoyance of Johnny, who can't sell a song much less his opera. Also featuring Eric Blore (with a performing seal), Lucille Ball, Lucien Littlefield, Mischa Auer, Paul Porcasi, Gino Corrado, Billy Gilbert, Ferdinand Gottschalk, and Scotty Beckett.

    Pons, a gifted singer, has trouble with her dialogue and her thick French accent makes understanding her a bit difficult at times. She seems like she's enjoying herself, but at age 37 at the time of filming she seems a bit old for her role. The romance is lacking in chemistry, and the comedy is weak, especially considering the talents of Blore and Ball. That leaves the songs: there's some classical-style opera, some operetta bits, and some pop tunes, but none made any impression. The "show-stopper" musical number at the end, featuring a fashion show, and one of the silliest choreographed group dance bits I've ever seen, brings some unintentional entertainment. This movie managed to nab an Oscar nomination, for Best Sound Recording.
    7bkoganbing

    Lily Serenades Her Jockey

    The Mid Thirties was a great time for opera when after Grace Moore had scored so well in One Night Of Love all the studios immediately rushed out to sign their own sopranos. MGM already had Jeanette MacDonald, but Columbia had Moore, Paramount signed Gladys Swarthout and RKO signed Lily Pons for this film, I Dream Too Much.

    In between all the high Cs that Pons hit, I Dream Too Much is the story of a boy and girl for whom success does not come at the same time. Lily Pons while trying to escape her strict music teacher for a night of fun and frolic, lands on Henry Fonda as she's climbing out her window. Wouldn't you know it Fonda turns out to be a budding composer and after a night on the town, they wind up married.

    But while she gains acclaim for her singing, Fonda just can't get any notice for his music. The same plot was used in the MGM Jeanette MacDonald-Lew Ayres film Broadway Serenade so if you've seen that you know how this one goes. That one however was more dramatic and this was played more for comedy.

    What I Dream Too Much does have going for it are four Jerome Kern- Dorothy Fields songs to go with the operatic arias that Ms. Pons does. The best known of these is The Jockey On The Carousel which Lily sings while on a carousel to little Scotty Beckett.

    Fonda in a comic role has little to do, but display a kind of oafish charm. The film is clearly a vehicle for Lily Pons and he knows it.

    As for the film, it still retains a lot of charm. I wish opera and operetta were still done on the big screen, but that day as come and gone. And we sure don't have composers like Jerome Kern writing for the screen either.
    3planktonrules

    Another opera singer tries it out in the movies....

    Back in the 1930s, studios loved trying out opera stars in movies. Opera stars Lawrence Tibbett made several films (including one with Laurel & Hardy), Grace Moore just a few more and Lily Pons made four appearances in films. The only really successful movie star/opera singers were Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy...but there is a reason. They were primarily actors and then singers....whereas Tibbett, Moore and Pons were first and foremost singers. Nowadays, you look at many of these opera star features and you wonder....how could audiences of the day enjoy these pictures? After all, the average person was NOT an opera fan...and, in hindsight, they really didn't as Moore's nine films was the most that these three opera stars made.

    Annette is a sheltered girl and has seen nothing of the world. So, one night she sneaks out of her house and encounters a stranger in a cute meet up. Johnny (Henry Fonda) is a bohemian who has bounced about Europe and has no intentions of settling down...yet the morning after they meet he awakens to find they are married. He has no idea that his wife is a world class singer and he think his key to success is his musical compositions. Eventually, his ego is bruised as he sees his wife being showered with praise and his compositions aren't attracting any attention at all.

    I am no opera expert. However, Pons' very high pitched singing and speaking voice were NOT easy on the ears...and might explain her very short film career. She tries very hard...but I honestly cannot recall a woman speaking THIS high pitched in a movie and it was a bit painful. Overall, an odd curio but not much more. Fans of Henry Fonda will probably enjoy him but the film isn't particularly good...like most of the opera films.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Lucille Ball, who appears in a bit part as a gawky American teenage tourist in Paris, eventually owned the RKO studio lot with husband Desi Arnaz as their Desilu Productions facility.
    • Goofs
      Goddess was incorrectly called a seal. She was a sea lion. Seals don't have external ears.
    • Quotes

      Annette Monard: Don't you think you could stand me? Just for a little while? Just so I could get away from here? I would cook for you and make your bed, and I would try to put on a little fat.

      Jonathan 'Johnny' Street: No. It's impossible. I'd treat you very badly. You'd interfere with my work and I couldn't have that. I'd probably beat you!

      Annette Monard: Of course! But I wouldn't care!

    • Connections
      Featured in Henry Fonda: The Man and His Movies (1982)
    • Soundtracks
      I Dream Too Much
      (1935) (uncredited)

      Music by Jerome Kern

      Lyrics by Dorothy Fields

      Sung by Lily Pons

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 10, 1936 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • I Dream Too Much
    • Filming locations
      • RKO Studios - 780 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • RKO Radio Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $627,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 37 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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