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The Awful Truth (1937)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
21 October 1937 (USA) morePlot:
Unfounded suspicions lead a married couple to begin divorce proceedings, whereupon they start undermining each other's attempts to find new romance. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 5 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(5 articles)
Holiday Preview: A Repertory Calendar (From IFC. 3 November 2009, 1:01 PM, PST)
Twilight news roundup - Vancouver’s Thinking of Rob, Lainey Gossip + Taylor talks & Cheesey Ted
(From MovieSet.com. 9 October 2009, 2:26 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Another Irene Dunne original! Thank you, Lord! more (71 total)Cast
(Complete credited cast)| Irene Dunne | ... | Lucy Warriner | |
| Cary Grant | ... | Jerry Warriner | |
| Ralph Bellamy | ... | 'Dan' Leeson | |
| Alexander D'Arcy | ... | Armand Duvalle | |
| Cecil Cunningham | ... | Aunt Patsy | |
| Molly Lamont | ... | Barbara Vance | |
| Esther Dale | ... | Mrs. Leeson | |
| Joyce Compton | ... | Dixie Belle Lee | |
| Robert Allen | ... | Frank Randall | |
| Robert Warwick | ... | Mr. Vance | |
| Mary Forbes | ... | Mrs. Vance | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Leonard Carey | ... | Butler (scenes deleted) | |
| Vernon Dent | ... | Police Sergeant (scenes deleted) | |
| Byron Foulger | ... | Secretary (scenes deleted) | |
| Bobby Watson | ... | Hotel Clerk (scenes deleted) | |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
91 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Premiere voted this movie as one of "The 50 Greatest Comedies of All Time" in 2006. moreGoofs:
Continuity: When Lucy has her chin on her hand, the position of her hand changes. moreMovie Connections:
Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies (2000) (TV) moreSoundtrack:
Home on the Range moreFAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (71 total)
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'The Awful Truth' just came out on DVD and what a treat! I'd never seen it before. It's sort of a first draft of 'My Favorite Wife' (remade as 'Move Over Darling') and has all the patented screwball-romantic comedy-French farce elements of the 'Palm Beach Story' but in a less sophisticated form. Even though 'The Awful Truth' may have established a formula for all subsequent screwball comedies, let's face it, it's still rude and crude around the edges. But it probably was the 'There's something about Mary' of its time and Leo McCarey apparently got an Oscar for Best Director. Its gags and dialogue are at times so unexpected as to be termed "experimental". The movie is really all about the sexual tension between Cary Grant and Irene Dunne, married partners who wilfully dissolve their marriage over the husband's possible infidelity (barely alluded to) and his lack of confidence in his wife's virtue (a.k.a. jealousy). But this being 1937, sexuality has to be expressed in devious, contrived ways, including the occasional gratuitous slapstick. The Swiss clock ending is worth the price of admission in this respect. As is Cary Grant's date's obscene nightclub performance and his martial arts irruption into a society afternoon recital where his wife (Dunne) is singing an Italian aria that none of Grant's pratfalls can interrupt, except for one, memorable, epoch-making, anthology-ready second and a half towards the end that no other (singing) actress could have pulled off. What one has to remember, I guess, is that none of this nonsense had ever been attempted, seen or done on a screen before and it must have seemed terribly daring and innovative, thanks to the complicity and high spirits of a perfect cast, including Gee-shucks cowboy Ralph Bellamy, irrepressible faux-French charmer Alexander D'Arcy and worldly aunt Patsy (Cecil Cunningham). Irene Dunne, as usual, is a total original, and, by the way, Katharine Hepburn copied her comedy style and not the other way around (check your dates, guys).