MR BLANDINGS BUILDS HIS DREAM HOUSE

US, 1948, 94 minutes, Black and white.
Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Melvyn Douglas, Reginald Denny, Louise Beavers.
Directed by H. C. Potter.

Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House is something of a post-World War Two comedy classic. It is reminiscent in its sharp dialogue and sophistication of the screwball comedies of the 1930s – which featured the three main stars. However, it is very strongly influenced by the post-war experience, especially of families building houses and making a new life in this period.

Cary Grant and Myrna Loy are a couple who decide that they want to move to the country and build a house according to their own specifications. This is a Murphy’s Law kind of situation where everything goes wrong. This provides a great deal of the comedy as does the interrelationship between Grant and Myrna Loy, both expert at this kind of film. Melvyn Douglas as the friend is also expert.

The film is very much a look at the American situation of the period – and, with Myrna Loy, harks back to the 1946 best film Oscar-winner, The Best Years of Our Lives.

The film was directed by H. C. Potter who made a number of films in the 1930s and 40s with such variety as The Farmer’s Daughter, The Miniver Story. The screenplay was written by Norman Panama, who wrote a number of comedies with Melvyn Frank including the Danny Kaye classics Knock on Wood and The Court Jester. The film was remade in the 1980s as The Money Pit with Tom Hanks and Shelley Long. It was also adapted in 2007 for the Ice Cube comedy, Are We Done Yet.

1. Was this a good comedy? Was it a good example of the ordinary man comedy genre?

2. As a picture of America after the war? was it humorous and telling? Is the film now dated? In content? In Style?

3. How humorous and visually portrayed were the comments on the rat race, life in the country, the worries of the Americans?

4. How were the Blandings' worries typical of the concerns of modern people? Ambitions, greed? poverty? extravagance? How was the house, the planning and all the preparations symbolic of this? Were they effectively portrayed?

5. Was Jim Blandings an attractive character? Was the audience sympathetic towards him? The fact that Cary Grant played him? His job? His involvement with Wham? His relationship with his wife and children (getting up, the shaving, the meals etc.) Did he think into things? How much of a fool was he?

6. Muriel Blandings? was she meant to typify the average American woman? If so, what is your opinion of the average American woman? her weaknesses? her strengths? The fact that Myrna Loy played this part?

7. What was the point of Bill Cole in the film? His narrative? His common, sense and criticism of the scheme? For comedy? For some kind of romantic rivalry? Was this effective? Did he make enough contrasts with Jim Blandings?

8. Many of the situations were light and frothy. How humorous were they? at home in New York, in the buying of the land, the pulling down of the house,, the details of the building of the house?

9. What was the final message about ambition and pride and
greed?

10. How optimistic was the ending of the film? Over optimistic or sensible?