The Awful Truth (1937) is the movie that invented Cary Grant. Up until this time he was a first rate actor appearing in dramas and comedies, but in The Awful Truth, with the help of director Leo McCarey, Grant invented the light comedy persona that he would use and develop in every film that followed. After 1937 when it came to light comedy there was Grant and every one else. He became the master of the double take and the slow burn. His responses to situations around him enhanced any comic antics he was involved with. After The Awful Truth he would go on to make Bringing Up Baby, Arsenic and Old Lace, Holiday, His Girl Friday, My Favorite Wife and The Philadelphia Story, all perfect examples of the Grant style of comedy at work.
The Awful Truth is about a young couple, Lucy (Irene Dunne) and Jerry (Cary Grant) who discard their marriage and go their separate ways in search of true love. But they can't resist sabotaging each other's new relationships because, deep down, this couple knows they were made for each other. Grant's dead on comic timing is a perfect match for Dunne's brilliant comedic talents. The two can be seen at their best during the custody battle for their dog (Asta from The Thin Man).
The Awful Truth was based on a play by Arthur Richman and had two previous film versions made in 1925 and 1929. The movie was remade in 1953 as the musical "Let's Do It Again". Nominated for five Academy Awards and listed as one of the top 10 films of 1937 The Awful Truth endures as a comedic battle of the sexes.
At The Movie House rating **** stars
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