Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)

Director:

H.C. Potter

Writers:

Eric Hodgins (novel)
Norman Panama (written by) ...

Release Date:

4 June 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

A man and his wife decide they can afford to have a house in the country built to their specifications. It's a lot more trouble than they think.

Plot Keywords:

House | Apartment | Engineer | Lawyer | Advertising

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Cary Grant	...	Jim Blandings
Myrna Loy	...	Muriel Blandings
Melvyn Douglas	...	Bill Cole
Reginald Denny	...	Henry L. Simms
Sharyn Moffett	...	Joan Blandings
Connie Marshall	...	Betsy Blandings
Louise Beavers	...	Gussie
Ian Wolfe	...	Smith - a real estate agent
Harry Shannon	...	W. D. Tesander
Tito Vuolo	...	Mr. Zucca - the steam shovel operator
Nestor Paiva	...	Joe Appollonio
Jason Robards Sr.	...	John W. Retch (as Jason Robards)
Lurene Tuttle	...	Mary
Lex Barker	...	Carpenter Foreman
Emory Parnell	...	Mr. PeDelford

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:PG (video rating) | Australia:PG | West Germany:12 | France:U | Finland:S | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #12766) | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Administration Building, Malibu Creek State Park - 1925 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas, California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

The pairing of Irene Dunne and Cary Grant was a consistent box office winner and director H.C. Potter wanted Dunne for the role of Muriel Blandings. Unfortunately, she was already working on another RKO film, I Remember Mama (1948), and wasn't available for this production.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Mr. Blandings is questioning Mr. Tesander about why he didn't find water, Mrs. Blandings (Myrna Loy) is holding back laughing.

Quotes:

Smith: You're buying a piece of American history.
Jim Blandings: You don't say. How's that?
Smith: Why, first year she was built, General Gates stopped right here to water his horses.
Jim Blandings: Old General Gates, huh? Civil War.
Smith: Huh? Revolutionary War.
Jim Blandings: Oh, *that* General Gates.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Hollywood Remembers: Myrna Loy - So Nice to Come Home to (1991) (TV)

A house in Connecticut

Manhattan apartment dwellers have to put up with all kinds of inconveniences. The worst one is the lack of closet space! Some people who eat out all the time use their ranges and dishwashers as storage places because the closets are already full!

Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, a great comedy writing team from that era, saw the potential in Eric Hodgins novel, whose hero, Jim Blandings, can't stand the cramped apartment where he and his wife Muriel, and two daughters, must share.

Jim Blandings, a Madison Ave. executive, has had it! When he sees an ad for Connecticut living, he decides to take a look. Obviously, a first time owner, Jim is duped by the real estate man into buying the dilapidated house he is taken to inspect by an unscrupulous agent. This is only the beginning of his problems.

Whatever could be wrong, goes wrong. The architect is asked to come out with a plan that doesn't work for the new house, after the original one is razed. As one problem leads to another, more money is necessary, and whatever was going to be the original cost, ends up in an inflated price that Jim could not really afford.

The film is fun because of the three principals in it. Cary Grant was an actor who clearly understood the character he was playing and makes the most out of Jim Blandings. Myrna Loy, was a delightful actress who was always effective playing opposite Mr. Grant. The third character, Bill Cole, an old boyfriend of Myrna, turned lawyer for the Blandings, is suave and debonair, the way Melvin Douglas portrayed him. One of the Blandings girls, Joan, is played by Sharyn Moffett, who bore an uncanny resemblance to Eva Marie Saint. The great Louise Beavers plays Gussie, but doesn't have much to do.

The film is lovingly photographed by James Wong Howe, who clearly knew what to do to make this film appear much better. The direction of H.C. Potter is light and he succeeded in this film that will delight fans of classic comedies.