The Awful Truth (1937)

Unfounded suspicions lead a married couple to begin divorce proceedings, whereupon they start undermining each other's attempts to find new romance.

Director:

Leo McCarey

Writers:

Viña Delmar (screen play), Arthur Richman (based on a play by),

Stars:

Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Irene Dunne	...	Lucy Warriner
Cary Grant	...	Jerry Warriner
Ralph Bellamy	...	Daniel 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

Storyline

Before their divorce becomes final, Jerry and Lucy Warriner both do their best to ruin each other's plans for remarriage, Jerry to haughty socialite Molly Lamont, she to oil-rich bumpkin Daniel Leeson. Among their strategies: Jerry's court-decreed visitation rights with Mr. Smith, their pet fox terrier, and Lucy sends flamboyant Dixie Belle Lee to impersonate Jerry's brassy "sister" before his prospective bride's scandalized family.

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Plot Keywords:

divorce | remarriage | new york | dog | new york city | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 October 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cette sacrée vérité

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Premiere voted this movie as one of "The 50 Greatest Comedies of All Time" in 2006.

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Goofs

When Lucy has her chin on her hand, the position of her hand changes.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jerry Warriner: Come on, Haig, get that sun lamp ready.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywoodism: Jews, Movies and the American Dream (1998)

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Soundtracks

"La Serenata"
(uncredited)
Sung by Irene Dunne

User Reviews

Accept No Substitutes! This Is The Best

The funniest comedy ever made. An older friend introduced me to "The Awful Truth" in the days before VCRs. I thought it so hilarious, I taped the dialogue on a tape recorder when it was shown on local channels.

Of course, the most famous scene is the one in which Irene Dunne, still in love with husband Grant, appears at his society girl's family's estate. She pretends they are from a class these snobs would not accept. It is Dunne's finest ten minutes -- hilarious and it never grows old.

But the whole movie is funny. Cary Grant and his "continental mind." Grant thinking he is bursting in on a love nest, only to find himself in the middle of a sedate vocal recital. And Dunne, singing a Tosti song, watches him lovingly as he stumbles and executes pratfalls, ending her son with a laugh rather than the words of her song! Asta, even, is put to better use than he was in the delightful "Thin man" series. Here is their dog Mr. Smith.

Esther Dale never had a better role than as Ralph Bellamy's prudish and prurient mother. And Bellamy, as he played the wrong man so often in romantic comedies, is easy to take for granted. But he is delightful too.

Joyce Compton, in endless movies for a couple decades, is an absolute scream as Dixie Belle, the risqué nightclub performer with whom Grant takes up at around the time Dunne has taken up with deadly dull Bellamy.

Not only is this sequence funny but it is also touching: Don't we all, on the rebound, make choices that seem right but turn out catastrophic! I also like "Twentieth Century" and Bringing Up Baby." I do not like the smug "My Favorite Wife," also with Dunne and Grant" or the mean "Nothing Sacred." When it comes to screwball comedy, this is the one! It surely is one of the greatest of all American movies.