Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)

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.

Director:

H.C. Potter

Writers:

Eric Hodgins (novel), Norman Panama (written for the screen by),

Stars:

Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Melvyn Douglas

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Cary Grant	...	Jim Blandings
Myrna Loy	...	Muriel Blandings
Melvyn Douglas	...	Bill Cole
Reginald Denny	...	Simms
Sharyn Moffett	...	Joan Blandings
Connie Marshall	...	Betsy Blandings
Louise Beavers	...	Gussie
Ian Wolfe	...	Smith
Harry Shannon	...	Tesander
Tito Vuolo	...	Mr. Zucca
Nestor Paiva	...	Joe Apollonio
Jason Robards Sr.	...	John Retch (as Jason Robards)
Lurene Tuttle	...	Mary
Lex Barker	...	Carpenter Foreman
Emory Parnell	...	Mr. PeDelford

Storyline

The Blandings live in New York in a tiny apartment. They decide to move to the country and find that buying and building and living in their own home is easier said than done.

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Plot Keywords:

house | apartment | engineer | advertising | lawyer | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 June 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

De villa onzer dromen

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although this film was from the novel of the same name, much of the story is autobiographical. Eric Hodgins and his wife built the actual house in the rural Litchfield County, Connecticut town of New Milford. Located in the bucolic Merryall section of town, the house recently sold for $1.2 million.

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Goofs

When Mr. Blandings is questioning Mr. Tesander about why he didn't find water, Mrs. Blandings (Myrna Loy) is holding back laughing.

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Quotes

Gussie: If you ain't eatin' Wham, you ain't eatin' ham.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits are shown on an architect's blueprints.

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Connections

Remade as Are We Done Yet? (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Home on the Range"
(uncredited)
Written by Brewster M. Higley
Sung by Cary Grant and then Myrna Loy as they shower

User Reviews

a good comedy

Poor Mr. Blanding(Cary Grant). All he wants is the perfect house. As we find out from this lighthearted romp, getting the perfect house isn't without a lot of headaches and money spent. This film has quite a many funny moments. What I liked best was the wit of the dialogue, terrific chemistry between Myrna Loy and Grant, and the pure delight of watching Grant perfect what a great comic spirit he had. Melvyn Douglas was fun as Blanding's lawyer friend,Bill. The film has the famous funny scene where Loy is showing a painter what colors she wants each room painted in(folks, she has an unusual peculiar style of speach when it comes to her color). It has other funny bits including Grant discussing the advertising life with his daughters who are very impressioned by a teacher at school. It's core humor comes from the painstaking process of getting the home built. The specifications of this process are amusing. The film is sweet and Grant has such a breezy skill with the humor. He is a delight to watch as is the wonderful Loy. An overall worthwhile experience. ****1/2/*****