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Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)

 -  Comedy | Romance  -  4 June 1948 (USA)
7.2
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Ratings: 7.2/10 from 5,706 users  
Reviews: 70 user | 29 critic

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.

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(novel), (written for the screen by), 1 more credit »
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Title: Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)

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Cast

Complete credited cast:
...
...
...
...
Simms
Sharyn Moffett ...
Connie Marshall ...
Louise Beavers ...
Gussie
...
Smith
Harry Shannon ...
Tesander
Tito Vuolo ...
Mr. Zucca
Nestor Paiva ...
Joe Apollonio
Jason Robards Sr. ...
John Retch (as Jason Robards)
...
Mary
...
Carpenter Foreman
Emory Parnell ...
Mr. PeDelford
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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. Written by John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Genres:

Comedy | Romance

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

4 June 1948 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

De villa onzer dromen  »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(RCA Sound System)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The house "Blandings' Way" really exists on Indian Hill Road in New Milford, Connecticut. It's a beautiful huge white art deco/colonial house that has many of the actual rooms discussed in the movie - such as a room to cut flowers. Also less than a mile away on Long Mountain Road is executive producer of the movie and MGM head Dore Schary's old country home. See more »

Goofs

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

Quotes

Bill Cole: I kind of felt that he kind of felt that if I kind of told you that you'd know that he knew that you knew... or something.
See more »

Crazy Credits

Opening credits are shown on an architect's blueprints. See more »

Connections

Featured in Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins (2008) See more »

Soundtracks

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

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User Reviews

 
You really couldn't go wrong with Grant and Loy...
14 July 2002 | by (United Kingdom) – See all my reviews

The film opens with Bill Coles (Melvyn Douglas) telling a story about how his best friend--make that client--Jim Blandings (Cary Grant) and his family are tightly packed into a small New York apartment, with not enough closet space and way too few bathrooms. When Jim's wife, Muriel (Myrna Loy), wants to renovate the apartment, advertising exec Jim falls in love with (or falls for!) an ad for a house. Once he's purchased the house, bills and frustration pile up incessantly as everything that can go wrong with the building of Jim's 'dream house' goes wrong.

One of three collaborations between Grant and Loy, this is a charming little comedy--not very taxing, with no real great message, but a great way to spend an hour or two. The laughs are there right from the start, when the alarm clock goes off and Jim tries to shut it off, only to be thwarted at every turn by Muriel. The timing and delivery of the comedic lines and situations can only be given by a couple of seasoned pros, and that's just what Grant and Loy give us: polished performances, simple chemistry, and a lot of fun. Myrna Loy is in a pretty thankless role (it's evident that Grant's character Jim gets the lion share of the lines and the acting, and Grant, as always, pulls both off with remarkable aplomb), but she gives Muriel a colour, life and bite that only Myrna Loy can give a character. Melvyn Douglas plays wry amusement to perfection as well, never hitting a single wrong note.

One of my favourite scenes has definitely got to be when Bill gets himself locked in the 'store room', and Jim goes to 'save' him... only to get everyone trapped inside! Every little problem that pops up for the Blandings renovation project--including petty jealousy and an ad campaign for 'Wham'--seems to bring together everything that *could* go wrong with building a new house but makes it believable and an enjoyable watch. 8/10


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