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:

dilapidated house | house | family relationships | connecticut | remodeling | 

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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:

Bygg og bli gær'n

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

"Screen Director's Playhouse" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on July 1, 1949 with Cary Grant reprising his film role.

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Goofs

When Betsy cuts the classified ad from the paper, she says "It's just sixteen words" then proceeds to read "Forced to sell farm dwelling original beams barn apple orchard trout stream seclusion superb view will sacrifice". Seventeen words.

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Quotes

Jim Blandings: Now, just a minute. I'm entitled to know what I did. This is America. A man is guilty until proven innocent.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits are shown on an architect's blueprints.

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Alternate Versions

Also available in colorized version.

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Connections

Remade as Who's the Boss?: Mr. Micelli Builds His Dream House (1992)

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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

Required viewing for anybody considering building their own house...

...because in many ways nothing has changed. If you can't live through what Mr. Blandings lives through in this film, don't do it! There at millions of already built homes in the United States! Pick one! Jim (Cary Grant) and Muriel (Myrna Loy) Blandings live in a Manhattan apartment with their two daughters and Jim is an advertising executive. So Jim and Muriel think it would be nice to live in the country on a big lot and buy - not sight unseen so much as site uninspected by professionals - a house in Connecticut that has been standing since the Continental Congress.

Unfortunately, every engineer who inspects it says it is a wonder of the modern world that it has not fallen down on its own, but of course it is not going to do that and make the Blandings' life easy, so they have pay to have it knocked down. Then they find out about an obscure law about knocking down a house that has a mortgage on it and have to pay 6000 dollars. And they haven't even gotten around to BUILDING the house they want! From the windowless bedroom, the logistics problems of getting to and from work - Mrs. Blandings read the train schedule wrong, getting trapped in the upstairs closet, to being forced to move before the house is ready - as in not having windows - this thing is hilarious on so many levels.

Jim Blandings' panic grows with the mounting bills, the misunderstandings that cost him thousands, and the ad campaign he must come up with to keep his job and have a chance at ever paying for any of this. Plus the stress has him imagining that his wife and attorney/friend (Melvyn Douglas as Bill Cole) are in love. They did go steady for a time during college, but that was it.

Now don't think that this is anything but a comedy. Plus I have never seen anybody who can play straight man to his own comedian as well as Cary Grant. Myrna Loy is sublime as the wife, completely unruffled by any of this, not a hair out of place. And she delivers the one liners as well as when she was Nora Charles. Melvyn Douglas is great as the friend and lends great deadpan comic support to the whole proceeding. Highly recommended.