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Fed up with crowded big-city living, advertising executive Mr. Blandings (Cary Grant) decides to seek out a big, roomy house in the country. Armed with more enthusiasm than common sense, Blandings causes many a headache for his lawyer/business manager Melvyn Douglas, who tries to keep the costs within a reasonable amount. Alas, Blandings bulls ahead on his own, first purchasing an estate on the verge of collapse, then opting to build his dream house from scratch. An unpleasant legal squabble over the fact that Blandings purchased his new property without checking with the prior owners throws even more good money after bad. The construction of the new Blandings digs is slowed down to a walk by doors and windows that don't fit, plumbing that fails to function, doorknobs that break upon contact with human flesh, temperamental workmen, and various and sundry other homeowners' nightmares (if all this sounds like the much-later Tom Hanks/Shelley Long comedy The Money Pit, it only shows to go how little has changed in forty years--except, of course, for the costs of things). Attempting to keep a level head throughout the proceedings is Mrs. Blandings (Myrna Loy), though even she is guilty of pretensions and excess, especially in the classic "choice of colors" scene. The humor in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House springs so naturally from the central situation that it seems intrusive when the scriptwriters throw in an arbitrary French-farce scene wherein Blandings suspects that his wife and his lawyer are fooling around (a plot point that the original Eric Hodgins novel did just fine without). One of the best bits comes near the end, when Louise Beavers, the Blandings' cook, saves the day for everyone by ad libbing "If you ain't eating Wham, you ain't eating Ham." Why should we spoil your enjoyment by explaining that line? Now you'll have to see the picture. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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Scene Selections
Special Features
The House of Tomorrow
Audio Vault
10/10/1949 - Lux Radio Theater Broadcast With Cary Grant & Irene Dunne
6/9/1950 - Screen Directors Playhouse Broadcast With Cary Grant & Betsy Drake
Grant Trailer Gallery
1938 - Bringing Up Baby
1939 - Gunga Din
1940 - My Favorite Wife
1940 - The Philadelphia Story
1943 - Destination Tokyo
1944 - Arsenic and Old Lace
1946 - Night and Day
1947 - The Bachelor and The Bobby-Soxer
1948 - Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
1959 - North By Northwest
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Languages
Spoken Languages: English
Subtitles: English
Subtitles: Français
Subtitles: Español
Subtitles: Off
Chapters
Side #1 --
1. Credits [1:27]
2. Manhattan [2:40]
3. Morning Effort [5:13]
4. Bathroom Sharing [4:29]
5. Breakfast Table Hardship [3:32]
6. Saving Money [4:04]
7. Visualizing Their Home [4:59]
8. Certain Intangibles [4:05]
9. Expert Advice [4:12]
10. Dream Designs [:57]
11. Mortgage Misstep [3:46]
12. No Water Broken Bucket [5:54]
13. Wet Cellar [5:57]
14. Rip 'Em Out [3:33]
15. In Case of Emergency [2:30]
16. Just About Complete [3:23]
17. Color Match [5:38]
18. Torrid Discovery [2:13]
19. The Lovable Truth [3:41]
20. In Out of the Rain [4:20]
21. Lost His Touch? [2:51]
22. Four Little Flagstones [2:54]
23. A Conspiracy [3:53]
24. You Ain't Eatin' Ham [4:19]
25. Cast List [2:48]
Features
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Two radio productions: The October 10, 1949, Lux Radio Theater broadcast starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne and The June 9, 1950, Screen Directors Playhouse broadcast starring Cary Grant and Betsy Drake
Art Director - Carroll Clark
Art Director - Albert S. D'Agostino
Book Author - Eric Hodgins
Cinematographer - James Wong Howe
Composer (Music Score) - Leigh Harline
Costume Designer - Robert Kalloch
First Assistant Director - James Lane
Makeup - Gordon Bau
Musical Direction/Supervision - Constantin Bakaleinikoff
Special Effects - Russell A. Cully
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House is an ideal example of the sort of frothy, smart-without-congratulating-itself comedy that Hollywood regularly produced in the first half of the 20th century. Cary Grant is near the top of his comic form as Jim Blandings, blundering through the construction of his new home in Connecticut with more bull-headed determination than practical skill, and Myrna Loy is his superbly dry comic counterpart as Jim's slightly more sensible mate, Muriel Blandings; the wonderful scene in which she sends the painting contractor to the produce market in search of the right colors is light comic absurdity at its best. And how about a hand for Connie Marshall and Sharyn Moffett as the Blandings daughters, who never fail to hit the right note of bemusement and embarrassment with their parents' ongoing fiasco, and Louise Beavers as Gussie, the loyal servant who seems a bit smarter than her boss (and has one of the best lines in the movie). Melvin Frank's and Norman Panama's screenplay puts enough spin on the situations to keep them from getting hackneyed, and H.C. Potter's direction keeps things light, lively, and on their toes. Like a good gin and tonic, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House is light and bubbly, with just enough bite to be both refreshing and intriguing. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
