The Awful Truth (1937)

Directed by

Leo McCarey

Genre

romantic comedy film, comedy of remarriage

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 27m

Rated

NR

Rating

7.2 of 10 from 361 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A wealthy couple gets a divorce but keeps meddling in each other's new romantic relationships. They try to sabotage each other's possible new partners.

fast-pacedwittyplayfulsophisticatedlightheartedchaoticcharming

What happens

The Awful Truth is a 1937 American screwball comedy film directed by Leo McCarey, and starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant. Based on the 1922 play The Awful Truth by Arthur Richman, the film recounts a distrustful rich couple who begin divorce proceedings, only to interfere with one another's romances. This was McCarey's first film for Columbia Pictures, with the dialogue and comic elements largely improvised by the director and actors. Irene Dunne's costumes were designed by Robert Kalloch. Although Grant tried to leave the production due to McCarey's directorial style, The Awful Truth saw his emergence as an A-list star and proponent of on-the-set improvisation. The film was a huge box office success and was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Dunne), and Best Supporting Actor (Ralph Bellamy), winning for Best Director (McCarey). The film was selected in 1996 for preservation in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry, having been deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The Awful Truth was the first of three films co-starring Grant and Dunne, followed by My Favorite Wife (1940) and Penny Serenade (1941). (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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