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Most of The Awful Truth was improvised on the set. [9] McCarey had two guides for directing the film. The first was that he believed the film was the "story of my life", [80] because McCarey based many scenes and comic moments on misunderstandings he had had with his own wife (although they never accused one another of infidelity). [83]
As critic Dave Kehr astutely describes The Awful Truth, “Leo McCarey's largely improvised 1937 film is one of the funniest of the screwball comedies, and also one of the most serious at heart.
Mar 13, 2011 · The Awful Truth proves both adult in its insinuating sense-of-humour, and distinctively verbal in its comedic orientation – despite a pair of memorable pratfalls that reconfirm Grant’s acrobatic aptitude.
- Michael J. Anderson
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. Why It's Not Awful For the film, McCarey retained the basics of the original play, which centered around an estranged husband’s doubts over his wife's relationship with ...
- Overview
- Production notes and credits
- Cast
- Academy Award nominations (* denotes win)
The Awful Truth, American screwball comedy film, released in 1937, that is widely considered a classic of the genre.
In this adaptation of a play of the same name by Arthur Richman, Cary Grant and Irene Dunne portrayed Jerry and Lucy Warriner, a married couple who agree to a divorce when each mistakenly thinks the other is having an affair. After Lucy moves out, they do in fact take up with new partners—she with an Oklahoma oil baron (played by Ralph Bellamy) and he with a wealthy socialite (Molly Lamont)—and a series of madcap antics ensues as each clumsily tries to sabotage the other’s relationship. The night before the divorce is to be finalized, Jerry and Lucy abscond to her aunt’s cabin and sheepishly reconcile.
Britannica Quiz
Classic Closing Lines
•Studio: Columbia Pictures
•Director and producer: Leo McCarey
•Writer: Viña Delmar
•Music: Ben Oakland
•Irene Dunne (Lucy Warriner)
•Cary Grant (Jerry Warriner)
•Ralph Bellamy (Dan Leeson)
•Alexander D’Arcy (Armand Duvalle)
•Cecil Cunningham (Aunt Patsy)
•Molly Lamont (Barbara Vance)
•Picture
•Director*
•Lead actress (Irene Dunne)
•Supporting actor (Ralph Bellamy)
•Screenplay
•Editing
- Lee Pfeiffer
Jan 21, 2011 · Made in 1937, “The Awful Truth” is one of the gems of this, for lack of a better term, sub-genre. Nominated for Best Picture, Leo McCarey managed to snag the Best Director award though the film lost to the more “important” and “esteemed” winner, “The Life of Emile Zola.”
Jun 30, 2011 · Much of the action was improvised and director Leo McCarey wrote parts of the script directly on the set, which gives "The Awful Truth" an unbelievable fresh- and directness. Though he left his actors room for spontaneity, McCarey defenitely knew what he wanted and this shows.
