A joy.
The Awful Truth (1937)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 24
Fresh: 22
Rotten:2
Average Rating: 7.9/10
Consensus: Great comic direction by Leo McCarrey and memorable onscreen chemistry from stars Cary Grant and Irene Dunne make this screwball comedy a charmer.
Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: In one of the supreme screwball comedies, young husband and wife Jerry and Lucy (Cary Grant and Irene Dunne, respectively), suspicious that the other is having an affair, start divorce proceedings... In one of the supreme screwball comedies, young husband and wife Jerry and Lucy (Cary Grant and Irene Dunne, respectively), suspicious that the other is having an affair, start divorce proceedings and see each other only when Jerry visits their dog, who is held in joint custody. As Lucy shows signs of falling for her oil-tycoon neighbor, Jerry goes to outrageous lengths to break them up. And Jerry's own whirlwind courtship of a social darling hits snags as Lucy pretends to be his inebriated showgirl sister during Jerry's meeting with his girlfriend's parents. Stuck in an isolated cabin the eve their divorce becomes final, Lucy and Jerry discover the awful truth that they still love each other. The wonderful Leo McCarey directed THE AWFUL TRUTH, which was based on the 1922 play by Arthur Richman. [More]
Starring: Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Ralph Bellamy, Cecil Cunningham
Starring: Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Ralph Bellamy, Cecil Cunningham, Mary Forbes, Alex D'Arcy, Joyce Compton, Molly Lamont, Esther Dale
Director: Leo McCarey
Director: Leo McCarey
Screenwriter: Vina Delmar
Producer: Leo McCarey
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Reviews for 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.
...has earned its reputation as one of the most effective screwball comedies from the 1930s.
One of the best screwball comedies (of remarriage) ever made, based on the astute mise-en-scene of director Leo McCarey (who won an Oscar) and superb turns from Cary Grant and Irene Dunne as the sparrying partners who go to court over their dog (Asta).
Zappy, sophisticated screwball comedy with Grant and Dunne displaying perfect timing.
The look of love [Grant] gives co-star Irene Dunne, captured not in a close-up but a medium-wide shot, could melt anyone.
One should be rooting for Cary Grant to get the girl, which means he ought to deserve her — and if that's more or less the case here, well, it's only because the girl turns out to be no great shakes either.
A smart screwball comedy from the 1930s that's given the Lubitsch touch by director Leo McCarey.
Its sophistication convinced the Academy that it was more than "just" a comedy and they awarded McCarey the Best Director Oscar
Episodic but sublime screwball comedy, with Grant and Dunne at their most alluring.
To be frank, The Awful Truth is awfully unimportant, but it is also one of the more laughable screen comedies of 1937, a fairly good vintage year.
As pleasurable as anything a Hollywood studio and the star system ever produced.
Cary Grant ... delivers one of the greatest comic performances we'll ever have the pleasure of witnessing.
This comedy is a hilarious match-up between Cary Grant and Irene Dunne, with the wonderful Ralph Bellamy cast in his pigeonholed role as the fifth wheel.
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