MR. BLANDINGS BUILDS HIS DREAM HOUSE (1948)

Studio: RKO Radio Pictures

Producer: Dore Schary, Melvin Frank & Norman Panama

Director: H.C. Potter

Awards: It was nominated for an award from the Writers Guild of America.

Interesting Fact: This film is based on a true story that happened to the writer, Eric Hodgins, the author of the book.

My Favorite Scene: My favorite scene has always been the pump scene. It wasn't until my parents began to build a house of their own, that the floor plan scene replaced it, as my favorite. My parents had some of the exact things happen to them: exaggerated closet space, multiple bathrooms and even a larger second floor on top of a smaller first floor.

Mr. Zucca: That's no rock. That's a ledge.
Bill Cole: What Mr. Blandings means is, what precisely is a ledge?
Mr. Zucca: A ledge is like a big stone. Only it's bigger.
Jim Blandings: Like a boulder!
Mr. Zucca: No, like a ledge.

They say that true humor is pulled from life itself. If this statement is accurate, then this is the most honest humor I've ever seen. I had seen this movie as a boy and we all laughed. It wasn't until my parents built a custom home that we pulled it out again and cried with so much laughter. From the color for the walls to the number of closets and bathrooms, it displayed our story.

This film was in between Grant's humor years and romance years. In fact, Myrna Loy & him were considered too old to play the young couple being swindled into by a country home. The year before, they had been cast together in "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" (1947). It wasn't until there pairing as an experienced married couple, in this movie, that I found their chemistry hilarious. This is my favorite comedy that Cary Grant had done, with the exception of "Arsenic & Old Lace" (1944).

If you have ever done anything to a house, you need to see this movie.

Trailer

Another favorite scene of mine.