source: Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House

Trailer—Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House

Superb and very intelligent SERIOUS comedy, that was of course, written off by the critics. A more telling title would have been "The nightmare of home ownership". A man decides to buy a house and move out of his cramped apartment. He buys an old one, but has to demolish it because it is rotten to the core. All sorts of complications ensue, costs pile up, the man loses his peace of mind and can no longer do his work. He is about to be fired. There is an obligatory and perfunctory happy ending, but the message was clear: SUCKERS BEWARE! Buying a home can be a nightmare. The movie was painful to watch because I know people who LIVED it. To buy a home is to buy an entire neighborhood and an entire destiny, because your life will be affected greatly.

This is one of my favorite comedies. The writing is superb and full of with and every actor is perfect in their delivery and timing. The leads have good chemistry and are funny and charismatic. The supporting cast are equally hilarious. The inflation figures based on movie numbers are hilarious in regard to salaries versus housing values.

Post World War 2 America. Dwight is about to take office. The typical American middle class family living together in downtown city USA. Their home is an apartment, boxed in like cattle. The opening of the movie is without sound. That is, no one needs to talk. Cary Grant is introduced with physical comedy. The everyday ordeal of having to clean up, shower, shave, is a living hell. Before a single word is spoken, you begin to feel for Cary Grant and you know exactly how he feels. By the second scene, he is ready to move up and out of the big city for rural country USA. One problem after another, The Blandings are faced with the choices they have made. Their dream house falls apart and needs to be built up one brick at a time. Their bank account, marriage, family, their entire life is on the line as they attempt to live out their dream of owning the perfect house. Much like the money pit, it is a coming of age for the middle age. A great comedy.

I saw this movie when it was first released in 1948. Now 50 years later I watch it again. The comedy holds up remarkably well. Say what you like about the Hollywood studios of the forties but they could turn out these pleasant entertainments seemingly without effort. The perils of buying and building a house have not changed (although the prices certainly have!)It's a delight to watch three seasoned professionals (Grant,Loy and Douglas)play against each other so well. All the minor characters are well cast. The touches of sentiment are never over done. A movie well worth seeing more than once.

This movie is a little unusual in that it's got a very slim plot and the movie itself is done at a very slow and leisurely pace. While this makes it pretty different from the average Grant film, it is still highly watchable and entertaining. It's sort of like someone said "let's just follow Cary around and watch as he gets perturbed at all the little problems that come up when you are having a house rehabbed". Considering what a fun actor he is in the film and the great support he gets from Myrna Loy and Melvin Douglas, the film works very well. While the film has pretty modest pretensions, it makes the most of the material. It's a great film for Cary Grant fans or for the whole family.