Sunday, May 15, 2011

MR BLANDINGS BUILDS HIS DREAM HOUSE

Stars: Cary Grant,Myrna Loy and Melvyn Douglas
Genre: Comedy
Year: 1948,black and white
This is a brilliant comedy,the sort of stuff that hollywood has forgotten to make.I have always been a big fan of Cary Grant.He had a rare talent of playing comic as well as serious roles with equal ease.This 1948 release was directed by H.C Potter.The movie was a big box office success when it came out.
Jim Blandings(Grant) is a successful accounts executive who lives with his wife Muriel(Loy) and two pre-teen daughters in a small NewYork apartment.Muriel wants to remodel the apartment but Jim rejects the idea.One day they come across an ad for homes in Connecticut and decide to move.
They contact a real estate agent,so that they could find a new place for themselves.The agent convinces them to purchase "The Old Hackett Place",a two hundred year old farmhouse,badly in need of some serious repairs.The only reason they decide to go ahead with the purchase is the surrounding land they would be getting.Their lawyer friend Bill Cole(Douglas) advises against purchasing the house but the Blandings go through with the sale.
Jim hires architect Simms to redesign the new home.But right from the moment the Blandings purchase the house,problems besiege them.The redesign process takes longer than expected because as soon as the workers finish with one task another unseen problem arises making the lives of the Blandings miserable.
To make matters worse,the new home is out of the city,meaning Jim has to wake up very early in the morning to get to work in time.He is also tasked with coming up with a slogan for 'WHAM' brand ham,a task that gives Jime nightmares.He also starts suspecting his wife of having an affair with Cole.
In the end,with pressure from every direction,Jim starts to regret his decision of moving to the country side.At the very end,Jim's apprehensions about his wife are sorted out and Jim's maid comes up with a slogan for WHAM!
The entire movie is a laugh riot.I first saw the movie when i was in college back in 1999.I loved the movie so much that i borrowed the tape from my friend and watched it again that night.When it came out on DVD,i bought it.But i regret the fact that i lent the movie to that same friend but he never returned the DVD(Ironic,isn't it?And no i am not kidding)He moved to Dubai after a while but forgot to return the DVD.In the end i had to download it from the net.
My rating for the movie:8/10.

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