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.
In their first onscreen matchup, Cary Grant and Irene Dunne play a divorcing couple bent on mutual ruination. Jerry Warriner returns from a two-week Florida vacation to find his socialite wife, Lucy, has also been away. When she saunters in on the arm of the handsome Armand, Jerry looks the fool in front of society pals. But after discovering that the oranges Jerry has brought from Florida are stamped California, Lucy realizes that her husband too has been up to no good. They file for divorce and begin new romances as each contrives to sabotage the other's relationship.
THE AWFUL TRUTH was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 1996.
Faithful dog Mr. Smith was played by the canine famously known as Asta in the THIN MAN series.
THE AWFUL TRUTH is number 68 on the American Film Institute's list of America's 100 Funniest Movies.
Cary Grant and Irene Dunne were an instant hit as an onscreen couple, pairing up again for MY FAVORITE WIFE and PENNY SERENADE in the years soon following THE AWFUL TRUTH.
The story had been filmed previously in 1925 and 1929 and was later remade as the musical LET'S DO IT AGAIN in 1953.
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
Dolby Digital Mono - English
Additional Release Material:
Trailers
Interactive Features:
Interactive Menus
Scene Selection
Costume Designer
Robert Kalloch:
Director of Photography
Joseph Walker: American Director Of Photography
Music Director
Morris Stoloff: Music Director/Conductor
Production Designer
Lionel Banks: Production Designer
Production Designer
Stephen Goosson: Art Director
Source Writer
Arthur Richman:
Review 1:
"The definitive comedy about a divorcing couple..."
Source: USA Today
p.6D 02/15/2005
Review 2:
"...A lively, ever-surprising tribute to human perversity, its one of the most remarkable pictures of Tinseltown's golden age..."
Source: Premiere
p.106-7 06/01/2003
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