Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House [1948] [DVD]

Imported this Warner Brothers Archive Collection, which as many, if not all of their Archive Collection, plays region free. Cary Grant is superb as the advertising executive buying a ramshackled house in Connecticut. The range of looks his manages to convey in this film is hilarious. Myrna Loy stars as his wife and Melwyn Douglas as her old flame and long standing friend, and lawyer of the family. If you're planning to buy or build a house just now, then maybe this film isn't for you; it could give you nightmares. -On the other hand it might help you through the huge stress it is to move home. Enjoy.

Long before there was `Grand Designs' there was Mr Blandings, which goes to show that some things never change.Based on a true story, city ad exec Jim Blandings (Cary Grant) has had enough of being cramped in a small NY apartment with his wife and daughters, so takes an enthusiastic gamble on buying a run-down place in the country to turn it into a spacious family home. He soon finds himself at the mercy of estate agents, builders, architects and the like, and is under pressure to find not only the money for the venture, but also a new slogan for `Wham', a popular ham product. Determined to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, the Blandings cope comically with the difficulties strewn in their path and are ultimately rewarded.Grant is perhaps a tad too handsome to portray Mr Average American, but he can't help being easy on the eye and does his usual good job of bringing his unique comic style to a role which might easily have fallen flat in other hands. He's well supported by Melvyn Douglas playing the sensible lawyer friend with a dry sense of humour and by Myrna Loy as the wife who dreams of roses round the door.DVD quality is good enough and far better than the low-quality version sometimes shown on TV. No extras.

Cary Grant is good in everything, so it's no surprise that he's magnificent in Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House. This is a funny, charming film about a couple with two daughters who find that their New York apartment is simply too small for comfort. When Mrs Blandings suggests alterations to the layout to give them more room, Mr Blandings decides that it would be more sensible to buy a larger house out in the Connecticut countryside. Unfortunately, the house they buy is in such a state of disrepair that the only option is to demolish it and start again. And so the fun begins ... Cary Grant is just brilliant as the increasingly despairing advertising man who is so bogged down in unexpected bills that he loses his mojo and his job, as well as almost losing his sanity. A really lovely, feelgood film.

Great.

Because they stand the test of time. How many of today's movies will still be watched and enjoyed in fifty or sixty years time?Very few I would suggest, because the art of film making has been all but lost.A strong story, good script, good actors who understand the art of proper timing and a competent director to pull it all together are a rare commodity nowadays. And if you include proper sound, lighting and cinematography the list gets smaller.Of course there are movies still being made which have all of these ingredients, but they have become a rare commodity.I watched a movie recently which had NONE of these requirements. Every element which is necessary for a good movie was missing, yet someone actually put up the money to have it produced?The dialogue was inaudible, partially due to the actors mumbling their lines and partly due to terrible sound production. Why is it that a film made sixty hears ago has more clarity than film made yesterday?Has anyone else noticed that the dialogue is crisp and clear on an old black and white movie yet terrible on most modern films? Do they think that like the director and actors we the viewers also have a copy of the script, or is it a possibility that what they're mumbling isn't really that important anyway so who cares what they're saying?Well Mr. Blandings DOES have all the ingredients, and I'm guessing will still be enjoyed in another fifty years.

I have not seen this film before but found it very enjoyable, it has a good strong storyline and excellent Blu Ray (B&W) picture quality

When I was younger chap this seemed funnier to me. Hey ho no harm done ,still a pleasant little watch with some message in there .

For lovers of old Hollywood movies, and in particular Cary Grant, this is a must have for your collection.On this occasion Mr Grant plays the husband to Myrna Loy and their two screen daughters. A family that has outgrown their city apartment and decides to move out of town. The comedy continues as they find and buy their dream home in the country only to find it to be in so poor condition that it must be demolished. Our amateur architects subsequently design and arrange construction of their new home. Many comedic moments throughout, together with the stresses that would accompany this situation in real life. Myrna Loy is not, for me, the most glamorous of Grants many female co-stars but is well suited to the part of Mrs Blandings. As are all the cast well chosen for their roles.

A classic movie with two of the greats. You'll love it to see for the first time, or to watch again.

I've never seen a bad Cary Grant film, but then I haven't seen them all. He was a master of comedy. This one is very funny. It's easy to relate to the trials and tribulations he has to go thru trying to build a house.

If this genre is your gig, like us you won’t be disappointed

« Un million clés en main » (Mr. Blandings builds his Dream House) est un film hilarant. Il commence par une scène de réveil familial dans un appartement New-Yorkais, cossu mais étriqué, d'une famille pourtant aisée : Cary Grant doit faire la queue devant les toilettes, puis se retrouve dans la minuscule salle de bain embuée par la douche que prend sa femme, il se rase « en aveugle » (la glace est couverte de buée), se coupe... Ensuite il cherche chemise et chaussettes dans sa chambre encombrée par de livres et des multitudes d'objets déposés là par manque de place. Tout cela est merveilleusement joué.En explorant ensuite les déboires du couple et de ses enfants dans son projet d'acheter et de rénover une maison loin de Manhattan, le film atteint des sommets de dérision et d'humour sur un sujet qui reste d'ailleurs d'actualité. Il s'agit là d'une vraie comédie, classique et réussie, qui porte un regard tendre et amusé sur la middle class américaine triomphante de l'immédiat après-guerre.Le DVD de la collection RKO est vraiment très bon (bonne qualité et présentation du film intéressante, dans l'esprit « ciné club »).

Nur meiner Frau zuliebe,eine herrliche Komödie.Nichts wie raus aus dem beengten Manhattan! Werber Jim Blandings (Cary Grant) beschließt, für seine Gattin Muriel (Myrna Loy) und die zwei Kinder ein altes Anwesen auf dem Lande zu kaufen. Doch das Traumhaus ist so marode, dass nur ein Abriss und Wiederaufbau helfen. Damit nimmt das Chaos seinen Lauf. Baustress und störrische Hinterwäldler stellen Jims Ehe auf die Probe.