Mr. Blandings Builds his Dream House (1948)

Jim Blandings (Cary Grant) grows tired of life in the big city so he decides, against the advice of his lawyer (Melvyn Douglas), to buy a farm in Connecticut. It’s an overpriced pile of junk, of course, so he and his wife (Myrna Loy) decide to sink even more money and build the house of their dreams.

Mr. Blandings touches on the post-war dream of owning a home. America moved in droves from urban areas into the suburbs, setting the stage for the 50’s sitcom. Here the humor is in how dysfunctional the Blandings' tiny New York apartment is for them and their two girls. See Jim try to get dressed and ready for work before noontime. See Jim try to find things in their tiny closet. Comedy gold. Still had room for a live-in maid. Oh, hi Louise Beavers.

Later, the humor is how dysfunctional they are in making rational decisions. In addition to being oversold on a 35 acre farm by the realtor (oh, hi Ian Wolfe), they are taken by every contractor they hire. This is compounded by their insistence of making ridiculous design choices pushing the final price skyward. Douglas’ Bill is the Casandra, his dire warnings being ignored at every turn. Fun, fun. Let’s add in a possible love triangle.

I did not find Mr. Blandings charming, nor did I find it funny. All of the problems stem from the stupidity of the main characters, and I didn’t want Grant and Loy to be dumb. Simply put, they were too old to be this naive. And Grant, what with his fancy Manhattan advertising position, had to be at least a little savvy. I mean, he earned enough for him to afford the spiraling costs, even if he had to do a little tizzy act each time the price went up. I love the actors, but the story falls flat. AMRU 2.5.