Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
Released Date: June 4, 1948
Director: H.C. Potter
Actors: Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Melvyn Douglas, Reginald Denny, Sharyn Moffett, Connie Marshall, Louise Beavers, Ian Wolfe, Harry Shannon, Tito Vuolo, Nestor Paiva, Jason Robards Sr., Lurene Tuttle, and Lex Barker

     My apologies, it has been a long time since my last blog. And I was really starting to missing it.
     I have been watching the lovely Myrna Loy in a whole bunch of movies this week, and last. I have enjoyed every minute with her and her wonderful costars. I have loved her pairing with William Powell, but I must say that she works well with just about anyone. And you can say the same about Cary Grant. I have also been reading two books about the two main actors. One about Cary Grant and one about Myrna Loy. Grant said that Loy had a very mild temper. And only showed anger when she got a line wrong during filming. He said that she would walk about the room saying "Oh Shucks" because cussing was not in her vocabulary. Myrna Loy is a great roll model and one that deserves recognition. I would truly recommend any movie with Loy or Grant in them but they are wonderful together as well. Check out this film and also another one called The Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer. 

     Mr. and Mrs. Blandings live in a tiny apartment with their two children. Jim Blandings (Cary Grant) wakes up every morning with his wife Muriel (Myrna Loy). They get ready for the day at the same time. And in their tiny apartment, they share a bathroom between the four Blandings. It has been the same struggle for fifteen years, to go about and get ready while everyone else does the same. Jim's best friend, Bill Cole (Melvyn Douglas) comes over to let Muriel know the price to fix up the place. After all they need more space. While Jim is at work, he discovers that it would be cheaper to go ahead and just buy a new house instead of fixing up the old apartment. So off to Connecticut they go. They find a fixer upper that Mr. Blandings is ready to fix. Everyone is saying to just go ahead and start from scratch. Thousands of dollars later, the house is ready to be lived in. However, their are thousands of problems along the way. Both funny and real issues that need to worked out before they turn their house into a home. Jealousy, money issues, pipe issues, flooding, door jams, missing windows. But can a couple survive all of the bickering? Take a chance, take a look at Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. 

     

Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Released Date: August 1, 1953
Director: Charles Lamont
Actors: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Boris Karloff, Craig Stevens, Helen Westcott, Reginald Denny, John Dierkes, Jimmy Aubrey, Wilson Benge, and Marjorie Bennett

      I have heard before that Boris Karloff did not want to work with Abbott and Costello because their movies were comedy and he was a more serious actor. Usually playing killers, Karloff told them no for many of their other "meet" movies. But because they were so popular, Karloff said okay and decided to work with the duo. This is the first time, however, that Dr. Jekyll was okay to turn into Mr. Hyde. The other Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde movies had made the Doctor out to be a good guy who happens to turn evil after using his own medicine. In this movie, you can see Dr. Jekyll actually taking the medicine so he can murder. Pretty evil huh? And enough scary to make you wonder if this is suppose to be a comedy. Well no worries, it is. You will also take note at the fact that after Boris Karloff turns into Mr. Hyde and the transformation sequence is over, with hair mind you, another person is playing Boris Karloff's character. The man is Eddie Parker, a stuntman.

     When the movie begins, we can see a murder happen, and then to a group of ladies that are fighting for rights. To be able to vote, which seems history but in actuality, it was not that long ago. Vicky Edwards (Helen Westcott) is the main speaker and is very excited to be the head of women's suffrage. After a huge fight, we then see our favorite comedians as they are police officers trying to stop this huge fight. Slim (Bud Abbott) and Tubby (Lou Costello) are getting hit on the head and slapped around by woman. And who is to say that woman can't vote? While everyone is in jail, even Slim and Tubby, Vicky is very talkative with a newspaper man, Bruce Adams (Craig Stevens). Dr. Henry Jekyll (Boris Karloff) is not happy when he sees his goddaughter talking with another man. Even though he is much older, you can tell he has jealousy on his face. That is when we see Mr. Hyde come alive. Can you imagine the jealousy when Bruce asks Vicky to marry him? BIG trouble. Also, Tubby and Slim get to see Dr. Jekyll's secret lab and nobody believes them. Which can be both hilarious and upsetting as we the audience know the truth. We do get to see Lou Costello as a mouse, wanting cheese very badly. And a lot of great jokes are in store for you. This is my favorite Abbott and Costello "meet" somebodies. As this is a true classic.