Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
|
Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
Cary Grant stars as an advertising executive who dreams of getting out of the city and building a perfect home in the country, only to find the transition fraught with problems. (See the 1980s Tom Hanks comedy The Money Pit for an updated version of the same idea.) The big appeal here are the two leads, Grant and Myrna Loy, who were each in their early 40s and at the peak of their careers. Together with solid support from Melvyn Douglas and a screenplay that might have been tailor-made for their polished brand of comedy, the stars dominate this simple project. --Tom Keogh
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
If, like me you are a fan of the old black and white comedy films of the 40's and 50's you'll love this. The plot centres on Mr and Mrs Blandings who live in a cramped New York apartment and decide to buy a house in the country (Connecticut). The house turns out to uninhabitable and so is torn down to make way for a new one. As you might guess, the build does not go smoothly. Anything that can go wrong does go wrong. It's a typical role for Cary Grant, and Myrna Loy is excellent as his long suffering wife. The plot may be predictable, but is non the less funny. The quality of the DVD is also excellent for such an old film.
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Cary Grant at his best as a Manhatten advertising executive who moves from a cramped NY apartment to a huge wreck of a house in Connecticut.
Everything goes wrong, everything goes overbudget and he suspect his wife is having an affair with his best friend/lawyer.
For me, the funniest scene is where the Yankee well digger calls when the house is completed and Grant thinks he is going to ask for more money. Grant's face is a picture when the Yankee solemnly gives him back $5.17 because he's overcharged him!
A "must have" movie for your collection.
Buy and enjoy
Everything goes wrong, everything goes overbudget and he suspect his wife is having an affair with his best friend/lawyer.
For me, the funniest scene is where the Yankee well digger calls when the house is completed and Grant thinks he is going to ask for more money. Grant's face is a picture when the Yankee solemnly gives him back $5.17 because he's overcharged him!
A "must have" movie for your collection.
Buy and enjoy
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I know they run only nonfiction shows, but HGTV should rerun "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House" regularly, just as a warning to starry-eyed homeowners. Cary Grant and Myrna Loy are absolutely hilarious in this homebuyer's comedy, but the real star is their dream house.... and the hideous flaws with it.
The Blandings family live in a New York apartment, where they fight daily for closet and bathroom space. But then Jim Blandings (Cary Grant) gets a brilliant idea -- buy a charming house in the country, fix it up, and live in rural charm. Unfortunately, he quickly gets tangled up in a heap of mortgage problems, and gets cheated by the former owner.
And once those are sorted out, they get professional opinions ("Tear it down!") which lead to major demolition. Undaunted, Jim and Muriel (Myrna Loy) help design a brilliant new house, only to encounter a new array of setbacks. As Jim tries to deal with the strain, he suspects that his marriage is coming apart.
Personally I consider having a new house built to be from the fifth circle of hell, especially if you have to oversee the details yourself. Apparently HC Potter did too, since the movie is crammed with subtle jabs at demanding homebuyers, trendy decorators, and those guys who send the windowpanes to the wrong town.
The movie basically trundles along the increasingly bumpy road of buying land and building a house, although it becomes somewhat slack when Jim suspects that Muriel is cheating on him. Fortunately the dialogue is hilarious from beginning to end ("The house just needs someone to love it, that's all!" "Good thing there are two of you. One to love it and one to hold it up").
Mr. Blandings reminds me of some homebuyers I'm related to -- he has more optimism than any person can have, unless he is completely out of touch with reality. And Cary Grant makes you laugh WITH and AT Jim. Loy is solid and witty as the long-suffering wife, and Melvyn Douglas does his dry best as their best buddy.
The moral of this movie: Pursuing your dream house will probably be a nonstop nightmare, even if you look like Cary Grant and Myrna Loy. So beware.
The Blandings family live in a New York apartment, where they fight daily for closet and bathroom space. But then Jim Blandings (Cary Grant) gets a brilliant idea -- buy a charming house in the country, fix it up, and live in rural charm. Unfortunately, he quickly gets tangled up in a heap of mortgage problems, and gets cheated by the former owner.
And once those are sorted out, they get professional opinions ("Tear it down!") which lead to major demolition. Undaunted, Jim and Muriel (Myrna Loy) help design a brilliant new house, only to encounter a new array of setbacks. As Jim tries to deal with the strain, he suspects that his marriage is coming apart.
Personally I consider having a new house built to be from the fifth circle of hell, especially if you have to oversee the details yourself. Apparently HC Potter did too, since the movie is crammed with subtle jabs at demanding homebuyers, trendy decorators, and those guys who send the windowpanes to the wrong town.
The movie basically trundles along the increasingly bumpy road of buying land and building a house, although it becomes somewhat slack when Jim suspects that Muriel is cheating on him. Fortunately the dialogue is hilarious from beginning to end ("The house just needs someone to love it, that's all!" "Good thing there are two of you. One to love it and one to hold it up").
Mr. Blandings reminds me of some homebuyers I'm related to -- he has more optimism than any person can have, unless he is completely out of touch with reality. And Cary Grant makes you laugh WITH and AT Jim. Loy is solid and witty as the long-suffering wife, and Melvyn Douglas does his dry best as their best buddy.
The moral of this movie: Pursuing your dream house will probably be a nonstop nightmare, even if you look like Cary Grant and Myrna Loy. So beware.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
ITS TOUGH AT THE TOP, GENERAL BLANDING.
This is a humourous film shot in charming monochrome, but I find it enjoyable not so much for the comedy element, which is good, but for the glimpse we get of American values. Read more
Published 18 days ago by DOGBERRY
Pass my new smoking jacket ...
Pass my new smoking jacket and slippers, because even though I don't smoke I still want to wear them to curl up in the armchair and watch this ageless movie one more time. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Grace Rostoker
Bland
Mr Blandings (Cary Grant) decides to relocate because his New York apartment is so crowded. He buys a heap of sh#t in the middle of nowhere and then decides to knock it down and... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Alex da Silva
Saw this on television as a child and always remembered it.
DVD arrived very quickly. In good condition. This takes me back to my childhood. I will show it to my grown up children and likely my grandchildren.
Published 17 months ago by Jane Austin
DVD Review
The film is fantastic but the quality of the DVD is not. I had to send the first copy back as it kept stopping and starting. Read more
Published on 25 Jan 2010 by S. J. Jenks
Smile
Over the years I've seen this film quite a few times. It keeps me smiling and giggling all the way through - brilliant! Read more
Published on 26 Dec 2009 by L. C. Timewell
Mr Blandings builds his dream house
Excellent film the for runner I think for the much later film The Money Trap.
Published on 26 Mar 2009 by julie smith
Cary Grant
This is the ultimate feel-good movie for me.
The proof that vision and hard graft go a long way to allowing us mere mortals to achieve our dreams. Read more
The proof that vision and hard graft go a long way to allowing us mere mortals to achieve our dreams. Read more
Published on 11 Mar 2009 by JenJen
Excellent, if you haven't seen it, get it.
This is a truly excellent film, unlike the lammentable so called remake 'The money pit', it has a very well observed and funny script, style, pace, characterization, and Cary... Read more
Published on 10 Aug 2008 by Allan Broadfield
A favourite of mine!
I love this film!
It's one I return to again and again. It is charming, nostalgic and funny. Read more
It's one I return to again and again. It is charming, nostalgic and funny. Read more
Published on 13 Jan 2007 by c
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
