The Silver Screen Oasis

You have some awesome material of Irene, Classicredhead

Like the thread i started on Jean Arthur, Irene Dunne is someone I've only discovered in the last few years. I know there are a lot more of her films to be discovered. I don't know why she hasn't stood the test of time as well as her contemproraries.

I've seen The Awful Truth, My Favorite Wife and Roberta. I have Penny Serenade to watch. I'd love to see Theodora goes Wild and Showboat. I'm not sure about her singing, I think I need further exposure.

She has a lovely voice. Whatever you hear in "The Awful Truth" is just a lark.

A fine dramatic role can be found in "I Remember Mama." "Theodora Goes Wild" was a very pleasant discovery for me. Quite funny. The ending is a bit of a surprise but she and Melvyn Douglas are wonderful together. Further exposure is highly suggested.

Irene Dunne is a much better singer and musician than J. MacDonald. She knew how to phrase and her interpretations are always intelligent and well projected. She was also incredibly versatile: drama, musical, comedy, melodrama...You name it! She did it all!
Thanks to Fernando, I was able to see more pictures with her and I enjoyed them all.

Whether screwball (Awful Truth and Theodora Goes Wild), melodrama (Love Affair), musical (Show Boat where she is THE Magnolia), she always capture the essence of a part and knows how to be accurate, not saccharine.

A great lady!

I forgot I'd seen Love Affair. It was so right that Deborah Kerr played her part in An Affair To Remember there seems so many parellels there.

I can't really speak for Jeanette Macdonald my only exposure has been Love Me Tonight (enjoyed her) and San Francisco (she annoyed me)

Yes I agree, I remember mama is my all time favorite picture of Irene Dunne!

charliechaplinfan wrote:I forgot I'd seen Love Affair. It was so right that Deborah Kerr played her part in An Affair To Remember there seems so many parellels there.

I can't really speak for Jeanette Macdonald my only exposure has been Love Me Tonight (enjoyed her) and San Francisco (she annoyed me)

I have mixed feelings towards Jeanette (something similar happens to me with Norma Shearer). I like the lady, in spite of the fact that in some movies she acts in a pretentious, somewhat affected style and that her voice wasn't as good as Lily Pons' or Grace Moore's. But she had a kind of endearing charisma and she worked hard to achieve stardom (just like Ms. Shearer she was career driven and ambitious) and I admire her for that.

After reading so many years about the kitsch appeal of her films with Eddy, I think I expected them to be so campy that I found some of them really good. I think the best film I've seen them both is "Maytime" (1937), a minor gem with John Barrymore in a showy supporting role.

I also liked Jeanette and Nelson in "New Moon" (1940) and I did not find Nelson as wooden as I expected.

Of course I prefer Jeanette in her Pre-Code Paramount films, most notably my absolute favorite musical "Love Me Tonight" (1932) (Myrna coould have well stolen the film from Jeanette if she had had more time on screen), "One Hour with You" (1932) and "The Love Parade" (1929). "The Merry Widow" (1934) is also a delight (I wish Warners would release the uncensored version!).

Another good film of Jeanette is "The Cat and the Fiddle" (1934)with Ramón Novarro (nice European flavor). And I also found "I Married and Angel" (1942) interesting.

"San Francisco" (1936) is more Gable & Tracy film and Jeanette is not really at her best there, IMO.

This being said, I find Irene to be the better actress and the better singer too (in comparison with Jeanette) and she was classier.

I have just seen "Theodora Goes Wild" (1936) again. What a grand comedy! Irene in arguably her best comedic role with an equally outstanding Melvyn Douglas. She's so delightful when she turns "loose" on purpose. The lady had class, was talented, had a down-to-earth but at the same time tongue-in-cheek quality, had a unique charm and femininity; she was superb! The outrageous Orangutan/Gorilla/Monkey suit she wears in a scene is eye-popping. The supporting cast is excellent and Boleslawski's direction deft. The print I saw was quite gorgeous. "A" plus picture. I'm so happy of having acquired the Icons of Screwball Comedy Collection.

This is one of my favorites of hers. I had a friend record this years ago and had cut off the title so I liked it long before I knew what it was called. She and Douglas are wonderful, though his whistling gets on my nerves and I assume that is the point. I also think he is great in "Ninotchka" and "Too Many Husbands." The premise is crazy and it is helped so much by trying to keep her double life quiet.

BTW, she fakes playing the piano pretty well too. A fun time.

Yes Chris, the whistling is rather unnerving and that's exactly the point . The amusing "Too Many Husbands" (1940) is also part of the DVD Collection. Melvyn Douglas was a very good comedian. In a way, his gentlemanly style reminds me of William Powell.

I watched Magnificient Obsession starring Irene Dunne, she's so versatile and has chemistry with all her leading men. This time it was Robert Taylor, her best partnership was Cary Grant. They were perfect.

I agree that Dunne and Grant were an incomparable team, but in general she had a very fine rapport with almost all of her masculine co-stars.

That's true, I've never seen her mismatched with anyone.

One of my favorite actresses. Irene sang some beautiful songs too, mostly by Jerome Kern. Who can forget "Smoke gets in your eyes" or "Yesterday's" from ROBERTA,
Or "Folks who live on the hill" from HIGH,WIDE AND HANDSOME.
A triple threat really - she could do comedy, drama and musicals.

Vienna wrote:A triple threat really - she could do comedy, drama and musicals.

Vienna ... You won't get an argument out of me ... She is a bona-fide triple threat here ...