H. C. Potter directed Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, a lightly satirical romantic comedy, starring the charming triangle of Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, and Melvyn Douglas, all in top form.
The film, written and produced by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, was adapted from Eric Hodgins’ popular novel, illustrated by Shrek author William Steig.
This film was the third and last pairing of Grant and Loy, who had shown chemistry in Wings in the Dark (1935) and especially The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), co-starring Shirley Temple.
The old house is structurally flawed and needs to be torn down before the previous owner’s mortgage is paid off. The Blandingses hire architect Henry Simms (Reginald Denny) to design and supervise the construction of the new home.
From the original purchase to the new house’s completion, a long list of unforeseen troubles and setbacks, including digging a well, beset the hapless Blandingses and keep delaying their moving-in date.
Moreover, Jim is assigned the task of coming up with a slogan for “WHAM” Brand Ham, an advertising account that has destroyed the careers of previous account execs. Jim also suspects that Muriel is cheating on him with Bill Cole after Bill slept at the Blandingses’ in the house due to thunderstorm.
With mounting pressure, skyrocketing expenses, and his new assignment, Jim starts to wonder why he wanted to live in the country. The Blandingses’ maid Gussie provides Blandings with the perfect WHAM slogan, and he saves his job.
As the film ends, a more relaxed Grant, sits in his lawn smoking a pipe and reading the titular book, before inviting the viewers: “Drop by and see us sometime.”
The film was a commercial hit, touching a chord with many Americans who were going through suburbanization after WWII.
In 2007 a loose remake of the 1948 film was released under the title, Are We Done Yet?
