I think Irene Dunne and Cary Grant make an even better team than Hepburn and Grant. The sexual chemistry that exists between the two of them, especially in The Awful Truth is so HOT. Hepburn is great with Grant but I find that Irene Dunne has an extra special something, more playfullness, sauciness and more versatile than Hepburn. I feel real electricity between her and Grant. I think The Awful Truth is the best screwball comedy of the 30s.
share"I think Irene Dunne and Cary Grant make an even better team than Hepburn and Grant. The sexual chemistry that exists between the two of them, especially in The Awful Truth is so HOT.
hallo jaddeo tho i quite liked hepburn and grant in bringing up baby i absolutly agree with u in regards the brilliant chemistry between dunne and grant (especially the last few scenes from awful truth}
cheers!
Cary Grant agreed with you, and so do I.
Cary Grant agreed with you, and so do I.
Did he really?? Did he ever say so??
Well, I think that there's no argument - Irene Dunne and Cary Grant had real magic going in this picture! She is such a great comedian! or comedienne, I suppose I should say. Her timing and delivery were impeccable. I loved everything they did together on the screen in this film. I thought it was some of the snappiest and smartest comedic writing I'd ever heard performed and the energy and electricity between the two of them was palpable and so exciting to watch.
Now, I will first state that I love Katharine Hepburn deeply, and no one was happier than I when her Tracy Lord ended up with his C.K. Dexter Haven in the Philadelphia Story, but even still, I have to say that what he had going with Irene Dunne in this picture trumps any and all of his work with Katharine Hepburn.
I always believed that Katharine Hepburn was most compatible with Spencer Tracy. Her biting wit counteracted with his quite remarkably. While I, too, loved The Philidelphia Story, Irene Dunne and Cary Grant just had a certain something that clicked. I felt as if they had a similar kind of humor and that they looked great together. They had a similar aura. Cary and Katharine were just too different, and not neccesarily in that "opposites attract" way.
I cannot speak well enough to be unintelligible. -Jane Austen
I agree with everybody--Hepburn and Grant were OK but Dunne and Grant were magic. Also, from book and articles I've read over the years, Hepburn and Grant did NOT get along with each other. "Bringing Up Baby" also bombed on its initial release while this one was a huge hit. I think they're both equally funny though :)
shareI agree. I love Dunne and Grant together. I prefer The Awful Truth to Bringing up Baby. That movie annoys the hell out of me. I like Hepburn and Grant better in Holiday or Philadelphia Story.
But I can watch the Awful Truth over and over again, I love their chemistry!
"Did he really?? Did he ever say so??"
Jackboot, yes, it's true. I've read once that Cary Grant said to director Garson Kanin: Irene Dunne was his favorite leading lady because she was always so inventive and delightful on the set, doing a movie with her was less like work than like a long and always suprising flirtation.
And he also said: She had the best timing for comedy of any actress he ever worked with and that she was the sweetest-smelling actress he ever knew.
Nothing beats Hepburn and Grant. Irene Dunne was rather annoying...
shareI adore Irene Dunne, and (just in my opinion), Hepburn can sometimes get grating after a while. She and Grant were fun together in "Holiday," but I think that's the only movie where I enjoyed them as a pair. Dunne and Grant are perfect, their chemistry feels believable, and they're just such a joy to watch, always.
~I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship~ LMA
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I also prefer Grant with Dunne, but if you haven't seen the rather obscure "Holiday," give it a try. A delightful film and everyone in it is wonderful.
shareI guess you're talking about Katharine Hepburn, but you must have heard about Audrey Hepburn? She worked with CG as well ("Charade"). Please be specific!
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Rome. By all means, Rome.
Looks like I'm in the minority. Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn were the greatest screen pairing of all time, bar none. Irene and Cary were great together, but nothing can compete against the chemistry and magic between Cary and Kate. And I'm not just saying that because Katharine Hepburn is one of my favorite actresses, nor because I've always found Irene Dunne to be rather annoying (I want to strangle her whenever I watch Life with Father).
"He's already attracted to her. Time and monotony will do the rest."
I don't like Hepburn and Grant together except in The Holiday. I adore Irene Dunne and Carey Grant together. They have very good chemistry. The Philadelphia Story is okay. I can't stand Bringing Up Baby movie.
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I'll pick a Cary and Irene movie any day of the week over Hepburn.
It’s good to dream
I agree. I like all of Irene Dunne and Carey Grant movies. I think Hepburn and Grant seem like they are forced on screen. Irene Dunne and Carey Grant are very natural together like a real couple.
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That’s because Irene Dunne and Carey Grant are timeless. That’s in my opinion anyway. I also really like Penny Serenade.
shareI agree with the OP. Dunne and Grant have the same great chemistry in My Favorite Wife. They're also wonderful in Penny Serenade, although that movie is a drama (and pretty sad, too).
shareI agree with most everyone here. As much as I love Bringing Up Baby, Hepburn almost seems like she's in overdrive in many scenes. Her romance with Grant in Holiday, however, is so very sweet in comparison. The Awful Truth allows Grant to have a more grown up and sensual romance with Dunne.
shareBoy that's a tough call!!
I can understand (although I don't agree) why some people can find K. Hepburn grating. But Kate and Cary were special together, especially in Bringing up Baby and The Philadelphia Story. And in the latter there was SO much tenderness between them it's beautiful. I don't think Grant quite had that in the same way with Dunne. I'm especially thinking of the scene in the car where she's fallen asleep drunk and he snuggles up to her, and also the part near the end where she thanks him for standing by her. Quiet, soft, gentle and totally magic!
BUT sparks fly with Dunne and Grant. They both had magic comic timing, which was slightly less K. Hepburn's thing in my view. I know there are some lovely dramatic scenes in Penny Serenade between them, but for me the two are just on comic fire in The Awful Truth and My Favorite Wife. And from everything I've read you can tell they had a lot of fun together.
Maybe Grant and Dunne by a whisker, but it almost feels like a betrayal of Grant and Kate to say it.
...but there's always Rosalind Russell and Grant to think about too...
Whichever chemistry you like best, you've got to agree those ladies in the late 30s and early 40s certainly had some chutzpah!
Grant and Dunne are magic. Case closed. 😊
“Willoughby, sir? That’s Willoughby right outside. It’s July. It’s summer. It’s 1888.”