Irene Dunne
Irene Marie Dunne was born on December 20th 1898 in Louisville, Kentucky. She trained for a career in singing and went to New York hoping to join the Metropolitan Opera Company. When she was rejected, she joined the Chicago touring company of the musical comedy Irene in 1920. She went on to perform in several roles on Broadway, her big break coming when Florenz Ziegfeld spotted her in an elevator! He was struck by her beauty and cast her as Magnolia Hawks in a touring production of Showboat in 1929 (a role she was later to perform on film). Her performance as Magnolia won her a film contract with RKO and she arrived in Hollywood in 1930, accompanied by her husband Dr Francis Griffin, who she had married in 1928. Unfortunately, her arrival in Hollywood coincided with a decline in the popularity of musicals and her first film, Leathernecking in 1930, was a musical comedy with part of the musical score removed.
Irene with Spencer Tracy and Van Johnson in "A Guy Named Joe".
Her performance in her fifth role, a Western - Cimarron, in 1931 won her an Oscar nomination for her role as the long suffering wife. In the film she aged from a young girl to an old woman and, although she did not win the Oscar, the film brought her great acclaim and enhanced her reputation considerably. A series of dramatic roles followed in the next couple of years. Irene Dunne also continued to shine in musicals such as Sweet Adeline, 1934 and Roberta, 1935 where her musical training stood her in good stead. However, it was her Screwball period which brought her to the height of her popularity. Theodora Goes Wild, 1936 Irene Dunne was to say in later life that she was a 'reluctant comic'. She felt that comedy felt 'too easy' and she preferred more serious roles. The ease with which she carried off comic roles can be seen in the hilarious Theodora Goes Wild, 1936 - the tale of a small town girl who secretly writes a scandalous best-seller. Irene Dunne fought against doing the film and, in fact, even went so far as to travel to Europe for two months in the hope that this would get her out of the movie. Luckily for us, this ruse did not succeed and Theodora Goes Wild brought her second Oscar nomination, although again she lost out. A series of lively, fun and extremely entertaining romps followed, including two with Cary Grant - The Awful Truth, 1937 and My Favourite Wife, 1940. Cary Grant at one point told Garson Kanin that Irene Dunne was his favourite leading lady, partly because she was so inventive and delightful on set. Their performances in these two films are certainly a joy to behold and more than anything else, it looks as though they had FUN!!
Irene with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in "Joy of Living".
She also played in the film Love Affair in 1939, alongside Charles Boyer. Many critics say that this was a superior film to the Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr version An Affair To Remember'. Personally, I would have LOVED to see Irene Dunne and Cary Grant in this film - I think that would have been the perfect pairing. Irene Dunne continued to make films until her final film in 1952, It Grows on Trees, and also made numerous television appearances. She was nominated for an Oscar for five films: Cimarron (1931), Theodora Goes Wild (1936), The Awful Truth (1937), Love Affair (1939), and I Remember Mama (1949), but, like Cary Grant, she did not win the elusive Oscar. In 1985, however, the Kennedy Center Honors celebration rewarded her with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her many triumphs. A staunch Republican and Catholic she was appointed Alternate Delegate to the UN in 1959 and was involved with several charitable organisations throughout her life. Irene Dunne died on September 4th 1990 in Los Angeles. She was a very private person who did few interviews and is probably less well-remembered than other actresses of her era. She was equally convincing in dramatic and comedy roles, but it is her comedy performances that I personally most enjoy. They show her to be continually bubbling over with fun and wickedness, and it always seems that just under the surface is a laugh waiting to burst out.
Biography Courtesy: Donna's Classic Movie Page.
Irene with Charles Boyer in "Love Affair".
Crystal's Favorite Irene Dunne Films:
The Awful Truth (1937) - Lucy Warriner
A Guy Named Joe (1943) - Dorinda Durston
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