Irene Dunne

So TCM has been having it's "Summer Under the Stars" this month. Each day is dedicated to one particular star, and the other day it was Irene Dunne.  While I've always enjoyed her movies, I really gained an appreciation for her with this line-up.  And there's a few I'd like to call out:

Consolation Marriage - 1932 (No Known Photo)

She and Pat O'Brien are both jilted by their "True Loves", so go to the nearest speakeasy to drink away their sorrows.  They meet, realize they like each other, and become terrific friends.  Several months in to the friendship, they decide to marry for convenience, and have a seemingly happy, maybe not passionate, marriage.  A few years later, the True Loves return to tempt them away from each other.  And it's here where they learn what True Love really is.  It's not one of her notable films, and it may be hokey, but I call it out, as it's a terrific early example of naturalistic acting. Prior to this, acting in sound pictures was pretty stiff.  But here the actors are natural and actually appear to be enjoying each other.

Theodora Goes Wild - 1936

One of the great yet unappreciated screwball comedies.  Irene plays an uptight New England lass, who's from the most prominent family in town - who just happens to be the pseudo-named author of the country's most scandalous novel.  Her secret is discovered by Melvyn Douglas, and he proceeds to blackmail her into hosting him. If she doesn't take care of him, he'll spill her secret.  Along the way they fall in love, and just when she thinks love will conquer all, she discovers that he has secrets of his own.  She then turns the tables on him - HILARIOUSLY!

The Awful Truth - 1937

Here Irene is paired with Cary Grant. They play a married couple who are in the process of a divorce, because he thinks she's been indiscreet.  While waiting the 60 days for the divorce to be final, they both undermine each other's new relationships, with hysterical results.  Eventually they realize they may not want to be divorced after all.

Tip: watch for the scene where she drops in on his society girlfriend's dinner party, pretending to be his drunken sister.

A Guy Named Joe - 1944 (No Known Photo)

Irene stars as a flyer in the Women's Air Service.  She's pining for her lost love, Spencer Tracy, when she meets flyer Van Johnson. Tracy also happens to be Johnson's guardian angel, so there's a love triangle.  By the end of the picture, she learns to let go of the past love and move on with the new.  Notable for being one of the few instances in films of the time where the lead actress was nearly 20 years older than her leading man.  And also for being Steven Spielberg's all-time favorite movie.