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The Awful Truth

Director: Leo McCarey
Year: 1937
Run-time: 90 min

- McCarey, also the director of Duck Soup, helms this evolution of the screwball comedy that, along with the entire genre of romantic comedy, originated with It Happened One Night.  While that film maintains a lot of sweetness and heart along with its wit, The Awful Truth doesn't really strive for any real chemistry between its leads.  It doesn't really have to, because it's very funny and it has Cary Grant.  Much of the behavior of these leads scans as cruel to a modern eye (or alternatively freeing on the woman's part) but it all somehow works with the frenetic pacing.  I liked it quite a bit.
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