The Awful Truth 1937

The Awful Truth

1937 · United States · Directed by Leo McCarey · 91 min

FunnyRomantic Great first watch · Easy

A divorcing couple test new romances, old jealousies, and each other’s patience while insisting that their marriage is finished.

What to expect

Cary Grant and Irene Dunne make suspicion, improvisation, and social embarrassment feel like a shared language. Leo McCarey lets comic timing reveal that the pair understand one another too well to become indifferent.

How to ease in

Do not wait for a conventional declaration of love. The romance lives in interruptions, private jokes, and the energy each partner spends disrupting the other’s future.

Heads-up

A quick, non-exhaustive note Includes deception, jealousy, alcohol, divorce-era gender attitudes, and comic manipulation of romantic partners.
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A divorcing couple test new romances, old jealousies, and each other’s patience while insisting that their marriage is finished.

I enjoy the moments when sabotage becomes a form of conversation. They say they want freedom, then use every ounce of invention to remain present in each other’s lives.

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I enjoy the moments when sabotage becomes a form of conversation. They say they want freedom, then use every ounce of invention to remain present in each other’s lives.

— Momo

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Credits & versions

Credits
Screenplay
Viña Delmar
Production
Leo McCarey · Columbia Pictures Corp. of California, Ltd.
Cinematography
Joseph Walker

Version map

Criterion presentation91 min91 minutes is attached only to the named Criterion presentation. No edition, cut, score, territory, frame rate, source element, or restoration detail is inferred.Runtime reference · Checked 2026-08-20

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