“She had gumption!” Or, at least all of the characters she portrayed in films in the 1930s and 40s did.
Irene Dunne was a different kind of leading lady (and lady is the operative word here). She was a triple threat. She could do comedy, drama and she sang well too. She starred in weepies, so-called womens’ pictures, and held her own nicely in musicals (one costar was Fred Astaire).
And, she could also exude, discreetly of course, a fair amount of sex appeal. See her quietly smoldering performance opposite Charles Boyer in 1939’s Love Affair.
Even so, she wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea — as we’ll see in the course of unraveling our Monday Quiz. As usual, questions today and answers tomorrow. Here we go:
1) Question: When it came to the Oscars, Dunne was always a bridesmaid never a bride. She was nominated in the best actress category for five films. Which one of the following was she NOT nominated for? a) Cimarron; b) The Awful Truth; c) Theodora Goes Wild; or d) The Secret of Madame Blanche.
2) Question: Throughout her career, Dunne held fast to a private secret to looking young. What was it? a) Drinking lots of red wine; b) Repeated mud baths and lots of sex; c) Staying out of the sun; or d) Getting as much sleep as possible.
3) Question: What was Dunne’s nickname? (Hint: check out today’s introduction.) a) Red Hot Momma; b) Miss Goody Two-Shoes; c) First Lady of Hollywood; or d) My Girl Marie.
4) Question: Who of the following was most instrumental in starting Dunne’s career? a) Irving Thalberg; b) Sypros Skouras; c) Howard Hughes; or d) Richard Dix.
5) Question: Which one of the following Dunne titles was her personal favorite movie? a) Love Affair; b) 1935’s Magnificent Obsession; c) 1935’s Roberta; or d) 1952’s It Grows On Trees.
6) Question: Not all of Hollywood’s classic leading men found Dunne irresistible. Which one of the following is on record as saying, “I hated her as an actress?” a) Yul Brynner; b) Adolph Manjou; c) Orson Welles; or d) Dean Jagger.
7) Question: What did Dunne and actress Peggy Wood have in common? a) They each plowed through multiple offscreen marriages; b) Both were straight arrow types; c) Both were ahead of their times by playing forceful womens’ roles; or d) Both played Marta Hansen, the immigrant Norwegian mother in “I Remember Mama.”
8) Question: Dunne scored multiple screen successes playing the wives of Cary Grant in how many movies? a) five; b) three; c) nine; or d) seven. Can you name them?
9) Question: Which classic Broadway musical is most closely identified with Dunne’s classic acting career? a) Flying High; b) The Band Wagon; c) Show Boat; or d) Of Thee I Sing.
10) Question: Dunne considered all of the following — with one exception — her closest Hollywood friends. Who is the exception? a) Loretta Young; b) Bob Hope; c) James Stewart; or d) Orson Welles.
I know the answers to a few of these, but I’m excited to learn the rest. I’ve always liked Irene Dunne.
IRENE DUNNE -Sexier Than You Might Think…
Well that was ‘classicmovieguys’ Joe & Frank’s attention grabbing title for their October 17, 2012 article… And four years later on January 18, 2016 came the quiz…
They didn’t get any COMMENTS back then, so let’s hope IRENE DUNNE does better today… Specially, when you don’t even have to linger too longer for the answers…
1) D
2) D
3) C
4) Is this possibly the standard ‘trick’ question, where the answer would be NONE of the above, as Dunne’s career was most instrumentally started as the result of a chance meeting with showman Florenz Ziegfeld in an elevator the day she returned from her honeymoon. She was discovered by Hollywood when starring with the road company of Show Boat in 1929.
No tricks today though, it’s D – Richard Dix, a popular actor-producer at RKO in the late 1920’s, who picked Dunne to costar in her first big hit, 1931’s Cimarron. No stopping Irene after that.
5) A
6) C – Orson Welles, who said years later that he turned down the male lead in 1946’s Anna and the King of Siam (which went to a young Rex Harrison) because Dunne was in it. “Such a goody-goody.” Added Welles, “To me she was a non-singing Jeanette MacDonald, you know. And I hated her as an actress.” (Part of Welles disdain was based on politics; Dunne was a lifelong Republican, Welles a dedicated leftist.)
7) D -Both Dunne and Peggy Wood played the Norwegian immigrant mother in 1948’s I Remember Mama (for Irene) and in the Mama tv series (for Wood), which ran on U.S. network tv from 1949 through 1957. Both were based upon the Kathryn Forbes’ novel, Mama’s Bank Account, about a close-knit family adjusting to America.
8) B
9) C
10) The answer to this, is the correct answer to question 6) and that is D – Orson Welles.
In 1943 Irene Dunne made A Guy Named Joe with Spencer Tracy and Van Johnson. While rehearsing their love scenes Tracy would whisper graphic details in Irene’s ear, luridly detailing what he would do to her sexually if he ever got her alone. The very prim and proper Miss Dunne threatened to walk off the picture unless he desisted. Around that time Johnson was badly injured in a car crash. Production was put on hold by LB Mayer until he recovered, but only if Tracy agreed to ease up on Dunne. To his credit he agreed, for once putting someone else’s needs ahead of his own and Johnson’s career was saved.
Graham’s answer to Number 10 is very interesting. Too bad #metoo wasn’t around then, for many reasons.
Irene Dunne really hit her stride well into her 30s. Perhaps by protecting her skin, she played “younger” very well. Certainly a broad range of roles. I think “My Favorite Wife” and “I Remember Mama” are priceless.
We met Ms Dunne’s great nephew and his wife a few years ago. They had very pleasant recollections of Ms Dunne.