First Lady of the 30s: Irene Dunne Quiz

Answer: Kentucky

Irene Dunne was born in Louisville, Kentucky, where her father was a riverboat inspector. She often rode the riverboats as far south as Mississippi, and as a result, when called upon, could produce a flawless Southern accent, which she did for the film "Show Boat", among others.

She also lived for a while in Madison, Indiana, on the Kentucky border, just across the river from Louisville.

Answer: Her only child was an adopted child.

Cary Grant was married five times, but never to Irene Dunne. She was married only once, to a dentist who was far-removed from the Hollywood life. Her marriage lasted from 1928 until his death in 1965.

Her daughter, Mary Frances, called Missy, was never in the limelight, like many Hollywood children. Dunne adopted her outside of California because she "dreaded the reporters and cameramen who would wait for us outside the Judge's chambers." As a teenager, Missy went to a girls' boarding school outside Hollywood, with a reputation for strong academics, and stronger values. Mary Frances Griffin has written short, fond reminiscences of her mother, and no tell-all books along the lines of "Mommy Dearest".

Although Dunne was a private person, who never shared the reason for choosing to adopt, she is not known to have ever been pregnant, and she never lost a living child.

Answer: Cimarron

Without winning, Dunne was nominated five times for the Academy Award, and all the nominations were for Best Actress. She was nominated for these films in the following years: "Cimarron" (1931), "Theodora Goes Wild" (1936), "The Awful Truth" (1937), "Love Affair" (1939) and "I Remember Mama" (1948).

One reason Dunne never won despite her immense popularity with the public, and her talent at both comedy and drama, was the fact that she bucked the studio system, and was a free-lance performer for much of her career, rather than a contract player. Thus, she didn't have the studio backing to campaign for her in the months leading up to each voting, and she wasn't popular with many of the executives who did some of the voting.

"Cimarron" is based on an Edna Ferber novel, and in spite of being made during the Depression, was a very big budget film, which earned back its investment very quickly after immediate positive reviews. It took seven Oscar nominations, with three wins, but neither Dunne, nor her co-star Richard Dix, also nominated, won.

Answer: My Favorite Wife

This film is loosely based on the epic poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson, "Enoch Arden". There were previous filmings of "Enoch Arden", notably one by DW Griffith. Tennyson is said to have based his poem on the myth of Odysseus, in a reversal of the faithful wife who waited for him. However, there was a true event in Medieval France, known as "The Return of Martin Guerre", which may also have influenced Tennyson.

"My Favorite Wife" came out in 1940, the same year Jean Arthur and Fred MacMurray made a film called "Too Many Husbands", another version of the story, and also a comedy, whereas previous versions had always, like the Tennyson poem, been tragedies. "My Favorite Wife" was far more successful.

In 1940, Irene Dunne was still a bigger star than Cary Grant, and gets top billing.

Answer: I Remember Mama

Irene Dunne was not the first choice for the role -- it was initially offered to Greta Garbo as a comeback role, but she was not interested in a comeback. Marlene Dietrich actively campaigned for the role, but was not considered maternal enough.

Dunne also wore padding to make herself look heavier for the role, and studied with a dialect coach for several months. She was said to speak in the Norwegian dialect even when not rehearsing, just to immerse herself in the role.

Answer: Life with Father

"Leathernecking" (1930), her film debut, had some scenes that were filmed using a two-color process, but none of them survive.

Many people were surprised to find out that Irene Dunne actually had very deep blue, almost violet eyes (like Audrey Hepburn or Elizabeth Taylor), because they were so dark, they looked brown in black and white films.

Answer: The Awful Truth

"The Awful Truth" shockingly lost Best Picture to "The Life of Emile Zola" and Irene Dunne lost Best Actress to Luise Rainer in "The Good Earth", proving again the well-known but often ignored truism that comedies rarely win awards, despite their popularity.

Irene Dunne starred in the original version of "Magnificent Obsession". Her performance here was not nominated; however, when Jane Wyman starred in the 1954 remake, she received a nomination, although she did not win. In retrospect, many critics consider the original version of the film to be superior though, and Dunne's performance much better than Wyman's.

Answer: a Golden Globe

The Golden Globe Awards have been around since 1944, but that was still later than most of Dunne's greatest pictures; still, having a star on the Walk of Fame, and a Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Award, ensure her a spot among the truly great film performers of all time.

Answer: Ann Vickers

"Ann Vickers" is one of Dunne's issues films, where she plays a prison reformer. It's based on the novel by Sinclair Lewis.

In "Love Affair", she sings a rendition of "Plaisir d'Amour".

It is interesting the way "Roberta" and "Joy of Living" are typically marketed. They both star Dunne, while "Roberta", a musical vehicle for Dunne, costars a very new and not yet well-known Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. However, DVDs of "Roberta" were usually packaged as "starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers", which is misleading. Even more misleading is the way DVDs of "Joy of Living" were packaged, and the way it is billed when it appears on television. Lucille Ball, who was not by any means a household name, has a minor role as Dunne's sister, but her name is usually listed first, and not Dunne's.

The song that Dunne sings in "Joy of Living" is a cute children's song to sing her twin nieces to sleep.

Answer: Eisenhower

Dunne was a lifetime Republican, and campaigned for Republican presidents and Republican causes. However, she was selected for her widespread appeal, and her dedication to civic causes, so she might have been appointed by a Democratic president. A Republican happened to be in office at the time of her retirement from films.

While she did campaign on behalf of Republican politicians, she also worked for a number of non-partisan civic causes, including restoration projects in her hometown, and many children's causes.

She was also in favor of integration and civil rights: in a hospital scene in a 1948 film, which is set in 1910, the children's ward of the hospital set shows children of all races. Dunne touches and comforts many of them, including some of the non-white children, although she is there to visit her own daughter. It was a very daring scene for its time. The political significance may be lost on later generations, but it is still a very poignant and lovely scene.