It grows on trees
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | It grows on trees |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1952 |
| length | 84 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Arthur Lubin |
| script |
Leonard Praskins , Barney Slater |
| production | Universal Pictures |
| music | Frank Skinner |
| camera | Maury Gertsman |
| cut | Milton Carruth |
| occupation | |
| |
It Grows on Trees is an American comedy directed by Arthur Lubin from 1952, with Irene Dunne in her final film role.
action
Polly Baxter is a housewife and mother of three children. Husband Phil's income is meager and barely enough to meet the needs of all family members. Despite all the restrictions, one day Polly buys two new trees for the garden. It soon becomes clear that there are bills growing on the trees instead of leaves. The story is widely exploited by the media and finally the US Treasury declares the notes to be legal tender. Polly can finally lead the long-awaited life in luxury. However, the disadvantage of this natural currency quickly becomes apparent: the leaves wither and dry up quickly. In order to prop up the national currency, the government ends up buying and cutting down Mrs. Baxter's trees. When things have calmed down again, Polly makes a new, sensational discovery: the old bottle she bought at the flea market appears to have a submissive ghost.
background
After the success in I Remember Mama , Irene Dunne's career seemed to continue beyond her 50th birthday without any problems. In 1949, however, she turned down Darryl F. Zanuck's offer to play a nun in ... and heaven laughs . Loretta Young took on the role and received an Oscar nomination for best actress for her performance . Irene Dunne's career, however, did not recover from the two consecutive artistic and financial failures in Never a Dull Moment and The Mudlark , which she experienced in 1950.
As the first well-known Hollywood star, she tried a career in the emerging medium of television in mid-1952. She acted as a presenter for some episodes of the Schlitz Playhouse of the Stars program . Neither the audience nor the critics took a liking to Dunne, who presented the following program in a glamorous presentation at the beginning of the hour-long live broadcast. In addition, in the eyes of her fans, there was a contradiction in credibility when such a renowned artist as Irene Dunne appeared on a show sponsored by the Schlitz Brewery.
The actress finally took on her last film role in the low-cost comedy It Grows on Trees , which she shot for Universal Pictures . In addition to her regular salary, Dunne negotiated a profit sharing of 7.5 percent for herself. The working title was There's Nothing Like Money . Universal Pictures had to obtain special permission from the Department of the Treasury as it was not allowed to film or photograph banknotes as a whole.
After It Grows on Trees , the actress withdrew from the screen permanently. A few years later, she said about the reasons:
“I'm not sure why I retired. There was really no need. The scripts were still coming in. I compare my career to Mickey Mantle's . Like him, I went when I was still upstairs. Maybe it was just that I didn't feel like playing the second or third lead. I never wanted to play character roles. I slipped in and out of acting. "
Reviews
The New York Times took no pleasure in the silly event.
“Irene Dunne, the tireless lady who has played everything from a novelist who really picks up her teeth to Queen Victoria, presents herself [...] in a silly little fantasy comedy called“ It Grows on Trees ”, which of course brings money is meant. […] For your money, however, you only get a single gag that stretches like chewing gum in the course of the action. [...] Miss Dunne's exaggerated refinement unfortunately emphasizes how thin the whole story is: a single punchline that is ridden to death by its endless repetition. "
Web links
- It Grows on Trees in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Footnotes
- ↑ I don't know for sure why I retired when I did. I didn't have to quit. Scripts were still coming in. I compare my career to Mickey Mantle's. Like him, I quit while I was still at the top. Maybe it was simply because I didn't think I'd be happy playing second and third leads. I never wanted to be a character actress. I drifted into acting and drifted out.
- ↑ Irene Dunne, that inexhaustible lady who has played everything from a novelist on the loose to Queen Victoria, turned up […] in a giddy little comedy-fantasy called "It Grows on Trees", meaning, of course, money. […] For our money, though, the joke stretches like a rope of taffy, until the final fadeout […] But Miss Dunne's arch refinement throughout underlines the basic coyness of a joke that makes its point and dingdongs itself to death.