Irene Dunne First Lady of Hollywood

by Gehring, Wes D.

• ISBN13: 9780810858640
• ISBN10: 0810858649
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-06-15
• Publisher: Scarecrow Press

Summary

This is the first full-length biography of Irene Dunne, one of the most versatile actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age. A recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors award in 1985, Dunne's acting highlights include five Best Actress Oscar nominations, occurring in almost as many different genres the Western Cimarron (1931), two screwball comedies Theodora Goes Wild (1936) and The Awful Truth (1937), the romantic comedy Love Affair (1939), and the populist I Remember Mama (1948).

Author Biography

Wes D. Gehring is a professor of film at Ball State University

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments	p. xv
Prologue: The Kennedy Center Award	p. 1
The Early Years	p. 7
Marriage and the Magnolia Role...Plus an Epic Western	p. 21
A Film Career and a Bicoastal Marriage-Plus the Legacy of Cimarron	p. 33
Queen of the Melodrama, and a Return to the Musical	p. 47
The Most Memorable of Years-Dunne's 1936	p. 61
Dunne's Leo McCarey Connection-Focus on The Awful Truth	p. 77
Hollywood as Home and More Ties with McCarey	p. 93
The End of a Decade, and One Last Film with McCarey	p. 109
A Last Picture with Cary Grant, Followed by Her Final Screwball Outings	p. 123
Keying on the War Years	p. 135
A Triumphant Postwar Trilogy, and Political Distraction	p. 153
Leaving the Screen, and an Active Retirement	p. 167
Epilogue	p. 183
Dunne Filmography	p. 189
Selected Bibliography	p. 197
Index	p. 213
About the Author	p. 217
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