top Irene Dunne Tribute

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Last Updated: 02/27/08

Irene225.bmp (49582 bytes)Irene Dunne had elegant looks that masked her comedic talents and a charming unassuming manner. (I’ve always thought that she looked like Greta Garbo, only with warmth.) Her singing voice was lovely and she did musicals, as well as comedies and dramas.

Born in 1904 (although I have another source that says her birth date was 1898) in Kentucky, she attended the Chicago College of Music and was touring in musical shows and performing on Broadway by the 1920's. Her first movie role was in the Oscar winning film, "Cimarron" in 1931. She went on to play in "four hanky" films, until she was cast in comedies with "Theodora Goes Wild" and "The Awful Truth". Irene325.bmp (28006 bytes)One of her most famous musicals was the first filmed version of   "Show Boat".

But, along with the comedies were touching dramatic films like "Penny Serenade" and "Anna and the King of Siam". She ended her career in the early 1950's after having graduated to the "mother" roles, including the ultimate "mother" role in "I Remember Mama."

She married Francis J. Griffin, a New York dentist, in the 1928 and remained married until his death in 1965.  She had one daughter.  President Eisenhower named her as alternate delegate to the U.N. General Assembly in 1959.  Miss Dunne passed away in 1990.


Some of her movies I would recommend are:

The Awful Truth: A classically funny film with Cary Grant.
My Favorite Wife: Another funny film with Cary Grant.
Penny Serenade: A good tear jerker with Cary Grant. (I see a pattern of partnership forming here.)
Anna and the King of Siam: Based on the book that later became the musical "The King and I". She and Rex Harrison as the King give wonderful performances.
Life With Father: She is amusing, though frankly William Powell steals the movie from her with his portrait of the domineering, but loving father.
I Remember Mama: She is the gentle, loving anchor of the family in this movie. I feel it is her best performance and certainly at the top of my list. Definitely the one to watch on Mother’s Day.
Never a Dull Moment: A rather predictable comedy of the sophisticated lady marrying the rancher, but it does have Natalie Wood as Fred MacMurray’s daughter and the charm of Ms. Dunne.
The Mudlark: She plays Queen Victoria in a story about her widowhood and the little street urchin who helps to get her out of her mourning and back to her people.

There are other well-known movies of Ms. Dunne’s, I could list, but I haven’t seen them yet, myself. Take a look at her performances, as I will watch for these films, also. Her charm and talent really glows in all the performances I have seen.

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Links to Irene Dunne Related Sites:

Biographies and
Movie Performances:
Photo Sites: Fan And Fun Sites:
Internet Movie Database filmography

Irene Dunne Glamour Gallery on the Bombshells Galleries Site

Screwball Comedy

Internet Movie Database biography

Irene Dunne's Grave

Reel Classics (under construction)

Chix in Flix filmography  

Irene Dunne - Comedienne Extraordinaire

 

 

Irene Dunne on The Under-Rated Actors
Hall of Fame by the Crack Pot Critic

 

 

The Women of   Classic Hollywood

   

Bellenet Productions – "Kentucky Konnections" Irene Dunne Page

   

Donna's Page

   

Reel Jewels

   

Irene Dunne, Forgotten Treasure
by Meredy on Terre Share


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