Sophisticated New Yorkers Jerry and Lucy Warriner both have cause to suspect the other of having an affair, so they decide to divorce. Although Lucy wins custody of their dog, “Mr. Smith,” the lack of a suitable male escort keeps her at home every night. Happily, Lucy’s Aunt Patsy meets their neighbor, Oklahoma oil man Daniel Leeson, who is presentable and eligible, and introduces him to Lucy. While they are all getting acquainted, Jerry arrives for his custody visit with Mr. Smith, and his rowdy antics with the dog drive the others out of the apartment. By the end of the evening, Lucy and Daniel are infatuated. During the next few months, Jerry does everything he can to break up their engagement, but when Daniel’s mother, who is adamantly against the engagement, spreads gossip about Lucy, Jerry leaps to her defense. Finally, because of a comedy of errors, Lucy and Daniel do separate, but in the meantime, Jerry has gotten involved with madcap heiress Barbara Vance. On the night before the final divorce decree, Lucy, posing as Jerry’s sister, visits the Vance home, pretends to get drunk, parodies the ridiculous cabarat act of one of Jerry’s former girlfriends, and behaves so obnoxiously that Jerry is forced to drive her home. Determined not to lose Jerry, Lucy tricks him up to Patsy’s cabin, where they are reconciled just before the clock strikes midnight. More on Wikipedia or IMDB
Festival Film- Awards & Festivals
Academy Awards, 1938- Winner: Best Director, Nominations: Best Actress, Supporting Actor, Outstanding Production, Editing, Adaptation
National Board of Review 1996, Winner: National Film Registry
Berlin International Film Festival, 1992
Watch The Awful Truth (1937)
