The Awful Truth

The Awful Truth
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Leo McCarey
Screenplay by	Viña Delmar
Based on	The Awful Truth 1922 play by Arthur Richman
Produced by	Leo McCarey
Starring	Irene Dunne Cary Grant Ralph Bellamy Alexander D'Arcy Cecil Cunningham Robert Allen
Cinematography	Joseph Walker
Edited by	Al Clark
Production company	Columbia Pictures
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	October 21, 1937 (1937-10-21)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$600,000 ($12.7 million in 2023 dollars)
Box office	Over $3 million ($64 million in 2023 dollars)

The Awful Truth is a 1937 American screwball comedy film directed by Leo McCarey, and starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant. Based on the 1922 play The Awful Truth by Arthur Richman, the film recounts a distrustful rich couple who begin divorce proceedings, only to interfere with one another's romances.

This was McCarey's first film for Columbia Pictures, with the dialogue and comic elements largely improvised by the director and actors. Irene Dunne's costumes were designed by Robert Kalloch. Although Grant tried to leave the production due to McCarey's directorial style, The Awful Truth saw his emergence as an A-list star and proponent of on-the-set improvisation.

The film was a box office success and was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Dunne), and Best Supporting Actor (Ralph Bellamy), winning for Best Director (McCarey). The Awful Truth was selected in 1996 for preservation in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry, deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".^[1] The Awful Truth was the first of three films co-starring Grant and Dunne, followed by My Favorite Wife (1940) and Penny Serenade (1941).