I Dream Too Much (1935 film)

1935 film by John Cromwell

November 27, 1935 (1935-11-27)

Running time

97 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget$627,000^[1]Box office$640,000^[1]

I Dream Too Much is a 1935 American romantic comedy film directed by John Cromwell. It stars Henry Fonda and Lily Pons, as well as Lucille Ball in an early supporting role. It has been described as a "somewhat wispy operetta."^[2] Songs are by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Sound Recording (Carl Dreher).^[3]

Plot

Annette Monard Street is an aspiring singer, who falls in love with and marries Jonathan Street, a struggling young composer.

Jonathan pushes her into a singing career, and she soon becomes a star. Meanwhile, Jonathan is unable to sell his music, and he finds himself jealous of his wife's success.

Concerned about their relationship, Annette uses her influence to get Jonathan's work turned into a musical comedy. Once she achieves this, she then retires from public life in order to raise a family.

Cast

Lily Pons as Annette Monard Street
Henry Fonda as Jonathan 'Johnny' Street
Eric Blore as Roger Briggs
Osgood Perkins as Paul Darcy
Lucien Littlefield as Hubert Dilley, Tourist
Lucille Ball as Gwendolyn Dilley, Tourist
Mischa Auer as Darcy's Pianist
Paul Porcasi as Uncle Tito
Scotty Beckett as Boy on Merry-Go-Round

Reception

Writing for The Spectator in 1936, Graham Greene gave the film a poor review. Greene criticized Jerome Kern's musical score as "pompous and middle-aged" in contrast to the times, which were more in line with fresh musicians like Cole Porter. He did compare Pons favorably to Grace Moore, describing her personality as "less ponderous". The only portion of the film that Greene found to provide a light touch was that of the performing seal.^[4]

The film recorded a loss of $350,000.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Richard Jewel, 'RKO Film Grosses: 1931-1951', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 14 No 1, 1994 p58
^ Woolsey, John Munro (1938). "Shipman et al. v. RKO Radio Picture, Inc. et al". Federal Supplement: Cases Argued and Determined in the District Courts of the United States Court of Claims. 20. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co.: 249–251.
^ "The 8th Academy Awards (1936) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
^ Greene, Graham (21 February 1936). "I Dream Too Much/Anything Goes/Faust/Hohe Schule/Captain Blood". The Spectator. (reprinted in: Taylor, John Russell, ed. (1980). The Pleasure Dome. Oxford University Press. p. 53. ISBN 0192812866.)