Heads Up! The great day has arrived....George Washington Slept Here, Moss Hart's hilarious comedy, has crossed the bumpy bridge and finally made its made to a digital home. Oomph-oomph-oomph, that's right folks, yesterday Warner Archives released the Jack Benny/Ann Sheridan comedy to print-on-demand DVD.
This means you can watch and re-watch it to your heart's content! ( or until the disc wears out ).
George Washington Slept Here was the first - and in our humble opinion the best - of the let's-build-a-house comedy films. Six years after its release Cary Grant and Myrna Loy became became blissful home builders in the MGM adaption, Mr. Blandings Builds a Dream House and a few decades later Tom Hanks and Shelley Long decided to ignore the lessons of these fine folks and undertook a house building project in The Money Pit, but it was in George Washington Slept Here that we first learned what a catastroph can come of fixing up a historical home. Charles Coburn and Percy Kilbride are stellar supports to wise-cracking Benny, and Hattie McDaniel, William Tracy, Lee Patrick round out the cast.Whether or not this DVD will be available through Warner Archives website we are not sure, but for the moment it is an exclusive release through Movies Unlimited.
George Washington Slept Here ( 1942 ) DVD - $19.99
Several years ago, we were living in a house which seemed to have one breakdown after another. Weary of crying and whining about everything, we eventually chose to laugh about it and were, thus, inspired to watch The Money Pit...trashy movie, which I do not recommend for viewing with young children.
ReplyDeleteWe've since seen "Blandings," but we've never seen this one. I will have to remedy that soon.
Oh dear yes, ALL good homes fall apart at the seams as they age. " Houses are like women, the older they get the more paint they need" ( Walter Slezak, Come September ).
DeleteSome critics pan Jack Benny's performance in GWSH but we think he was at his most amusing in this film and no matter how many times we watch it, we still find the movie delightful. Charles Coburn is especially good as "Uncle Stanley". We hope you can see it and let us know what you think of it when you do.
Does anyone else's copy of George Washington Slept Here seem Exceptionally Bright, almost blooming out?? Please let me know or is it just mine??
ReplyDeleteBright as in overexposed? We haven't purchased our copy so we can't answer that, but maybe some other readers can share their opinions.
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