The Ineluctability of Incidents

"I have a theory...with a very exact name: "the ineluctability of incidents," which is applied to the construction of all of my films. To formulate it another way: if something happens, some other thing inevitably flows from it. Like night and day follow each other, events are linked together, and I always develop my story in this way, in a series of incidents, of events which succeed each other and provoke each other. I never really have intrigue."

Leo McCarey was an American film director who directed Cary Grant in a lot of what is called screwball comedies.  "Much Ado About Nothing" is probably the first screwball comedy, because screwball comedies are characterized by that fast repartee between a star-crossed romantic couple just like the conversations that Beatrice and Benedict engage in.  That kind of love hate relationship where the two lovers snipe at each other, but you know it's all going to turn out okay in the end.

"The Awful Truth" was a screwball comedy directed by Leo McCarey.  He liked his actors to improvise scenes and I guess Cary Grant didn't initially like the idea of improvising, but his performance in this movie made him a star, and he's pretty funny in it.  I guess Leo McCarey got his improvisational director's debut in a trial by fire because he directed "Duck Soup" which stars the Marx brothers, whose whole movies seem to be improvised they're so chaotic.   I've tried to watch "The Awful Truth" several times over the last few days.  I've fallen asleep watching it (no reflection on it, but on me) several times and then gone to bed and not been able to sleep at all!  Tonight, I've actually watched the whole thing.  You can see why Cary Grant was such a huge star.  He's really funny and you can't take your eyes off him.  And Irene Dunne is really funny, too.  I've never seen her in a movie before.