IRENE DUNNE PREFERS COMEDY

Southland Times, Issue 23394, 29 December 1937, Page 5

IRENE DUNNE PREFERS COMEDY

Irene Dunne would like to reverse her whole screen career, and begin by playing comedy instead of emotion roles. “I believe my Sabra Cravat in ‘Cimarron,’ and other early dramatic characters, would have been more lifelike had they matured out of my wild Theodora and the equally wild Lucy I play in ‘The Awful Truth.’ ” “This is because comedy is harder to play,” the Columbia star explained. “It demands far more in pace, timing, shading and emphasis. A mere flick of the finger becomes important—when flicked just right, and the gesture then built into a characterization moving a very high speed. Consequently, a good comedy technique is difficult to develop, but once asquired, it is easily slowed down, and then becomes an excellent foundation for dramatic acting. On the other hand, it is hard to ‘jack up’ a routine dramatic technique to the

brilliant tempo of modern screen comedy. “Those who thing emotional acting is harder should remember an onion can make one cry, but whoever heard of a vegetable that could make one laugh?” Cary Grant is co-starred with Miss Dunne in “The Awful Truth,” which was directed by Leo McCarey.