Editing Irene Dunne (section)

=== 1930–1949: Hollywood leading lady ===
The "Hollywood musical" era had fizzled out, so Dunne moved to dramatic roles during [[Pre-Code Hollywood|the Pre-Code era]], leading a successful campaign for the role of Sabra in ''[[Cimarron (1931 film)|Cimarron]]'' (1931) with her soon-to-be co-star [[Richard Dix]],{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=27}} earning her first [[Best Actress in a Leading Role|Best Actress]] nomination.<ref>{{cite web |title= Cimarron |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/899-CIMARRON |quote= It was nominated for Best Direction, Best Actor (Richard Dix), Best Actress (Irene Dunne) and Best Cinematography. |access-date= May 30, 2020 |archive-date= June 23, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200623151020/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/899-CIMARRON |url-status= live }}</ref> A ''[[Photoplay]]'' review declared, "[This movie] starts Irene Dunne off as one of our greatest screen artists."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=[''Cimarron'' review] |magazine=Photoplay |date=April 1931}}</ref> Other dramas included ''[[Back Street (1932 film)|Back Street]]'' (1932)<ref>{{cite web |title= Back Street |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/7328-BACK-STREET |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 1, 2020 |archive-date= June 25, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200625111907/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/7328-BACK-STREET |url-status= live }}</ref> and ''[[No Other Woman (1933 film)|No Other Woman]]'' (1933);<ref>{{cite web|url-status=live| archive-date=2020-06-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625112117/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/4911-NO-OTHER-WOMAN |title= No Other Woman |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/4911-NO-OTHER-WOMAN}}</ref> for ''[[Magnificent Obsession (1935 film)|Magnificent Obsession]]'' (1935),<ref name=magnificent>{{cite web |title=AFI{{!}}Catalog - Magnificent Obsession |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/7230-MAGNIFICENT-OBSESSION |website=American Film Institute |access-date=June 1, 2020 |archive-date=June 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625025525/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/7230-MAGNIFICENT-OBSESSION |url-status=live }}</ref> she reportedly studied [[Braille]] and focused on her posture with blind consultant Ruby Fruth.<ref>{{cite news |title=Actress Prepares to Portray Blind Role |work=Times |date=November 1935}}</ref> This was after she and Dix reunited for ''[[Stingaree (1934 film)|Stingaree]]'' (1934),<ref name="stingaree">{{cite web |title= Stingaree |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/7890-STINGAREE |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 16, 2020 |archive-date= June 16, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200616155210/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/7890-STINGAREE |url-status= live }}</ref> where overall consensus from critics was that Dunne had usurped Dix's star power.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Thornton Delehanty |title=Irene Dunne and Richard Dix in 'Stingaree' |work=[[New York Post]] |date=1934-05-18 |quote=[''Stingaree''] is a preposterous tale, with Mr. Dix doing his best to prevent it from being even faintly credible. |page=13}}</ref>{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=42}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Stars of "Cimarron" Now in "Stingaree" |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/237677415/ |work=[[The Greenwood Commonwealth]] |date=1934-07-14 |quote=The role [of Stingaree] gives [Richard] Dix an opportunity to return to the adventurous, twinkly-eyed roles he enacted in the early days of his success. Miss Dunne, opposite, has her first opportunity to exploit thoroughly her beautiful voice. |access-date=August 22, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175456/https://www.newspapers.com/image/237677415/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Under a new contract with [[Warner Bros.]],<ref name="SA">{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne Signed by Warners |work=New York Herald Tribune |date=August 21, 1934 |quote=''Sweet Adeline'' was announced as Irene Dunne's first starring vehicle under her new Warner Bros. contract.}}</ref> the remake of ''[[Sweet Adeline (1934 film)|Sweet Adeline]]'' (1934)<ref name="SA"/><ref name="Adeline">{{cite web |title= Sweet Adeline |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/5593-SWEET-ADELINE |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 16, 2020 |archive-date= June 16, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200616181522/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/5593-SWEET-ADELINE |url-status= live }}</ref> and ''[[Roberta (1935 film)|Roberta]]'' (1935)<ref>{{cite web|title=Roberta|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/6281-ROBERTA|website=American Film Institute|access-date=May 30, 2020|archive-date=June 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200624220503/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/6281-ROBERTA|url-status=live}}</ref> were Dunne's first two musicals since ''Leathernecking''. ''Roberta'' also starred dancing partners [[Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers]], and Dunne sang four songs including "[[Smoke Gets in Your Eyes]]".{{refn|group="Note"|Credited as "(When Your Heart's on Fire) Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", according to the movie's official song sheet.{{sfnp|Schultz|1991|p=187}}}} In 1936, she starred as Magnolia Hawks in ''[[Show Boat (1936 film)|Show Boat]]'' (1936), directed by [[James Whale]].<ref name=show1936>{{cite web |title= Show Boat |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/1033-SHOW-BOAT |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 1, 2020 |archive-date= June 24, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200624084356/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/1033-SHOW-BOAT |url-status= live }}</ref> Dunne had concerns about Whale's directing decisions,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Curtis |first1=James |title=James Whale: A New World of Gods and Monsters |date=1998 |publisher=Faber and Faber |location=Boston |pages=269–270 |quote=[Irene Dunne said:] James Whale wasn't the right director. He was more interested in atmosphere and lighting and he knew so little about [riverboat] life.}}</ref> but she later admitted that her favorite scene to film was "[[Make Believe (Jerome Kern song)|Make Believe]]" with [[Allan Jones (actor)|Allan Jones]] because the [[Blocking (stage)|blocking]] reminded her of ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]''.<ref name="Livingstone">{{cite news |last1=Livingstone |first1=Beulah |title=The Story of Irene Dunne |work=[[Table Talk (magazine)|Table Talk]] |date=1936-09-21 |page=14}}</ref> It was during this year that Dunne's Warner Bros. contract had expired and she had decided to become a [[freelance]] actor,<ref name="freelance"/> with the power to choose studios and directors.<ref name="LA"/> She was apprehensive about attempting her first comedy role as the title character in ''[[Theodora Goes Wild]]'' (1936),<ref name=theodora>{{cite web |title= Theodora Goes Wild |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/6666-THEODORA-GOES-WILD |website= American Film Institute |access-date= May 30, 2020 |archive-date= June 25, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200625113224/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/6666-THEODORA-GOES-WILD |url-status= live }}</ref> but discovered that she enjoyed the production process,{{sfnp|James Harvey|1978}} and received her second [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]] Oscar nomination for the performance.<ref name="theodora"/>
[[File:Gaylord and Magnolia's first meeting in Show Boat (1936).jpg|thumb|Magnolia singing "Make Believe" with Allan Jones made Dunne fantasize she was in ''Romeo and Juliet''. She later said, "Allan and I put our hearts (and lungs) into it [as] if we had really been doing a Shakespearean play."<ref name="Livingstone"/>]]
Dunne followed ''Theodora Goes Wild'' with other romantic and comedic roles. ''[[The Awful Truth]]'' (1937)<ref>{{cite web |title= The Awful Truth |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/3991-THE-AWFUL-TRUTH |website= American Film Institute |access-date= May 30, 2020 |archive-date= June 24, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200624232314/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/3991-THE-AWFUL-TRUTH |url-status= live }}</ref> was the first of three films also starring [[Cary Grant]] and was later voted the [[AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Laughs|68th best comedy in American cinema history]] by the [[American Film Institute]].<ref>{{cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs|url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-laughs/|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528050235/https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-laughs/|archive-date=May 28, 2020|website=American Film Institute|access-date=May 30, 2020}}</ref> Their screwball comedy ''[[My Favorite Wife]]'' (1940)<ref>{{cite web |title= My Favorite Wife |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/5046-MY-FAVORITE-WIFE |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 1, 2020 |archive-date= June 25, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200625113913/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/5046-MY-FAVORITE-WIFE |url-status= live }}</ref> was praised as an excellent [[spiritual successor]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Creelman |first1=Eileen |title=A Bright Farce, 'My Favorite Wife' |work=New York Sun |date=May 31, 1940 |page=22 |quote=[The plot of ''My Favorite Wife''] has anything to do with its very obvious resemblance to another [Leo] McCarey comedy, ''The Awful Truth''.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Wilson |editor1-first=Robert |title=The Film Criticism of Otis Ferguson |date=1971 |page=302 |publisher=Philadelphia Temple University Press |quote=[''My Favorite Wife'' is a] no-nonsense-sequel to ''The Awful Truth''.}}</ref> whereas ''[[Penny Serenade]]'' (1941)<ref>{{cite web |title= Penny Serenade |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/27033-PENNY-SERENADE |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 1, 2020 |archive-date= June 25, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200625114033/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/27033-PENNY-SERENADE |url-status= live }}</ref> was a "romantic comedy that frequently embraced [[melodrama]]."{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=123}} Dunne also starred in three films with [[Charles Boyer]]: ''[[Love Affair (1939 film)|Love Affair]]'' (1939),<ref name=loveaf>{{cite web |title= Love Affair |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/6015-LOVE-AFFAIR |website= American Film Institute |access-date= May 30, 2020 |archive-date= June 23, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200623151025/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/6015-LOVE-AFFAIR |url-status= live }}</ref> ''[[When Tomorrow Comes (film)|When Tomorrow Comes]]'' (1939),<ref name=tomorrow>{{cite web |title= When Tomorrow Comes |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/8150-WHEN-TOMORROW-COMES |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 1, 2020 |archive-date= June 24, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200624232241/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/8150-WHEN-TOMORROW-COMES |url-status= live }}</ref> and ''[[Together Again (film)|Together Again]]'' (1944).<ref name=together>{{cite web |title=Together Again |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/24216-TOGETHER-AGAIN |website=American Film Institute |access-date=June 1, 2020 |archive-date=June 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200624001104/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/24216-TOGETHER-AGAIN |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Love Affair'' was such an unexpected critical and financial success that the rest of Dunne and Boyer's films were judged against it;<ref>{{cite news |title=What's What in the Movies: A Big Week As Women Fans Promised in Coming Movies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/71035485/ |work=[[The Kansas City Times]] |date=1939-09-28 |page=6 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |quote=[''When Tomorrow Comes''] does not have as much comedy in it as when Miss Dunne and Mr. Boyer presented last season when they co-starred in ''Love Affair''. }}</ref><ref name="missing">{{cite news |title=Fantasies Omitted |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/71036810/ |work=[[The Brooklyn Daily Eagle]] |date=1939-09-21 |quote=There is something missing in ''When Tomorrow Comes'' [...] Indeed, [director [[John M. Stahl]]] has woven together the elements for a romance that is as near to actuality and as far from affection as that of the ''Love Affair'' starring effort [...] There isn't the sparkling wit of ''Love Affair''... }}</ref> ''When Tomorrow Comes'' was considered the most disappointing of the "trilogy,"{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=109}}<ref name="missing"/> and the advertising for ''Together Again'' promoted the actors' reunion more than the movie.<ref>{{cite news |title=Knickerbocker Star Jeanne Crain; Loew's Brings Dunne, Boyer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/148106495/ |work=[[The Tennessean]] |date=1944-11-19 |url-access=subscription |page=16–B |quote=Billed as an exciting and hilarious love affair, [''Together Again''] bought forth from the publicity department with this paragraph: 'Their eyes meet again! Their lips meet again! Their hearts meet again in this year's most glorious...enchanting...daring romantic comedy. What love! What laughter!' |access-date=August 22, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175450/https://www.newspapers.com/image/148106495/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Dunne and Grant were praised as one of the best romantic comedy couples,<ref>{{Cite news|date=June 21, 1940|title='Favorite Wife' at Memoria|work=[[Boston Post]]|quote=Miss Dunne and Mr. Grant make the perfect team for romantic comedy [and] they are both charming people.}}</ref> while the Dunne and Boyer pairing was praised as the most romantic in Hollywood.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Parsons|first=Louella O.|date=August 11, 1939|title=Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer Engaging in Romantic Film, "When Tomorrow Comes"|work=[[Los Angeles Examiner]]|quote=I don't know any more romantic pair on the screen than Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer.}}</ref>

[[File:Irene Dunne, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in Roberta.jpg|thumb|left|Irene Dunne, [[Fred Astaire]] and [[Ginger Rogers]] in the film, [[Roberta (1935 film)|Roberta]], 1935]]
On her own, Dunne showed versatility through many film genres. Critics praised her comedic skills in ''[[Unfinished Business (1941 film)|Unfinished Business]]'' (1941)<ref>{{cite web|url-status=live| archive-date=2020-06-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625114053/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/27074-UNFINISHED-BUSINESS |title= Unfinished Business |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/27074-UNFINISHED-BUSINESS |website=American Film Institute}}</ref> and ''[[Lady in a Jam]]'' (1942),<ref>{{cite web |title= Lady in a Jam |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/27303-LADY-IN-A-JAM?cxt=filmography |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 22, 2020 |archive-date= August 1, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200801210515/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/27303-LADY-IN-A-JAM?cxt=filmography |url-status= live }}</ref> despite both movies' negative reception.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=[''Lady In a Jam'' review] |magazine=The New Yorker |date=1942-07-22 |quote=On the whole, [''Lady In a Jam''] shouldn't happen to Irene Dunne.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Crowther |first1=Bosley |title=[''Unfinished Business'' review] |work=The New York Times |date=1941-09-02 |page=20 |quote=Under the circumstances, the actors do exceedingly well. Miss Dunne, even though she must combine the naivete of ''Cinderella'' with the devastating wit of a [[Dorothy Parker]], is charming.}}</ref> When the United States entered the [[Second World War]], Dunne participated in celebrity [[war bond]] tours around the country,{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=135}} announcing at a rally in 1942, "This is no time for comedy. I'm now a saleswoman, I sell [[Series E bond|bonds]]."<ref>{{cite news |title=Film Star Irene Dunne Exceeds Million Mark in Sale of War Bonds |work=Wilkes-Barre Record |date=1942-09-11 |page=1 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5140509/wilkes-barre-record-penn-11-sept-1942/ |access-date=August 23, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175504/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5140509/wilkes-barre-record-penn-11-sept-1942/ |url-status=live }}</ref> She followed the tour with her only two [[war film]]s: ''[[A Guy Named Joe]]'' (1943){{refn|group=Note|name=Joe| ''A Guy Named Joe'' was released in December 1943,{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=194}} but the AFI Catalog website writes that it was released in March 1944.<ref>{{cite web |title= A Guy Named Joe |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/464-A-GUY-NAMED-JOE |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 17, 2020 |archive-date= June 17, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200617182744/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/464-A-GUY-NAMED-JOE |url-status= live }}</ref>}} and ''[[The White Cliffs of Dover (film)|The White Cliffs of Dover]]'' (1944).<ref>{{cite web |title= The White Cliffs of Dover |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/760-THE-WHITE-CLIFFS-OF-DOVER |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 17, 2020 |archive-date= June 17, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200617175303/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/760-THE-WHITE-CLIFFS-OF-DOVER |url-status= live }}</ref> Despite ''A Guy Named Joe''{{'}}s troubled production and mixed reviews, it was one of the most successful films of the year.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Steinberg |first1=Cobbett |title=Reel Facts: The Movie Book of Records |date=1978 |publisher=Vintage Books |isbn=978-0394724164 |page=342}}</ref> ''[[Over 21]]'' (1945)<ref>{{cite web |title= Over 21 |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/24523-OVER-21 |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 22, 2020 |archive-date= June 23, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200623153949/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/24523-OVER-21 |url-status= live }}</ref> was Dunne's return to comedy but the themes of war (such as her character's husband enlisting in the army) immediately dated the story,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Winsten |first1=Archer |title=''Over 21'' Comes Late to Radio City Music Hall |work=The New York Post |date=1645-08-17 |page=12 |quote=[''Over 21''] must now get along as a film at the [[Radio City Music Hall|Music Hall]] without [the] benefit of timeliness.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Cameron |first1=Kate |title=Gaiety Is Keynote of Music Hall Film |work=[[New York Daily News]] |date=1945-08-17 |page=34 |quote=With people everywhere thinking, planning, talking and breathing peace, [it] is a bit startling to [suddenly transport] back to the early days of the war. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/443889088/ |url-access=subscription |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=August 28, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175529/https://www.newspapers.com/image/443889088/ |url-status=live }}</ref> which may have contributed to its lack of success.{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=146}} Strong but ladylike motherly roles in the vein of ''Cimarron''{{'}}s Sabra would follow throughout her next films,{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=33}} such as [[Anna Leonowens]] in the fictionalized [[biopic]] ''[[Anna and the King of Siam (film)|Anna and the King of Siam]]'' (1946),<ref>{{cite web |title= Anna and the King of Siam |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/24679-ANNA-AND-THE-KING-OF-SIAM |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 1, 2020 |archive-date= June 24, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200624001106/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/24679-ANNA-AND-THE-KING-OF-SIAM |url-status= live }}</ref> and mothers Vinnie Day in ''[[Life with Father (film)|Life with Father]]'' (1947),<ref>{{cite web |title= Life with Father |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25245-LIFE-WITH-FATHER |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 1, 2020 |archive-date= June 24, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200624232553/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25245-LIFE-WITH-FATHER |url-status= live }}</ref> and Marta Hanson in ''[[I Remember Mama (film)|I Remember Mama]]'' (1948).<ref>{{cite web |title= I Remember Mama |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25582-I-REMEMBER-MAMA |website= American Film Institute |access-date= May 30, 2020 |archive-date= June 25, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200625081724/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25582-I-REMEMBER-MAMA |url-status= live }}</ref> Dunne openly disliked Vinnie's [[ditziness]] and had rejected ''Life with Father'' numerous times,{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=156}} eventually taking the role because "it seemed to be rewarding enough to be in a good picture that everyone will see."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Scheuer |first1=Philip K. |title=Personality First, Irene Dunne Says |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=1947-08-31}}</ref> For ''I Remember Mama'', Dunne worked on her Norwegian accent with dialect coach Judith Sater,<ref>{{cite news |title=Exits and Entrances |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63714393/ |work=Oakland Tribune |date=24 June 1947 |page=11}}</ref> and wore body padding to appear heavier;<ref name="Bawden"/>{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=159}} Marta Hanson was her fifth and final Best Actress nomination.