User Reviews

"It Grows on Trees" is a light comedy, nothing on the level of the smashing films Irene Dunne made in the 1930s and 1940s with Cary Grant and other leading actors. The idea for the plot is novel and good, but the script wasn't nearly as good as it should have been. While there may have been some households ruled with an iron hand by the man of the family, this film goes way overboard with that cultural aspect of the times. It strikes one as far too exaggerated, and that diminishes the film. Dean Jagger plays Phil Baxter, but his constant harping about budget and money soon becomes grating in the movie. And, though a very good actor, Jagger just doesn't seem to fit this role very well. His role would better have been filled by Ray Milland, Fred MacMurray or Robert Montgomery. Then, with a better script, this could have been a first-rate comedy.

The six stars I give this film are the lowest I rate any Irene Dunne movie. Her acting and the bits with the federal bureaucracy save this film from being a dud. The poor script, weak directing and lesser performances diminish the film.

This is the last movie that Irene Dunne made. She would appear in several TV series into the early 1960s, but this fine actress retired from the screen at age 54. Dunne was among the great actresses of the first century of filmdom. She may have been the most versatile. She had an excellent singing voice, and was equally adept at drama, comedy and musicals. She had only 50 performances in her three-decade career. The first half dozen early lesser films had minor parts, and her last decade was just with TV series appearances. The rest of her work – the majority of her films were tremendous successes. Yet for one of the greatest female talents of the 20th century, Irene Dunne never won an Oscar. She did receive five Academy Award nominations for her roles in dramas, comedies and a Western. Those five films she was in had a total of 26 Oscar nominations.

Many actors continue performing in late age, but only a few do so with some quality films. Most wind up doing many films that are little more than fluff, pulp or duds. Dunne might have had some nice matronly roles in good dramas or comedies, but she chose to just stop appearing in films after age 54. She kept in touch another 10 years with occasional TV series roles.

This movie doesn't have that much witty or clever dialog. Her are my few favorite lines.

Phil, "I married you for your brains, mm hmm. They disturbed me. They still disturb me… more than ever." Polly, "Mmm hmm. That's supposed to be sarcasm. Well, for your information – in case you're interested, I have more brains in my head than most people have in their little finger." Phil, "That I give you."

Diane, "Oh, mother. How can I have a wedding with my groom in jail?"

Reporter McGuire, "Reilly, you've been holding out on the press which means we'll misspell your name for a full year."

Ralph, "If anything happened to me and Diane, and if this wasn't going to be my family I just couldn't take it."

Polly, "I am not crazy and I don't drink. I demand that you release Ralph Bowen." Police Desk Sergeant Reilly, "Madame, beat it!"

This cute little film is just that...cute, nothing more. Its simple plot reminds me of a made-for-TV movie that famous actors appear in long after their stars have faded. Irene Dunne's star was still burning bright when she made this film and it is probably the result of her not being able to get quality roles as she matured. Again, she plays the perfect wife and mother. But she does manage to combine perfectly naivete and cunning as she puts one over on husband Dean Jagger by hiding the wealth she is accumulating from the two trees in their garden which bear money. Miss Dunne convincingly conveys the average housewife's struggle to make ends meet in a family where the well meaning husband just doesn't make quite enough money. And we the audience don't find fault with her desire to provide for the necessities. After all, she isn't conning her husband and the US Treasury for frivolous reasons. It's great to see a very young Richard Crenna in the role of her son-in-law to be. Dunne carries the entire film. It's hard to imagine her vivacious self being married to such a dullard as Jagger. Dunne's "Polly" is someone who has never lost her childlike wonder and even after the money growing on trees scam goes bust, she's at it again at film's end when she comes upon a lantern (a la Aladdin) which she just has to rub to make her wishes come true.