When advertising executive Jim Blandings (Cary Grant) discovers his wife’s (Myrna Loy) plan to redecorate their New York apartment, he counters with a proposal that they move to Connecticut. She agrees, and the two are soon conned into buying a house that turns out to be a complete nightmare. Construction and repair bills accumulate quickly, and Jim worries that their future hangs in the balance unless he can come up with a catchy new jingle that will sell ham. Loosely remade in 1986 as The Money Pit, starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long, the original was deftly written and produced by Melvyn Frank and Norman Panama, who adapted the best-selling 1946 novel of the same name by Eric Hodgins and illustrated by William Steig. — Jay Duncan

Rated: PG