eclipsed his. Career decline During his five years as a contract player with Fox, Dunn appeared in 30 films. In 1935, at the height of his popularity, Dunn broke his studio contract two years before its expiration. He was about to start filming a remake of The Song and Dance Man, but the project was shelved due to Fox's merger with Twentieth Century Pictures. Dunn claimed he was "dissatisfied with pictures recently given me – except those with Shirley Temple". He was reportedly reimbursed for the remainder of his contract. In 1936, Dunn signed a two-picture deal with Republic Pictures, with Hearts in Bondage being his first starring turn for the studio. With musicals on the wane in the late 1930s, Dunn's career slumped as he found roles in a series of "mediocre comedies and melodramas". His prospects were also hurt by his problem with alcoholism. He admitted to a Los Angeles Times journalist in 1945 that he had often gone out for a few drinks with colleagues in the middle of the day while working on the Fox lot. According to Dorothy Lee, who worked alongside him on Take a Chance (1933), Dunn and co-star Lillian Roth took turns getting drunk during the production. Lee said: "They were both darling people ... when they were sober. When they began drinking heavily, they couldn't work at all. As soon as Jimmy sobered up, Lillian would go on a bender. They shot around them as much as they could, but they had scenes together and it was difficult to get them on the set at the same time. So I wound up staying in New York longer than I expected". During the filming of George White's 1935 Scandals, shooting started in the late morning to accommodate Dunn and other members of the cast who frequently imbibed. As drinking affected Dunn's performances in the late 1930s and early 1940s, he was regarded as "unemployable" by the major film studios. In 1940, Dunn returned to Broadway for an 87-week run in the hit musical Panama Hattie with Ethel Merman, to positive reviews. Academy Award winner Dunn had not worked for a major studio for five years when he was called in to screen-test for the role of Johnny Nolan, the dreamy alcoholic father in the 20th Century Fox production A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945). Dunn had returned to Hollywood in 1944 to