Dodsworth (1936)

Dodsworth
Directed by William Wyler
1936/USA
The Samuel Goldwyn Company
Repeat viewing
#101 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Sam Dodsworth: Love has got to stop some place short of suicide.

This intelligent drama is one of my favorite movies of any time.  I always forget just how much I love it until I see it again.

Sam Dodsworth (Walter Huston) has made a fortune as an automobile tycoon.  He retires and his somewhat younger wife Fran (Ruth Chatterton) has her heart set on beginning life over on a long European holiday.  Sam plunges into playing tourist but Fran is more interested in putting on airs, hobnobbing with people she thinks are “society”, and proving her continued desirability to men.  Sam loves Fran dearly but clearly this state of affairs cannot continue indefinitely.  When Fran decides to throw in with a young Austrian baron, Sam finds solace with expatriate Edith Cortright (Mary Astor).  With Maria Ouspenskaya as the baron’s mother and David Niven and Paul Lukas as two of Fran’s “conquests.”

This is a fairly straightforward domestic drama but it is richly rewarding.  There is an undercurrent that explores the differences between manners in the Old and New Worlds, with the New World coming off pretty well for a change.  It is also one of the few movies of the Golden Age to explore the breakdown of a long marriage.  The acting is all brilliant.  I don’t think Ruth Chatterton gets enough credit.  Her role is unsympathetic and fairly ridiculous. It must have been difficult to play a deluded woman past her prime but she gave it her all.  I don’t think Mary Astor was ever more beautiful than in this picture.  I always root for her Edith — she is so smart and sensible.  Highly recommended.

Dodsworth was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including for Best Picture, and won for Best Art Direction.  In 1990, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

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