Kitty Foyle (1940)

Kitty Foyle
Directed by Sam Wood
Written by Dalton Trumbo and Donald Ogden Stewart based on a novel by Christopher Morley
1940/USA
RKO Radio Pictures
First viewing/Streaming on Amazon Instant Video

[box] Kitty Foyle: Boy or Girl?

Dr. Mark Eisen: Boy. Almost lost the little fella. (Looks around the poor apartment) Mighta been better if he hadn’t pulled through.

Kitty Foyle: Don’t say that, Mark. It’s always better to pull through.[/box]

Regular readers already know how I feel about Ginger Rogers. Her Academy Award winning turn was the best thing about Kitty Foyle.

The movie begins as Kitty Foyle is pondering whether she should run away with her married ex-husband Wyn Strafford (Dennis Morgan)  or marry long-term steady date Mark (James Craig). The rest of the tale is told in flashback.

Kitty grew up with her widowed father in a working class household but always dreamed about the glittering social life of Philadelphia’s “Main Line”.  After she gets secretarial training and becomes a “white-collar girl”, she starts working for Main Liner Strafford at his magazine.  They quickly fall in love but Kitty moves to New York for work when the magazine fails.  Wyn eventually finds her and proposes.  Kitty initially refuses because she thinks they cannot be happy in Philadelphia but caves in when Wyn says they will live in New York.  They marry but Kitty nobly walks out when she discovers how much Wyn’s heritage means to him.

Many melodramatic turns follow but at least Kitty has the constant support of faithful idealistic doctor Mark.  Just when it appears Kitty has gotten over Wyn to the extent that she can appreciate Mark, Wyn turns up again and we are back at the beginning of the film where she has to make a decision.  I think you won’t need three guesses as to what it is.

This is a classic example of a “woman’s picture” of the era.  The heroine overcomes many  obstacles through sheer pluck, warming the heart and tugging at the heartstrings. I thought the Code-based necessity of the marriage deprived the tale of some much needed realism.  (Why the heck would Kitty walk out when Wyn had reiterated his pledge to move to New York?)  There is no denying that Ginger is as appealing as always and that this is worth viewing for her alone.

In addition to Rogers’ Best Actress Oscar, the film was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Sound Recording.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBq9chYubWU

Trailer