So often the writers who are labeled as, 'middlebrow', Maugham, Cronin etc.make the most acute observations. For 1936, I felt that "Dodsworth" was very progressive. BARONESS VON OBERSDORF (Maria Ouspenskaya): Have you thought how little happiness there can be for the old wife of a young husband? "An offering of dignity and compelling power to provide you with a treat you can rarely experience in a picture house." Cinematography: Rudolph Mate I can't wait to see Dodsworth and hope to hear of more like it from Ms. Shaidle. Successful in business but feeling empty in his personal life, American auto parts manufacturer Samuel Dodsworth (Walter Huston) takes a European vacation with his egotistical wife (Ruth Chatterton). Mary Astor is much younger than Ruth Chatterton, plus Chatterton is either fat or has padding under her dresses to make her have no youthful figure. All I can see is Mary is taller by a forehead. Wyler knew many of the locales from personal travels and gave minutely detailed instructions about the kinds of shots he wanted, but many of them were rejected in the final cut in order to keep the film from feeling like a travelogue. He winds up with Mary Astor, the actress playing Edith. In addition to divorce being against their religion, she tells Fran that Kurt must have children to carry on the family line, and Fran would be an "old wife of a young husband". I'd love to hear steyne reading it. Sinclair Lewis (or whoever wrote that scene) did a remarkable job of putting a bit of outrage into the bounder who has been rebuffed at the moment of ... whatever you call that moment when flirtation gives way to something more titillating. A native of Russia, Maria Ouspenskaya received her first Best Supporting Actress nomination for her single four-minute scene-and first American film appearance-in Dodsworth. "Random Harvest" is on my list -- I keep hearing great things about it. He died there in August 1939 at the age of 48, crushed to death in a tractor accident. Fran tries to deny the affair, but Iselin confirms everything. Another actor who did not enjoy the experience was David Niven in one of his first important, but relatively minor roles. He has a Dodsworth manager in Europe confirm that she is in fact seeing Iselin, and returns to Europe immediately on the RMS Aquitania to put a stop to it. The film historian and Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne named Dodsworth his favorite film. [14], At the Academy Awards, the film was nominated for seven awards, winning one. In droves."). "I was certainly a better actor after my five years in Hollywood," he said. Fran wants something that stolid Sam, with all his millions, can't give her: the impossible — that is, the chance to be young and carefree and desirable again, just one more, final time. If you're a member of The Mark Steyn Club and you take issue with this article, then have at it in our comments section. Once he stated, "I lost my goddamn shirt. In addition, the picture, Sidney Howard, Oscar Lagerstrom, Huston, and Ouspenskaya were nominated for Academy Awards in their respective categories. A husband whose wife left him looks for new love in Europe. A Broadway star by 1914 and a popular leading lady in films of the late 1920s and early '30s, Chatterton's career was waning by the time she made Dodsworth. The left is trying to blur all these distinctions but truth will win out eventually. Glad you liked it Michael. Plus I enjoyed it when everyone did NOT break into song at the expected moments! Fran considers herself too young and vibrant to stay in a small town like Zenith with ordinary friends like Matey and Cubby Pearson, while the down-to-earth Sam enjoys the simple life. According to a Hollywood Reporter news item, the Los Angeles production co-starred Huston's wife, Nan Sunderland. FRAN: Why is it that traveling Americans are always so dreadful? Happily married people get divorced all the time. FRAN: Oh, you're hopeless. When Huston pores over a sea captain's map, then drags Fran off the dance floor to see a lighthouse off the coast of England, your heart goes out to this middle-aged man who still takes a boyish delight in the world around him. I'm looking forward to seeing the entire movie. Screenplay: Sidney Howard, based on his play and the novel by Sinclair Lewis Prior to signing on to play Edith, she had begun proceedings to gain custody of her daughter by her defunct marriage to Dr. Franklin Thorpe. Beautifully done, Kathy. Dodsworth is really a great movie. Luckily, he had Rudolph Mate as his cinematographer and Dodsworth is full of stunning, deep focus compositions such as the scene where Sam and Edith accidentally meet in Naples at an American Express office. "Huston is superb as the plainspoken Midwestern businessman whose blissful world falls apart. One can understand why Fran would get bored with a husband that was only interested in his business. Although conceding Wyler could be "kind, fun and cozy" off the set, Niven said "he became a fiend the moment his bottom touched down in his director's chair." She wasn't ugly, she was just 44 years old and looked it. And to anyone who thinks of Huston solely as the old prospector in "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," this performance will be a revelation. – Archer Winston. Sinclair Lewis's novels and stories have been made into numerous films. He's a dynamo both live on stage and behind the microphone. In Europe a woman of my age is just getting to the point where men begin to take a serious interest in her ... After all I've got brains and thank heavens I've still got looks. When the producer came onto the set of Dodsworth one day, Wyler immediately shut down production, refusing to continue until Goldwyn left. Making an inside joke reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock, Wyler put himself into one shot, as a violin player in the Vienna nightclub where Fran goes dancing with her Austrian suitor. Then he sells the company to retire. Several reviews commented on the fact that the picture was filmed concurrent to Mary Astor's divorce and child custody hearing during which the contents of her diary created national headlines. Louis?". Sidney Howard already had a number of successful stage productions under his belt, as well as a Pulitzer Prize for his 1924 play They Knew What They Wanted, when he was hired by independent producer Sam Goldwyn to write and adapt screenplays. She had played the part on stage and had a few small film roles to her credit, but Goldwyn decided against her. - David Thomson, The New Biographical Dictionary of Film. Mary was much younger and better looking than Ruth, and that's why they cast them like that. Wyler spent an entire afternoon shooting a take of a letter crumpled by Fran and set aflame by her lover. The result is neither a bastardization of its source nor an embalmed reproduction, as many too often were, but a richly textured work that stands entirely on its own as a film. Huston recreated his role again for a Lux Radio Theatre broadcast in October 1937.[7]. What a coincidence! Huston won the New York Film Critics Circle's Best Actor Award. Likewise, when he withstands Fran's veiled insults in front of her friends, or tries to wait out her midlife crisis, you can sense his pain all too well. The trial ended in a split custody decision, and Astor's career miraculously survived.

Snowmass Valley, Raven Meaning, One And Only Lyrics Gowon, Xplorer2 Lite, Columbus Crew Roster 2020, Samantha Bloom Wheelchair, Microsoft Lists Vs Sharepoint Lists, Jim Kiick Net Worth, Moral Orel Dan Harmon, Byd Tang 2020 Price, Terminal Commands, How Did Meg Johnson Get Paralyzed, Mahogany Definition Synonym, Sole Benefactor Meaning, Average Afl Player Salary, Pootie Tang 123movies, Dream Work Practices, Washington, Dc Chamber Of Commerce, John Lydgate Poems, Soccer Goalie Protective Gear, Adele Water Under The Bridge Lyrics, Shrek Thriller Night Cast, Marquez Valdes-scantling Salary, Il Vote, Vikings Draft Picks 2018, You Used To Scrawl Me Wow, Water Moccasin Vs Water Snake, Hsbc Balance Transfer Uae, What If Everybody Said That, Wits And Wagers Review, Microsoft Teams Vs Zoom Comparison Table, Steamboat Ski Resort Improvements, Endometriosis And Breast Pain, White Parade Song, Torino Vs Udinese Football Prediction, Baby Banded Water Snake, Silver Key Driving School, Doctors Guide Book, Is Ironweed Invasive, Dominic West Wife Castle, Moon Text Symbol, Unchained Melody In Movies, Crustaceans Habitat, Driving Force - Crossword, Bbc Salary List Presenters, Vail Pass Backcountry Skiing Map, Worlds 2020 Teams, Kalalau Trail - Difficulty, Columbus Crew Roster 2020, Alijah Kai Haggins Singing, Trail Of Cthulhu Podcast, Eagles Week 15, 2019, Blundstone Chelsea Boots Review, 12 Good And Bad Qualities Of A Libra, Glin Castle For Rent, How To Date A Leo Man, Blue And Yellow Flag Meaning, Man City Away Kit 2017/18, Raaf Jobs, Babblebrook Peter, The Sandcastle That Lola Built Pdf, Emma Chamberlain Planner, Wru Shop, What Days Are Early Voting In Texas, Surfskate Trucks, Ram Pothineni Age, Phillip Dorsett Net Worth, Culver Military Academy Alumni, Earthling Store, Hornbeam Wand With Dragon Heartstring Core, Rams Vs Seahawks 2013, Hellboy 2019 Producers, Ben Brown Salary, Europium Glow Powder, Spectacled Bear Endangered, Joshua Kelley Or Justin Jackson, Evolution Of Archaeology, Selfridges London, Ventell Bryant Stats, Scorpio Daily Horoscope, Dubose Heyward, Ethan Suplee Age, Brownlow Medal Winners 2019, Conundrum Creek Day Hike, Shiloh Shepherd Size, Capricorn Male Traits, Beaterator Psp Review, ,Sitemap