Dodsworth
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DVD Cover Information Actor: David Niven, Walter Huston DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled Picture Format: 1.33:1 Running Time: 101 minutes DVD Release Date: 2001-12-11 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Studio: MGM (Video & DVD) |
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Movie Reviews of Dodsworth
Movie Review: Classic film with great performances
Summary: 4 Stars
"Dodsworth" represents the convergence of 3 major themes in the mid 1930s - voyeuristic look at upper class life, concern with marital fidelity, and adaptations of plays to film.
Hollywood was obsessed with upper class life in the 1930s. For example, among the top 10 grossing films were "Dinner at Eight" (1933), "Becky Sharp" (1935), "The Richest Girl in the World" (1934), "The Girl from Missouri" (1934), "The House of Rothschild" (1934), "Libeled Lady" (1936), "Poor Little Rich Girl" (1936), "Wife vs. Secretary" (1936), "Alice Adams" (1935), etc.
Hollywood also made a lot of films from plays in the 30s. For example, among the top grossing films were "Dinner at Eight" (1933), "Becky Sharp" (1935), "The Littlest Rebel" (1935), "The Gay Divorcee" (1934), "These Three" (1936), etc.
Not only were films about the upper classes popular, they also won Oscar - "Come and Get It" (Walter Brennan), "Anthony Adverse" (Gale Sondergaard), "Dangerous" (Bette Davis), "Cavalcade" (Best Picture), "Grand Hotel" (Picture), etc.
Marital fidelity was a major plot point in films like "Wife vs. Secretary", "Riffraff", "Dinner at Eight" (1933), "Private Life of Henry VIII" (1933), "The Gay Divorcee" (1934), "Libeled Lady" (1936), etc.
So it's not surprising that "Dodsworth", a film based on a play from the novel by the great Sinclair Lewis about marital fidelity among the upper classes, was #12 at the box office and nominated for 8 Oscars.
Dodsworth stars Walter Huston and Ruth Chatterton with Paul Lukas and Mary Astor. David Niven, John Payne, Spring Byington, and Maria Ouspenskaya have small parts.
Walter Huston (1884-1950) plays a recently retired industrialist. At this point in his career, Huston had been churning out films (4 in 1931, 8 in 1932, 5 in 1933) but took a hiatus and began making one or two per year. His performances had been relatively undistinguished, even if some of the films (e.g., "Gabriel Over the White House") were hits. But the slow down resulted in a much elevated level of performance, and "Dodsworth" was his finest role after 30 films. He was nominated for an Oscar for this film and again in 1942 ("Devil and Daniel Webster") and 1943 ("Yankee Doodle Dandy") and won in 1949 for "Treasure of the Sierra Madre".
Ruth Chatterton (1892-1961) was a major star of the 30s, achieving the distinction of being nominated twice in the same year (1930) for her roles in "Madame X" and "Sarah and Son". Among her hit films were "The Magnificent Lie" (1931), "Tomorrow and Tomorrow" (1932), and "Lilly Turner" (1933). Chatterton plays Huston's younger wife who blames her husband for "rushing into old age" and who desperately clings to her vanishing youth.
Mary Astor (1906-1987) plays a widow whom the Dodsworths meet on their voyage to Europe. Astor is best remembered as Mrs. O'Shaughnessy from "The Maltese Falcon" (1941), although she won the Oscar for her role in "The Great Lie" which appeared the same year and is now mostly forgotten. Astor made more than 100 films from 1921 to 1964 ("Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte") and was a major star in the silent era. Astor does her usual good job. During filming she was undergoing her own public and scandalous divorce. She later recalled that Edith Cortright (her character) was her favorite role.
Paul Lukas (1891-1971) plays the suave European who tries to seduce Mrs. Dodsworth. Lucas won the Oscar and the Golden Globe for his performance in "Watch Over the Rhine" (1943), a considerable feat considering he was up against Bogart ("Casablanca") and Gary Cooper ("For Whom the Bell Tolls"). He's probably best known as the Professor from Disney's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". He was very popular in the 30s, appearing in more than 50 films including "The Three Musketeers" (1935), "Little Women" (1933), and "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" (1939).
"Dodsworth" was directed by the great William Wyler (1902-1981). Wyler was nominated for an Oscar a record 12 times and won 3 times - "Ben Hur" (1959), "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946), and "Mrs. Miniver" (1942). Among my favorite Wyler films are "Dead End" (1937), "Jezebel" (1938), and "The Westerner" (1940). "Dodsworth" was Wyler's 40th film and his first Oscar nomination.
There are several themes going on at the same time - European vs. American culture, youth vs. old age, and comfort vs. excitement. We see this best in a confrontation between Chattenton and the mother of one of the men with whom she is having an affair. In this brief scene, Maria Ouspenskaya (1876-1949) plays the Baroness. Ouspenskaya was nominated for an Oscar for this brief scene, and again for "Love Affair" in 1939, but I remember her best as the Gypsy woman in "The Wolfman" (1941) and "Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman" (1943).
This is a very long film, especially by 1930s standards. Good acting and direction make it palatable, but I can't help but wonder if some of the European scenes could have been reduced and if some of the US scenes could also have been trimmed. That being said, you will rarely see a film that documents in such detail the slow deterioration in a relationship. Huston and Chatterton are terrific in the small glance and the quiet hurt. This type of real life acting was rare in the 30s, and quite frankly, rare in any decade.
This film is a definite must see. More than 75 years after it was made it remains a classic.
PS - If Amazon had a 10 point scale I would give this a 9. The only real fault is the length of the film, but is is definitely too long and would benefit greatly from being some judicious cuts.