"Dodsworth" (1936)

While I am on a roll with 1930s movies,I decided to check something that I know absolutely nothing about - I switched lights off, lit the candle, surrounded myself with dinner, coffee, beer and cigarettes (while outside was still snowing) and purred next to fire in a stove, than started the movie. Oh joy. No wonder,it was directed by William Wyler.

Now, this is not the name that pops out often in conversation today because Wyler belongs to category of classic Hollywood - audiences have incredibly short memory span and usually can remember directors from past decade or two, however this is somebody who in my opinion has BUILT Hollywood - he started in early 1920s, cleaning the stages and moving things around, than slowly started making movies and oh,what a movies he made - "Jezebel","The Letter" and "The Little Foxes" with Bette Davis, "Mrs. Miniver" (his first "Oscar"), "The Best Years of Our Lives" (that I reviewed here, another "Oscar"), "The Heiress" (with Olivia de Havilland, who won "Oscar"), "Roman Holiday" (with Audrey Hepburn) and if that's not enough, he topped it all with 11 "Oscars" for "Ben-Hur". And than again directed Barbra Streisand in her movie debut "Funny girl" that immediately made her international superstar and got her "Oscar". I probably forgot some titles along the way, the man was genius.

Anyway, I approached "Dodsworth" not knowing anything about it. Except that it was made in 1930s so I would probably like it.

Sometimes its even better to approach the movie without knowing anything about it - no friends recommending "funny" comedies or blockbusters with earth-shattering explosions and computer animated effects that are getting old the very next week. "Dodsworth" started to roll before my eyes and sucked me in the 1930s world immediately, though I must admit the story could have been placed in any time - its very easy to imagine it happening today. It turned out to be a brilliant drama about a long-married couple who lived together as long as it was convenient for both of them. Husband is successful businessman, used to have things done his way and having wife fluttering around the house, ordering the servants and being decorative. They could probably spend the rest of their lives living comfortably if not for wife's conviction that trip to Europe would be a magical idea. While the husband easily gets carried away with innocent excitement about finally seeing England, wife has other things on her mind - she is seriously feeling that time is passing and wants to dance, flirt and enjoy life with european high society before they both grow old. From this moment, a terrific drama starts to take place with both of them slowly going in opposite directions and discovering that they actually never really knew each other.

Script, acting, costumes, locations - everything is done by perfection. Husband is played by Walter Houston (father of John and grandfather of Angelica) who under his blunt appearance hides such gentleness and patience that he actually made me cry at one point. Wife (Ruth Chatterton) couldn't have been better choice, everything about her suggest desperate fight to escape golden cage and stop the time - even when she appears silly and superficial, we understand her behavior - she is described as basically negative character but I would not agree, after all, what other options she had except slowly shrinking and turning into another aged party hostess who pours drinks to her husband. Not one,but two excellent russian actors appear in small roles of austrian nobility (Gregory Gaye and his stern mother Maria Ouspenskaya), when regal Ouspenskaya (famous for her cameo in original "Wolfman" as Gypsy Woman who talks about wolfbane) faces the wife, this is one of the most stunning moments of the movie. And finally there is a beautiful actress Mary Astor, previously unknown to me, who meets the couple during their transatlantic voyage and from the beginning understand what would happen between them.

It's interesting to imagine how this film would turn out if it gets new version - probably directors would not resist to add a lot of sex, violence and whatnot - wife might get some understanding instead being characterized as shallow for the crime of aging and wanting something else from life. Wyler also knowingly describes gaps between american and european society, though I must admit european men all appear strangely decadent and permanently horny while americans are presented as basically good natured and innocent (than again, this is adaptation of a novel and a stage play).