March 31, 2026

March 31, 2026

even if she was unbearable I love to see women in men's fields especially in the 30s, but also bring back men who yearn!

even if she was unbearable I love to see women in men's fields especially in the 30s, but also bring back men who yearn!

Wyler has hit yet again for me, this story of a nuanced and empathetic look into the complexities of late-stage marriage took a few angles I wasn’t a fan of but for the most part I’m incredibly impressed in a similar way to how I felt after watching Now, Voyager or The Thin Man, at how this came out damn near a century ago and enforces so many relationship values that are lost on a concerning number of people living in our society today. It’s charm is almost undeniable and the biggest source of it is Ruth Chatterton who’s great in her lead and gives one of my new favorite performances of the 1930’s, Walter Huston’s lead opposite her was great as well and they were especially amazing on screen together where and when their chemistry really blossomed. I’ll get my problems with the story out of the way first so I can focus on what I loved, I didn’t like that they made Fran the “villain” at the end, maybe my modern day mind ignored signs they used to make her villainous throughout but I felt nothing but empathy for her through the whole movie so seeing her crawl back to Sam instead of realizing Kurt wasn’t important and only served as a stepping stone to her freedom was quite disappointing, and since they actually ended the movie with them going their separate ways I wish they allowed Fran’s character more independence and allowed her to emotionally mature in the same way Sam did. I also loved Mary Astor’s performance as Edith which might not sound like a problem but considering how sparingly utilized she was here it unfortunately is, obviously she was critical to the plot but I definitely could’ve used an extra 15-30 on this runtime to see more of Huston and Astor because even though Huston and Chatterton also had great chemistry I enjoyed the former’s more. Now I can get to what earned this my four stars which is so much more than this seems on the surface, visually it’s expectedly brilliant with Wyler once again delivering on that front, I loved the framing and shot design which was still a unique experience even 90 years later and the lighting and sets were also stunning in said shots. The score from Alfred Newman also did the most to bring out the emotions of this melodramatic story and with seeing how many scores he’s done for such popular and loved movies I’m excited to hear more. What I love most about this story is how it handles jealousy and freedom, the former is brought out through some brilliantly uncomfortable scenes where you can feel every emotion of each character involved and the latter is enunciated by how our characters explore friendships and relationships outside their marriage, for a movie made in this time I wasn’t expecting such a pro-divorce, David Lean-esque stance on marriage but I’m so happy that it defied my expectations and delivered this experience. William Wyler’s Dodsworth, is, at its core, a story about discovering and living life as your true self at any cost, and since that’s a message I can greatly appreciate and since said message is paired with other forms of brilliance in the technical work and acting I’m happy to say this is my second favorite of Wyler’s so far and I’m somehow even more excited to see his most acclaimed films.

Wyler has hit yet again for me, this story of a nuanced and empathetic look into the complexities of late-stage marriage took a few angles I wasn’t a fan of but for the most part I’m incredibly impressed in a similar way to how I felt after watching Now, Voyager or The Thin Man, at how this came out damn near a century ago and enforces so many relationship values that are lost on a concerning number of people living in our society today. It’s charm is almost undeniable and the biggest source of it is Ruth Chatterton who’s great in her lead and gives one of my new favorite performances of the 1930’s, Walter Huston’s lead opposite her was great as well and they were especially amazing on screen together where and when their chemistry really blossomed. I’ll get my problems with the story out of the way first so I can focus on what I loved, I didn’t like that they made Fran the “villain” at the end, maybe my modern day mind ignored signs they used to make her villainous throughout but I felt nothing but empathy for her through the whole movie so seeing her crawl back to Sam instead of realizing Kurt wasn’t important and only served as a stepping stone to her freedom was quite disappointing, and since they actually ended the movie with them going their separate ways I wish they allowed Fran’s character more independence and allowed her to emotionally mature in the same way Sam did. I also loved Mary Astor’s performance as Edith which might not sound like a problem but considering how sparingly utilized she was here it unfortunately is, obviously she was critical to the plot but I definitely could’ve used an extra 15-30 on this runtime to see more of Huston and Astor because even though Huston and Chatterton also had great chemistry I enjoyed the former’s more. Now I can get to what earned this my four stars which is so much more than this seems on the surface, visually it’s expectedly brilliant with Wyler once again delivering on that front, I loved the framing and shot design which was still a unique experience even 90 years later and the lighting and sets were also stunning in said shots. The score from Alfred Newman also did the most to bring out the emotions of this melodramatic story and with seeing how many scores he’s done for such popular and loved movies I’m excited to hear more. What I love most about this story is how it handles jealousy and freedom, the former is brought out through some brilliantly uncomfortable scenes where you can feel every emotion of each character involved and the latter is enunciated by how our characters explore friendships and relationships outside their marriage, for a movie made in this time I wasn’t expecting such a pro-divorce, David Lean-esque stance on marriage but I’m so happy that it defied my expectations and delivered this experience. William Wyler’s Dodsworth, is, at its core, a story about discovering and living life as your true self at any cost, and since that’s a message I can greatly appreciate and since said message is paired with other forms of brilliance in the technical work and acting I’m happy to say this is my second favorite of Wyler’s so far and I’m somehow even more excited to see his most acclaimed films.

Rather surprising to see a film of the early production code era actually be able to discuss topics such as adultery and divorce, and even more surprising to see it handled well. The acting was certainly quite strong, and William Wyler is an impressive director even this early in his career. Would like to return to this one at some point, because clearly the people who love this movie really truly love it, so I'm sure it deserves a lot more time to appreciate fully.

Rather surprising to see a film of the early production code era actually be able to discuss topics such as adultery and divorce, and even more surprising to see it handled well. The acting was certainly quite strong, and William Wyler is an impressive director even this early in his career. Would like to return to this one at some point, because clearly the people who love this movie really truly love it, so I'm sure it deserves a lot more time to appreciate fully.

Great drama. Traveling across Europe and a wife of 20 years tries to hook up with younger men to recapture her youth. Husband puts up with it to a point. These old movies have wild relationship plots you just wouldn't see in a mainstream movie today. This one was up for the big 5 Oscars that year.

Great drama. Traveling across Europe and a wife of 20 years tries to hook up with younger men to recapture her youth. Husband puts up with it to a point. These old movies have wild relationship plots you just wouldn't see in a mainstream movie today. This one was up for the big 5 Oscars that year.