This Man Is Mine

Irene and Ralph Bellamy

Release date 04.13.1934             

                           

“Tony's pictures are exactly like her. You don't take much notice of them and all of a sudden you find they are having a terrific effect on you.” (Jim)

“She loves him for things like that!” (Bee)

An evening at the Dunlap's house: Tony (Irene) playing the piano - and it's a Steinway, folks - and her husband Jim (Ralph Bellamy) reading. Better trying to read if his wife would only let him instead of making noisy things or talking to him about the plans for their son's future, which is really an urgent topic considering the fact that Jeremy is already in the advanced age of two. 

 spending a cosy evening at home

This idyllic matrimonial banter is disturbed by the Dunlap's good friends Bee (Kay Johnson) and Jud McCrea (Charles Starrett) popping in for a drink and a word with Jim. A ghost from Jim's past is going to emerge - not from the grave but from Reno - in the person of Fran (Constance Cummings) Jim's former fiancee who eloped immediately before the wedding and happens to be Jud's sister. Man eater Fran on her way - that's certainly worth a warning for Jim and some kind of preparation for Tony...

" Tony, what do you know about me?"

"You'd be surprised!"

Soon we learn that Tony knows everything about Fran, town's gossip took care of that in the last years, and that she is sure of her and Jim's love. A love Tony appreciates even more because she had a very uneasy childhood as kid of a painter and a Prima Donna who not only playing the femme fatale on stage at last eloped with the tenor and thus ruined Tony's father's career. Tony is herself a painter whose landscape paintings reflect her wish for nothing more than her calm life with Jim and Jeremy.

Fran (Constance Cummings) is back in town!

Of course this very settled life is soon disturbed by Fran who with a dubious man in tow not only dazes Jim but almost every man around. Poor, stupid Jim can't help it and falls for Fran again, seriously enough - at least from his side - to ask Tony for a divorce. But, well, Tony isn't the person to give up so easily and if there is going to be a divorce it's going to be on her terms with naming Fran as correspondent and suing her for a million dollars for alienation. Not exactly what Fran had in mind starting that little fling with Jim…

the triangle

Up for a conversation piece of a film? True to its definition of depending chiefly on its wit of dialogue, taking place in upper-class circles and getting the action started through occurrences from without? “This Man Is Mine” made me laugh, touched me sometimes (Miss Dunne took care of that) and made me smile about the stupidity of mankind. If we are not confronted with real problems - some existential ones for instance - we are all good at inventing some trouble on our own. The film touches with a light hand the question if real happiness is contentment - or let's say the kind of happiness which offers some lasting quality - and shows how quickly human relationships change and leave us on a very slippery ground. 

 losing a life and trying to be brave about it...

Certainly the characters are well-known ones: the husband not really appreciating the beautiful, painting, singing, piano playing, heart of gold wife of his - which REALLY makes you wonder what men are looking for - the all enduring wife fighting for her little niche of the world, and of course femme fatale Fran. She is a cliché on legs - manipulative and phony as can be, but she meets her male match - someone she thinks even she may not be able to handle - in the end, which is one of the nice tidbits of the film. However, the whole thing is really entertaining with some great lines of dialogue and an in its entirety very well picked cast.

no crisis without a friend (Kay Johnson) 

I especially like Kay Johnson as Irene's sidekick soberly commenting the happenings and at the same time being true to her friend Tony. I have always a weakness for these kind of characters so wonderfully represented by actresses like Kay Johnson, Jean Dixon and Eve Arden of course - just to name a few. This is the first time that Ralph Bellamy and Irene shared the screen and for once he is her leading man and not the third part of a triangle and the second male lead. Bellamy does a good job but simply isn't in Irene's league of acting, he just doesn't move around in that range of capabilities of expression, which brings me once again back to Miss Dunne. 

 At last Tony is losing her temper...

There is a lot more about Tony than just being the “little wife” though she is initially presented like that, and Irene squeezes out of that role what there is to squeeze. From a restraint reaction to Jim's wish for a divorce - Irene plays that consequently at the brink of a breakdown which is really touching - to the end when Tony hits Jim with one of her paintings over the head - about time for that and the prelude to their reconciliation. In hindsight and with the knowledge of the comedies to come this scene gets a quality of its own.

“This Man Is Mine” teams Irene the third time with director John Cromwell and once again I admire the way how he handles the close ups, finds interesting camera angles and keeps the whole film in a fine balance.

This is not a great, "must see" film but if you are in the mood for a rather talkative, stagy movie, with great acting , some  comic dialogue and touching lightly some serious topics, this could be the choice for the evening. But if you are a Dunne enthusiast, this film is simply a must.

and another close up...

Leaves my Irene tidbit: there is a very, very short scene in which Irene chews gum - a habit normally reserved for dubious girls in that film era. If I needed a hint that Tony has some “tough cookie” qualities there it is - not solely about roses and lavender that lady!

Ann Vickers

Ann after she lost her daughter

                                                          

Release date 10.06.1933

"...I named her too...None of those meaningless names they use today...but I found a modern virtue to name my daughter - pride! The pride of life, the pride of love, the pride of work, the pride of being a woman. Those would be her virtues - Pride Vickers!"

Dedicated social worker Ann Vickers (Irene), though claiming that she isn’t ready for love yet, falls for Captain Lafe Resnick (Bruce Cabot) who she meets at a settlement’s house dance. It’s the time of WW1 and Lafe is at the brink of leaving for France, which gives the couple about two weeks. Lafe proposes to Ann who rejects him for the time being but promises to marry him as soon as he´ll come back.

meeting Lafe (Bruce Cabot)...

This whirlwind of two weeks is ended by Lafe’s departure and soon the incoming letters are less often and distant in tone. Ann is pregnant and when she confronts Lafe with this fact it’s obvious that marrying her only would be a duty for him, which Ann firmly spurns. Like a bubble, her last emotions for Lafe burst and destroy her being in love with an idea of a man and not with the man himself. From now on it’s going to be her career and her child - she is sure it will be a daughter - for Ann Vickers.

at Copperhead Gap Prison...

Ann loses this child - her dreamed of and about daughter - which only leaves her the career. She decides to do it the hard way and to work for some time at the Copperhead Gap Prison. This place is hell on earth, with brutal inhuman treatment of the prisoners.

When Ann tries to fight those conditions, she is blackmailed into a resignation by the director and the main ward of the prison. This doesn’t stop Ann from writing a book about her experiences that becomes a bestseller.

at the Stuyvesant Home For Women

At last, Ann gets the chance to try out her own reforming ideas as director of the Stuyvesant home, a reformatory home for women. Ann is successful but lonely - until she meets Judge Barney Dolphin (Walter Huston) at a party, a man with whom she dealt professionally several times but hadn’t met yet. From the very start, their relationship is something special - the fitting physical and mental match. Barney is married to a woman, who prefers Europe to her husband’s company, and thus Ann and he have to keep their tie a secret.

meeting Barney (Walter Huston)...

Nevertheless, Ann’s pregnancy is highly welcomed by the couple and the birth of their son Matthew makes the bond between them even deeper. But there is not much time to enjoy their togetherness - Barney is accused of being bribed by taking stock tips from criminals and sentenced to a six-year penalty. Suddenly Ann founds herself not only in love with a man exactly being the kind of dishonest official she fought all her life but being placed on the other side of the bars. After losing her work because of her private life Ann manages to make a living with writing articles on prison reform and she waits for Barney…

Barney as prisoner...

This time the plot summary was a rather difficult task because it’s an interesting and rather complex storyline and I tried not to go into too many details because that’s a movie I decidedly want you to watch.

It’s a film about a woman on a search, someone who wants to better the world - “even if it takes the whole winter” as Ann is described by her friend Marvinia Wormser (Edna May Oliver) -  a film about humanity, about principles and about how our principles affect our humanity and vice versa. Ann is surrounded by three men of importance : Lafe who makes the impression of a sensitive, honest man but is a scoundrel at heart, Lindsey (Conrad Nagel) a lawyer-judge friend of Ann who stands for bloodless harping on about principles, and Barney who is the convicted rascal but the most honest and complete person of this triangle. Even the rather conventional, conservative end which finishes Ann’s search with the turning to her man and son - fitting not only for a women’s film of this era but also according to the novel by Sinclair Lewis - is an act of personal integrity and as such just the consequent end of this film.

visiting Barney in jail...

These very human topics are embedded in a very well made film, with an at times almost naturalistic quality. Especially impressing is director Cromwell’s use of close-ups, which he utilizes to add intensity to dialogue by calmly switching from face to face - thus not only adding emphasis to a scene but bringing the story to a significant moment of rest. Once again we are moving on a quick path and there is a lot to tell in only 72 minutes but by using clever perspectives like the cross-fade of Irene´s face for the scenery in the prison, director Cromwell avoids any feeling of breathlessness.

hell on earth...

This time Irene has in the person of Walter Huston a real leading man to play with, and together they make a wonderfully adult couple, falling head over heels for each other but still with wide-open eyes for the consequences. Indeed in their naturalness together and how Irene and Walter Huston pull that off, we forget about the fact that this is an adulterous affair with an illegitimate kid - certainly not the normal social standard - and of course pre-codish as can be. Pre-martial sex, pregnancy out of wedlock - not only once but twice - illegitimacy and corrupt law that’s a nice “ pre-code medley“.

“Ann Vickers” is centered on Irene and she gets the chance to embody a full-fledged personality with very different aspects and sides - and as we know by now if there was a chance to take, Irene took it. None of her peers has a real extensive part, even Walter Huston merely turns up in the last third of the film.

publicity for "Ann Vickers"

This film has a special place in my own personal Dunne history -  as so many, I started with one of Irene’s comedies liking it enough to check out other Dunne films. One of those following films was “Ann Vickers” and after that one, I knew that I had to watch all of Miss Dunne´s available movies - which I did. Moreover, another thing began after watching this film: I started to pay attention to how Irene uses her hands and she does the most impressive, meaningful things with them…

Don’t miss that film if you get the chance to watch it, because it’s an utterly interesting story, because it’s a prime example of a pre-code and of old Hollywood craftsmanship and - last not least - because it’s such a wonderful Irene Dunne movie!

That´s director John Cromwell, and he deserves to be shown!

Here is still a nice tidbit for you: the soldier longingly staring at Irene at the settlement’s house dance is director John Cromwell…it seems not only Hitchcock did show up in his own films! 

The Silver Cord

publicity for "The Silver Cord"

Release date 05.05.1933

“Then I can't hope for much, can I? …Hester escaped, but I'm caught! I'm going to have a baby by a man who belongs to another woman!!”

On their way from Europe, where they met and married, to New York the newlywed couple Christina (Irene) and David Phelps (Joel McCrea) visit David's mother (Laura Hope Crews). Christina and David have definite plans for their marriage hoping to combine family and careers: Christina is a research biologist, David works as an architect. Interesting jobs are already waiting for them in New York but there is still some time for Christina's first visit with her mother-in-law. Also present and thus making the family reunion complete is David's younger brother Robert (Eric Linden) and his fiancée Hester (Frances Dee).

family reunion part 1

Soon it's obvious that Mrs. Phelps is an over-protective and possessive mother whose plans for David - which are mainly based on her wish to keep him nearby and under her influence - clash with Christina's ideas for her future with her husband. Maybe Mrs. Phelps has lost some influence on her eldest son, but there is still Robert whom she - afraid of getting lonely when he leaves too - manipulatively talks out of his engagement with Hester.

mother and son part 1

Not even the fact that David and Christina are expecting their first child changes Mrs. Phelps' attitude towards her daughter-in-law - all evening long Christina is the aim of verbal attacks.

After dinner, Robert breaks the news of the end of their engagement to Hester who reacts with a fit of hysteria only calmed down and comforted by Christina. David's neutral reaction to the situation, his by- standing and compliant behavior with his mother, makes Christina fear the worst for her own marriage. At last she issues an ultimatum to David…

family reunion part 2

This is a wonderful ensemble piece of a film with Laura Hope Crews, who recreates her stage role, heading the troupe. This was the main problem Irene had with this film being aware that the stellar part was the one of the mother. This is partly true, but nevertheless Irene's role offers - and she certainly utilized them - scenes of enormous intensity. Surrounded by a cast which holds his own against her - and this time all of them - this is so impressive to watch that I ended up glued to the TV screen - re-watching it at least the fourth time!

mother and son part 2

From Laura Hope Crews' performance as "loving" mother manipulatively creeping in her sons like a slow-acting poison, to Joel McCrea who turns from a man very much in love to a lame imitation of a husband with an almost blank face, from Frances Dee's natural handling of young Hester to Eric Linden's weak young brother feeling overshadowed by his older brother, this is more than well done by the whole cast.

Hester and Robert - the end of a relationship

This is the first of a total of four films Irene made with director John Cromwell. Three of them are in this early stage of Irene's career and they are all on my list of “Dunne favorites”. In general, Cromwell's rather sober directing style mixes perfectly with Irene's touching, minimalist acting. Letting loose in comedies came natural to her but she never was an actress of grand, dramatic gestures but of impressive, well-thought-out details. Cromwell directs “The Silver Cord” as that what it is - a film that at no point denies its origins from the stage.

mother and sons part 3

To see the story line only as another tale about a mother-son relationship, which is such a rewarding, artistic topic in the range from drama to comedy, would be a little bit too narrowly considered. There are creepy, almost incestuous moments but it's also a story about the difficulty to transform family ties, not to drop back to patterns we developed as kids, it's about loneliness and that clinging is probably the sure way to get lonely, about substituting one feeling by another…and in the last analysis didn't Mrs. Phelps bring up a son who is worthwhile Christina's love - something which this young woman knows very well she just can't afford to throw away on a nobody?

David, whom do you love?

The fact that Irene's character is a scientist is perfectly selected and makes Christina very interesting under different aspects. She not only stands for the “modern” career woman, earning approval in a field normally occupied by men, but as a scientist she is analytic enough to see through the whole situation and to act accordingly: there is no time for wishy-washy reactions, this is indeed a test for her marriage.

the opponents

The switch from Sally in “The Secret Of Madame Blanche” - singing, glamorous Sally - to Christina - sober, though with a warm personality, good-looking, though glamour isn't her first name - proves why the name “Irene Dunne” and the word “versatility“ are so often combined. Another thing that makes watching Irene's films in chronological order so interesting.

The only thing to add now is a some nice trivia: Joel McCrea and Frances Dee met on the set of The Silver Cord, which resulted in the rarity of a till-death-do-us-part Hollywood marriage. Obviously, no nasty mother-in-law came between them…