Love Affair

Charles Boyer and Irene 

Release date 03.16.1939

"Anything can happen, don't you think?" (Terry)

Sailing from Europe to New York, Michel Mornat (Charles Boyer) - a notorious playboy, who is on his way to marry heiress Lois Clarke (Astrid Alwyn) - meets Terry McKay (Irene) - a young woman kept by her boss and "fiancé" Ken Bradley (Lee Bowman). Though both are (almost) going steady, they start flirting and Michel clearly has a shipboard romance in mind.

First encounter...

Obviously, Terry is attracted to him and wouldn't be adverse to a little fling, but she fears that they would make the newspapers and stops the entaglement before it really started. However, on a shore excursion - the boat docks at Madeira - they run into each other, and Michel invites Terry to join him for a visit to his grandmother. Janou (Maria Ouspenskaja) lives on a hill in a house with a calm, unwordly atmosphere that immediatley captivates Terry. 

with Janou (Maria Ouspenskaja)

From his grandmother she learns about some other sides of Michel; not only is he a talented painter, but there is nothing wrong about him the right woman couldn't fix. These hours together work like a catalyzer for their feelings and back aboard Michel and Terry know that something serious is happening between them.  

 Work and love or a life of "pink champagne"?

Although they are sure about their feelings for each other, they are not sure if they could manage a long-term relationship; both are used to a life of "pink champagne" - and that someone else pays for the champagne. Michel has never worked before and Terry only a short time as singer at a nightclub before she was picked up by Ken. They agree not to see each other for six months, and have a try at finding a job and changing their lifestyle. If this will work out they'll meet again atop of the Empire State Building and then the future will be theirs. 

Terry and Ken (Lee Bowman) - Michel is not amused

Both take the first step and leave their respective partners. When his art doesn't sell, Michel takes a job as painter of signs while Terry starts singing again. At last, the six months are over and the Empire State Building is already in sight, but then fate strikes. Terry - in a hurry to meet Michel - is run over by a car, and this accident brings her into the wheelchair. Not knowing if she'll ever walk again, she doesn't want to be a burden for Michel and does not contact him. 

Terry and the kids singing "Whishing" 

Whereas the fact that Terry didn't show up is the dissapointment of his life, Michel just can't turn back to his playboy ways and instead concentrates on his painting. Likewise, Terry refuses any help from Ken and makes a living as music teacher at an orphanage still hoping that she'll escape the wheelchair in the nearer future and then she'll "run to Michel." Coincidentally they meet at a theater performance. Michel not aware of her state of health, and irritated because Terry is accompanied by Ken , visits Terry the next day. He simply has to know why she didn't climb the Empire State Building before he'll leave "to sail the seven seas" trying to forget her... 

The last visit...

"Love Affair" is not only a very beautiful film but an interesting mixture of different genres. Romantic comedy - mainly taking place on the cruiser - and melodrama walk hand in hand glued together by well-nigh religious elements. An igniting moment for Terry's and Michel's relationship is when they pray together in a little chapel on Janou's estate. The scenery is immersed in light coming from a window above and concentrating on Irene thus arousing the effect that we - and Michel - seem to see her anew. When they leave the chapel there is a moment of slight embarrassement between our main characters; something has changed and they know it. Both our protogonists are not quite flawless - the first detail we learn about Michel is that he just betrayed his fiancee with her best friend - and Terry's relationship with Ken - though he is the only page in her "little black book" - is not exactly one out of an etiquette guide for ladies. But we are told to love the sinner and not the sin, and who does not want to believe that love might have a cathartic effect and bring out the best in us? Of course this "catharsis" has to stand a test, and our couple has to prove that they are changed as individuals to be allowed to become a couple again.

one of my favorite publicities...

As serious as this sounds as light is the tone in which the story is told - certainly an outstanding, appealing feature of "Love Affair." Charles Boyer and Irene are simply wonderful in the leads, and their first co-work resulted in a film they both called one of their favorites. Again we are lucky enough to witness the mysterious moment of onscreen chemistry; in the case of Irene and Charles a chemistry more based on tenderness and warmth than  on repartee and timing which connected Irene so wonderfully with Cary Grant. Charles Boyer was Irene Dunne's other favorite leading men - Miss Dunne knew whom to pick. Irene had the fondest memories of the atmosphere on the set of "Love Affair" and gave a by an Academy Award nomination awarded performance.

on set with Leo McCarey and Charles Boyer 

She is not only supported by her leading man, but by the fine direction of Leo McCarey - another one of Irene's favorite co-workers. On one hand low-key on the other hand most impressive, McCarey finds a touching visual language for this "affair" - the first encounter, the aforementioned scene in the chapel, their first kiss or the whole last ten minutes of this film... anyway, those last ten minutes! If I would need a reminder why I started this project - I do not, just in case - I could simply watch these ten minutes. That's  top class Dunne  - an emotional rollercoaster of a scene handled solely by the use of her speaking voice and her facial expressions; and in passing she proves why her Terry was and is the woman Michel fell in love with. That someone like Charles Boyer is Irene's counterpart in this scene is an exhilarating onscreen moment. 

There we sing again...

All of this would be certainly enough to make "Love Affair" one of my favorite Irene Dunne films, but I get a super extra - a song! "Sing My Heart" was especially written by Harold Arlen  for this movie and fits Irene's voice perfectly. A fav song in a fav film - that's certainly worth a recommendation! 

Joy Of Living

as Margaret Garret

Release date 05.06.1938

M-"Haven't you any responsibilities?"

D-"Yes, to me! I do what I want to do, when I want to do it!"

Hard-working and successful Broadway star Margaret Garret (Irene) is not only emotionally and financially drained by her parasitic family (Alice Brady, Guy Kibbee, Lucille Ball and Warren Hymer) but lately traced by ship-owner Dan Brewster (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.). His efforts to gain her attention are unappreciated by Margaret, and she has him arrested. At last they end up at court and to rescue Dan from a six month prison sentence – Margaret had something more mild in mind – she agrees to serve as his probation officer.

Margaret and Dan (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) at court

It turns out Dan is not only infatuated but has a mission and a message. His mission is to rescue Margaret from her family, and here is the “Brewster message”: skip your responsibilities and do the things you want to do, when you want to do them. Tricked by Dan, Margaret spends an evening with him which he uses to convince her that one can have a lot of fun with only two bucks. This search for inexpensive entertainment includes drinking, dancing, roller skating, some singing and more drinking. Margaret – anyhow already attracted to Mr. Brewster – starts under the influence of a lot of beer and admiring glances of Dan to earnestly fall for the guy.

The lady is having a beer...

Our drunken couple lands in Margaret’s bedroom – of course this is harmless as can be – but the family isn’t as convinced as we are, and makes quite a brouhaha. When Dan accuses them that their only concern is the fear to lose their meal-ticket, Maggie orders him out. No one is allowed to speak such disrespectfully with her family. Despite their behavior she still believes that they would stick to her in time of trouble.

However, learning that Dan is going to sail for China in the evening she hurries to the dock, proposes, and is accepted by Mr. Brewster.

Maggie on her way to propose...

Follows a quick shot of a marriage, but the newly-weds already start quarreling only a few minutes after the ceremony. Their plans for the nearer future are not exactly compatible – the “Brewster message” and Maggie’s feeling of responsibility towards her contract and her family don’t go well together. It seems that this marriage is at an end before it really started, but don’t worry, Maggie will soon learn the truth about her family…

Maggie and her loving family...

You’d assume that a comedy involving Miss Dunne and a score by Mr. Kern is a sure bet with me, but, well, it is not. I have a lot of difficulties with this film, starting with the basic – the story. There are beautiful “money isn’t everything/enjoy your life as long as you can” films around but “The Joy Of Living” is not one of those candidates. The fact that the ambassador of the aforementioned “Brewster message” is the owner of a ship, a mansion furnished little island and obviously doesn’t have to work much - probably he lives off the family fortune - is hard to swallow. Maybe I’d gulp even this, if the representative of this sort of “Joy Of Living” wouldn’t be Douglas Fairbanks Jr. He doesn’t find a charming, light tone but starts bossy preaching, which simply annoys me. Oh boy, how I wished for Cary Grant or Robert Taylor to be around!  Added the absence of chemistry between him and Irene, and this awful, ridiculous “Duck thing” he does all the time, the leading man of “Joy Of Living” just sunk.  

Sorry, Douglas, I just knocked you out!

To do Mr. Fairbanks Jr. at least some justice, I have to say, that as his tone lacks lightness the shortage of this fundamental comedy necessity is a main problem of the whole film. They are all trying too hard  – including Irene. The first half of the movie is okay and has its moments, but then they start pushing the whole thing over the edge. Everything is exaggerated and especially the supporting actresses and actors are at the brink of caricatures. The running gags – Irene’s fight with her veil drinking beer or the reoccurring hiccups for instance – are exhausted to an extreme and repeated over and over again.  This comedy is far away from offering any sophistication or wit, and to handle slapstick in such a long stretch – the “we are having a good time” sequence is far too long – needs an expertly tight and stringent direction, which is unfortunately not supplied by Tay Garnett. “Less is more” would have been a nice guideline for this movie.

You couldn't be cuter...

Okay, me don’t like that film…but what about the score? Come on, it’s Kern! Well, it’s Kern, and although those are not songs of an “evergreen” quality they are still very beautiful. The majority of the numbers is presented in the first half of “Joy Of Living”, probably one reason why I like this part a lot better than the rest.

Irene Dunne always gives me something, and “Joy Of Living” isn’t an exception to the rule, but her Margaret Garret definitely isn’t one of my favorite performances of hers. There are Dunne moments where she gets me once again, and she makes a cute drunkard, but that’s all there is.

one of those moments...

“The Joy Of Living” was a film Irene didn’t remember very well in later years, and I’d forget all about it, if it wouldn’t be for a couple of  Irene Dunne scenes and some Kern songs.

The Awful Truth - my favorite dialogue

Jerry: In half an hour , we'll no longer be Mr. and Mrs. Funny, isn't it?

Lucy: Yes, its's funny that everything is the way it is, on account of how you feel.

Jerry: Huh?

Lucy: I mean, if you didn't feel how you do, things wouldn't be as they are, would they? What I mean, things would be the same if things were different.

Jerry: But things are the way you made them.

Lucy: Oh, no. Things are the way you think I made them. I didn't make them that way at all. Things are just the same as they always were...only you are the same as you were, too...So, I guess things will never be the same again. Ah,...night.

Jerry: Good night....
Lucy: You are all confused, aren't you?

No, not after I wrote it down and typed it out! 

The Awful Truth

The Warriners

Release date 10.21.1937

Jerry Warriner (Cary Grant) allegedly back from Florida - he never left New York and we won't learn about the why and wherefore - is nonetheless slightly annoyed when he returns to an empyt apartment with a couple of friends. Where is his wife Lucy (Irene)? Entrance Lucy, surprisingly all dressed up and with her handsome singing teacher Armand (Alexander D'Arcy) in tow. Follows the well-known excuse of "the car broke down and we had to stay in an inn," and exactly when Jerry is on the brink to embark on an "I'm in the right" scene caused by jealousy, Lucy discovers that the oranges he brought her are not from Florida but from California! The hasty jump to conclusions of the Warriners ends with a divorce and a struggle about the custody for their dog, Mr. Smith.

arguing over Mr. Smith

Mr. Smith goes to Lucy with visitation rights for Jerry which means that he shows up frequently at Lucy's apartment. While waiting for her final decree, Lucy urged by her Aunt Patsy (Cecil Cunningham), starts dating wealthy Oklahoma farmer Daniel Leeson (Ralph Bellamy). Unsophisticated Dan soon proposes and is accepted by Lucy thus bringing Jerry completely to the scene.

Dan enjoys a hearty laugh...

He does the best he can to disturb the ongoing courtship, and in the proceedings it becomes obvious that he and Lucy are still very attracted to each other. Being a woman and therefore quicker about such things, Lucy knows that she loves this lunatic soon-to-be ex-husband of hers, and we could be heading in the direction of a reconciliation, if Armand wouldn't enter the scene...
Well, completely fed up now, Jerry decides to look for other female company and before long, he is involved with rich socialite Barbara Vance (Molly Lamont). The three months are over, at midnight the decree will be final, and Lucy visits Jerry at his apartment for a last farewell - still hoping that it won't be the last, though.

Sometimes it's hard to be a woman...

Accidentally she picks up the phone, and to destroy the suspicions of his fiancée Jerry passes her off as his sister. Turns out this wasn't such a good idea, because "Sister Lola" gets an invitation to a dinner party at Barbara's parents' house. That's the chance Lucy waited for and she not only shows up, but gives the phrase "to be the heart and soul of a party" a new and very peculiar meaning. To rescue the situation, Jerry drags her out of the house, and taking advantage of the situation, Lucy presses every button to lure him into her bedroom before midnight...

Irene Lola Lucy in action!

Much of the action was improvised and director Leo McCarey wrote parts of the script directly on the set, which gives "The Awful Truth" an unbelievable fresh- and directness. Though he left his actors room for spontaneity, McCarey defenitely knew what he wanted and this shows. Additionally, he had - due to his training in his earlier films - a knack for slapstick, which makes this movie a splendid mixture of witty dialogue and almost banal humor. Bedroom farces, sitting on handkerchiefs, toppling over chairs or other madcap scenery are neither exactly new nor sophisticated but how these situations are handled ,and by whom, cracked even me up  - decidedly more on the verbal side of humor.

The Warriners - slightly seperated

"The Awful Truth", this story about two human beings who get into a divorce not to lose their face and have to make fools of themselves not to lose each other in the end, is a lot, a lot of fun. This exemplary representative of the screwball comedy genre gained Leo McCarey a Best Director Academy Award.
On the set of her second comedy, Irene met the first of her two favorite leading men - Cary Grant (the other one was soon to come Charles Boyer). And as she told in an interview: "We just worked from the first moment. He's a generous actor. He can afford to be, any man that gorgeous, and who'd watch little old me?" (interview with James Bawden) Anyway, "The Awful Truth" certainly offers enough good reasons to watch "little old me." It's Irene Dunne at her comedic best, in an with an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress awarded performance, and if you want to know what all the fuss about her perfect timing is about, you just might watch this film. But of course, all of Irene's timing wouldn't work without someone like Cary Grant as counterpart - quite a master of timing himself that guy!

Little Ol' Me, Mr. Smith and Mr. Generous

If "The Awful Truth" is an example for timing it's as well an example for another difficult-to-explain-but-you-know-it-when-you-see-it term -- on-screen chemistry. Is it that the actors seem to be at ease with each other and at the same time there is an erotic tension? Is it repartee? Or simply bringing out the best as actors in each other? Seems to be all of this and a lot more!
However, what I simply love is Irene's and Cary's constant ogling each other. They react to their -once again expertly arranged entourage - and concurrently have a steady sort of private interaction going on. Irene Dunne and Cary Grant simply were a perfect match, last not least in their similar style of acting which looks so effortless and natural and was unfortunately of the Award Nominations amassing and not winning the statuette kind.
Those two human highlights are competently supported by Ralph Bellamy in one of these rather thankless  "the third part of a triangle" roles. But Mr. Bellamy - an utterly sympathetic actor - gives a charming performance, and his dance number with Irene, for which he had to practice a lot, is one of the (many) high points of the film.

Lucy and Dan trying a step or two...

Surprise, surprise! I love this film, and every time I watch it I discover a new facetious detail and an Irene qoute comes to mind: "It is difficult to make people laugh, but it is infinitely worthwhile. You have lengthened their lives, or you have made them happier, and that is important in itself."(The Sydney Morning Herald, June 1938) If this is true - and I have no reason to doubt Miss Dunne - I certainly owe Irene!

one of my favorite publicities

                                                         

 Some last words about the core of this blog - the one and only Miss Dunne. I'm convinced that Irene could have managed a career without any comedy ventures. She already had her place in Hollywood, and could have gone on solely with melodrama and musical, but I certainly like how the comedies broadened her image. This new genre offered her the opportunity to show some more facets: her sense of humor, youthful lightness, this delighful playfulness and last not least the simple fact that she was indeed a dish. The days of philandering on-screen husbands and lovers are gone by now - no more fighting for men but with relish fighting with them. And sex appeal, humor, warmth, the most wonderful throaty laugh and the steady impression that this woman is up to something make quite a nice armory in the battle of sexes.

Good night!

High, Wide And Handsome

Our handsome couple - Irene and Randolph Scott 

Release date 07.21.1937

"Can I forget you? Or will my heart remind me that once we walked in a moonlit dream?...

Will the glory of your nearness fade, as moonlight fades in the vail of rain?

Can I forget you, when everything reminds me how much I want you back again."

Today is an evening of entertainment for the little Western Pennsylvania town, because a medicine show visits the community. While Sally Watterson (Irene) sings her father (Raymond Walburn) tries to sell his universal remedy to the inhabitants; that their wagon catches fire is an unintentional enrichment to the spectacle and leaves Sally and her father stranded. Fortunately handsome farmer Peter Cortland (Randolph Scott) is at hand, and he and his grandmother (Elizabeth Patterson) take the homeless, "wagonless" folks in. Well, to build a new home on wheels needs some time, at least enough for Sally and Peter to fall in love.

The medicine show

Peter, who in his spare time drills for oil, exactly hits a well on their wedding day and the festive gathering is completely drained by an oily rain. Something similar happens to Sally and Peter’s marriage – preoccupied with the petroleum boom which spreads over the land, Peter neglects his wife. All gets worse when the farmers under the guidance of Peter try to boycott the railroad company that blackmailed them into immense freight rates to get their oil to the refineries. Looking for another way of transportation Peter has the idea to build a pipeline, an enormous project, which not only costs him his whole time but the hill where he and Sally wanted to erect their future home. That´s the last straw for Sally and she runs away with a Carnival show… follows a lot of action!

Sally enjoying the pleasures of a real home...

Romance, oil boom, David versus Goliath fight, carnival shows, saloons and shanty bars, barn dances, pipeline construction, marriage troubles, fist-fights, not to mention a couple of beautiful Kern numbers – those are busy 145 minutes. In less capable hands this could have been a disaster of a film but as things are "High, Wide And Handsome" was in just the right hands. In an interview, Irene described director Rouben Mamoulian as a sort of detail fanatic, and this definitely paid off. One beautiful visual tidbit follows the other, and the way how we are thrown into the story – with a close-up of singing Irene – is certainly a treat. How Mamoulian uses the lighting or the effect of showing us a detail at first and then slowly moving back and thus giving way for the whole scenery is worthwhile a closer look. Unfortunately this movie is only available in a blurry print, and I’d love to watch this in a cleared up version and on a real big screen. Mamoulian’s craftsmanship of direction is equally competent and winningly completed and supported by our leads.

Irene and Rouben Mamoulian (with jacket) waiting for the perfect cloud constellation.

In the film that's a very, very short scene but the clouds in the background are simply beautiful!

Not exactly youngsters anymore – both Irene and Randolph Scott were in their late thirties in 1937 – they pull off a touching "young love" and make a very handsome, tender couple. Initially this production was planned with Cary Cooper in the male lead but Randolph Scott took over at short notice. Though I’d appreciate an association of Irene with Cary Cooper because of name dropping reasons, I certainly don’t miss him here. Mr. Scott gives a fine performance and he and Irene complement each other nicely. Irene, who didn’t like that film very much due to several reasons one of them being that her mother died during production, needed the distance of some decades to reconsider her judgment on "High, Wide And Handsome", and to some degree appreciate the film and Randolph Scott’s performance: "I saw it on television here some weeks ago and I didn´t think it was half as bad as I remembered it…But Randy Scott was so much better than I remember him being." (full interview) I hope this new point of view included herself because Irene’s breezy performance is darn joyful to watch. She was indeed too mature for the role – in the last analysis, only counting the years, Irene was too mature for many of her films  - but it simply doesn’t matter.

And here, they are again!

And of course, it’s the combination Dunne-Kern again. Only after I worked on the theatre page for my Irene Dunne website, and hence listened to a lot of the music of that time in the original versions, I fully understood how beautiful Kern’s songs are for Irene’s voice. Her classical educated voice, which sometimes was – and still is for some people – unfamiliar singing "popular" music, shows all its advantages in Kern’s compositions. Especially beautiful is "The Folks Who Live On The Hill" ending with some impressive high notes and deservedly the best known song from "High, Wide And Handsome." Irene obviously loved singing, and to encounter this pure, direct joy coming from a performer whose forte is based on an ultimate, intelligent soberness and rationality is always a wonderfully striking moment.(Here are those songs, and don't miss Irene's live version of "The Folks Who Live On The Hill" in the misc. section of the same page) 

Irene on the set of "High, Wide And Handsome"

Well, a varied story, skillful direction, captivating performances – including the supporting cast, which offers such names as Charles Bickford and young Dorothy Lamour – and Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein in charge of the score, who could ask for anything more? The whole certainly sums up to a gladdening, though sadly underrated piece of entertainment, and shouldn’t be missed.

Theodora Goes Wild

Irene as Theodora Lynn

Release date 11.12.1936

"You know, what your aunts wired?"
"Those two delightful relicts? No. What?"
"Theodora's gone wild!"
"Tut, tut, I haven't started."

Welcome to Lynnfield, a small quiet New England town! But today Lynnfield is in an uproar about the first installment of a racy novel published in the Lynnfield Bugle. The protest is headed by Lynnfield‘s literary circle and especially by its important members Mary and Elsie Lynn (Elizabeth Risdon and Margaret McWade), off springs of the founders of Lynnfield and spinster aunts of Theodora (Irene). What the aunties, who educated Theodora, don't know is that her niece, proper Sunday school teacher and church organist, wrote this novel under the name de plume “Caroline Adams“. To avoid any further scandal Theodora goes to New York to instruct her publisher (Thurston Hall) to keep her identity a secret. In his office she meets artist Michael Grant (Melvyn Douglas) who illustrated the cover of her book, and Michael, quite surprised by the prim looks of alleged wild Caroline Adams, starts challenging her “to let her back hair down“.

Michael (Melvyn Douglas) testing out "Caroline Adams"

Theodora's attempt to pick up the gauntlet and to show that she is indeed an experienced woman ends with an escape from Michael's apartment. Michael's interest is aroused and he follows Theodora to Lynnfield where he manages, with a lot of talking and threatening Theodora to reveal her secret, to get a job as gardener in the Lynn's house. Michael views it as his mission to rescue Theodora from narrow-minded Lynnfield and to help her to live her own life - as free and self-determined as his own. First steps seem to be to urge Theodora to go berry picking and fishing with him, and our two leads have quite a good time in the woods.

Theo and Michael

Soon the townspeople, Aunt Elsie, and Aunt Mary are suspicious of this flowering relationship and the consensus is to send this strange gardener away. An angry Theodora tells them off and admits that she loves Michael, and never will sent him away. Michael is not exactly glad about this announcement and the next day he is vanished, merely leaving a note for Theodora. But Theodora doesn't give up as easily as that; she follows Michael to New York where she learns that a. he is in love with her and b. he is married, trapped in an unhappy marriage, which he doesn‘t dare to break up because of the political ambitions of his father. Theodora vows to free him as he freed her, and if this needs a scandal to hasten the end of his marriage, that can be arranged. Dressed in a new wardrobe Theodora starts living Caroline Adams' life…Theodora goes wild!

Theodora Lynn aka Caroline Adams

I have a little weakness for this film because it was the first Dunne film I watched, and I only picked this one because I wanted to have a look at Dunne and found that title rather promising. Cannot say that this lady knocked me off my feet immediately, but obviously, I considered her interesting enough to check out some more of her films, and well, the rest is history. Some of Irene's comedies make me laugh over and over again, but that's not the case with “Theodora”. The kind of humor offered here, more rooted in the initial situation and clash of culture than in a witty script and the leads' repartee and chemistry, wears thin by and by with re-watching. Nevertheless, there is one scene that always works for me - when Theodora after her transformation turns up the first time at her publisher's office. This toying with layers, Irene Dunne playing Theodora, playing Caroline Adams - which is btw perfectly done by Irene, never loses its effect on me. Though this is not a comedy, which finds me screaming with laughter, it has nonetheless some pleasures ready for me.

Starting to free Michael...

I like the structure of "Thedora Goes Wild"; the contrast between country and city, which, interestingly enough, each are gender dominated. Lynnfield seems to be a town almost completely in female hands, and the city, New York, is run by males. No wonder that New York stands for freedom and the “real” life. That Michael, the embodiment of city life and its principles, has his own skeleton in the closet and is far away from leading the self-determined life he bragged about, brings to light that clichés are just that - clichés. Many things happen two times only with reversed signs, a typical comedy element, and almost all characters are not what they seem to be at first sight. Hillbilly Theodora throws overboard all her Sunday school attitude to get her man, before the altar, though; self-contented Michael loses all his composure and even the maiden aunts are good for a surprise.

Theodora and the "two delightful relicts" (Elizabeth Risdon and Margaret McWade)

“Theodora Goes Wild” was Irene's first genuine comedy, although there are comedy moments to be found in her earlier films. She claimed that she was very nervous during production and that could explain her - for Irene Dunne's standards - slightly over the top performance. Fortunately, this works in advantage for her, because Irene's character is not wild, just pretending to be, and that nervousness adds the needed air of insecurity to make this pretense believable. After all those heavier films it's plain and simple enjoyable to watch twirly Irene fluttering her eyelashes. However, this performance captured Irene her second Academy Award nomination; maybe her peers were simply surprised that Miss Dunne could do comedy. But one shouldn't forget that Irene Dunne had quite a lot of experience with the genre of musical comedy before she ever set her foot on a Hollywood lot.

Okay, let's do a comedy ...

The famous Dunne timing is not in full swing yet, probably due to the fact that this needs a counterpart, which is not given in the person of Melvyn Douglas. I have a special liking for Mr. Douglas - he worked with all my favorite actresses and I always liked what he did - but he and Irene are not the most convincing pairing. I believed her that she fell for him but his confession of love came totally out of the blue. They don't have the greatest dialogue at hand to start with, still some chemistry, some erotic sparkles could have enhanced even this one. Of course, on-screen chemistry is always a rare, lucky occurrence - and maybe I'm simply spoiled because I know of the leading men to come.

At last - a hymn!

And wouldn't you know, Irene sings again! The hymn “Rock Of Ages” illustrates Theodora's position in Lynnfield's community, and is at the same time a nice Irene Dunne tidbit, because singing in church was the way how teenage Irene earned her very first money. And there is Michael's and Theodora's “torch song” titled “Be Still My Heart”. We hear this song the first time in Michael's apartment where Michael imitates a seduction scene from Theodora's novel. Here “Be Still My Love” is used as soft music in the background; the next time it's played by Theodora to silence Michael, and in her interpretation the song sounds like a hymn with the lyrics of a love song, though. The third time “Be Still My Heart” is already a shared memory, thus the triple use of this song makes a nice background commentary to the development of our leads' love affair.

Lynnfield's literary circle (standing Spring Byington)

A real asset of this film are the wonderful performances of the character actors and actresses, especially the townspeople headed by Thomas Mitchell as newspaper man, Spring Byington as the gossip and Elizabeth Risdon as Aunt Mary. Their performances and the fact that director Richard Boleslawski had a knack for crowd scenes lay on a couple of funny moments.

This movie is not one of the most brilliant stars glittering at the comedy heaven, but it's a thoroughly likeable picture - especially if you watch it for the first or second time. As for Irene, “Theodora Goes Wild” is a "must see" because it marks her first comedy and venture into a genre that turned out to be from great importance for her career.

tut, tut, I'm finished!

A Pause Before We Are Heading For Comedy

the radiant Miss Dunne in her mid-forties

Although we are only in 1936 and there are still 16 years to come of Irene Dunne in the movies, we are halfway through with our journey. In her first 6 years in Hollywood, five of them under her initial contract with RKO, Irene made about the half of her total of 41 films. This sheer amount deserves a look back before we are going to leave for the second half.

Today Irene Dunne is mainly remembered because of her comedies and as co-star of Cary Grant, which is justified and unjust at the same time. The expression “versatility” is never far away as soon as the name Irene Dunne is mentioned and the fundament of this is her early work. We have melodramas, musicals, conversation pieces in quick succession, and even a western and such an oddity as “Stingaree” found their place. Irene did sing Jerome Kern, opera, music hall ditties; played shop-girls, opera singers, a countess, a fashion designer, a steel mill worker's wife, a secretary and well-off Mrs. Jim Dunlap, just to name a few. In a year like 1934 movie-goers had the occasion to watch Miss Dunne in such diverse motion pictures as “This Man Is Mine”, “Stingaree”, “The Age Of Innocence” and “Sweet Adeline”, thus “Irene Dunne could do it all” was basically established in those early years. And another fundament was laid during that period, Irene's screen persona: ladylike, decent, a vital truthfulness. Those elements - versatility and a defined screen persona - were the ground to build on the next years of Irene's career.

Miss Sophistication in 1941

This ground was effectively, successfully and gratifyingly tilled in Irene's time as a freelance actress. Of course those years gave us the highlights and - not always but most of the times - the superior films. One reason for this is the simple fact that Irene worked with co-stars of the same league as herself; such names as Cary Grant, Charles Boyer - Irene's deservedly so favorite onscreen partners - or William Powell and Spencer Tracy only crossed Irene's path starting with 1937. This second career half bestowed us with wonderful scripts, an impressing list of accomplished directors and last not least a throughout beautifully presented and photographed Irene. Her image in those years is seamless, and the fact that Irene had her hand in picking scripts, the freedom to reject projects and director's approval certainly was part of this. Additionally Irene conquered the genre of comedy, which was the perfect playground to bring her delightful screen persona into full bloom. Especially the comedies took advantage of Irene's on screen and kindly correlating off screen image and deliberately spoofed it with Miss Dunne voluntarily going along.

In her forties, at an age when many actresses have to face a lull in their careers, Irene Dunne was flying high; her success at the box office reflected by her top spot on the list of Hollywood earners.

Those are all good reasons to concentrate on this later phase of Irene's acting career but this would be too narrowly considered. One shouldn't forget that Miss Dunne was already a star before she embarked on comedy; and though most of those early films don't offer the sophistication, wit, finesse of their follow-ups they offer indeed a lot of quintessential Dunne acting and singing. 

Irene Dunne And "Show Boat" Part 2

Irene, an ingenue once again...

                                                          

It seems I have to expand the last post, according to a newly published interview, Miss Dunne did indeed love her version of “Show Boat.” Obviously she had the chance to rewatch this film after she spoke with John Kobal and changed her opinion of it.

The author, film and TV critic James Bawden, talked to Irene several times in the 70s, starting with a visit at her home in 1974 and some telephone conversations as follow- ups. In 1977, this amounted to the article “A Visit With Irene Dunne” for “American Classic Screen” . Apparently Bawden did not use all of his material and compiled the highlights of his talks with Irene to the aforementioned interview. Here is the part about “Show Boat”:

BAWDEN: You´ve said “Show Boat” (1936) was one of your favorite films.

DUNNE: Well, I had played Magnolia for years in New York and on tour. The 1929 (first movie) version was terrible. They used a “new” score. “Junior” Laemmle, who was running Universal by then, had to make (her version, the first remake) by the end of the 1936 or lose the rights, so we worked day and night on it. Yes, I do accept that I was at least 10 years too old by then, but movie magic made me an ingenue once again. Our version (1936) had Paul Robeson and Helen Morgan from the original. But when they told me that Jimmy Whale was to direct, I initially balked. He had done “Frankenstein.” It was sheer, exhausting fun making it, but the cost overrun tremendous. Junior just fell in love with the material and couldn´t stop pouring money into it and , while very popular, just couldn´t make back its costs. Junior lost control of the studio because of it. Only little Deanna Durbin saved the studio from completely folding. (Later) MGM got the rights and suppressed our version and announced (a new version) as a (Jeanette) MacDonald - (Nelson) Eddy vehicle, which wouldn´t have worked. (MGM ultimately remade “Show Boat” in 1952 with Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel.)

A couple of years ago they found a … print (of her 1936 version) and made a new negative and showed it at a festival and it really does hold up. It´s one I´m very proud of.

(full interview)

Irene mentioned that she really liked only sixteen of her 41 films, never exactly naming the titles, which keeps us still busy trying to figure out all her likes and dislikes. Of course we know about most of the films, and I personally found her disfavors always comprehensible but “Show Boat” was the exception to the rule. So it´s good to know that Miss Dunne was deservedly proud of this one.

Credit where credit is due!