MovieChat Forums > Five and Ten (1931) Discussion > No Ashley Wilkes here! *spoilers*

No Ashley Wilkes here! spoilers

posted 11 years ago by beetiesmom
3 replies | jump to latest

Leslie Howard's "Berry" is sure a VERY far cry from his later role as Ashley Wilkes in Gone With The Wind, that's for darn sure! He's a toad, a worm, a real creep, and I hated him in this. And then spoiled little Snookums, Jennifer Rarick (Marion Davies, William Randolph Heart's lover for a number of years, and the butt of a funny limerick by Dorothy Parker), comes along with her New Money, flaunting it and trying to "belong", when she sets her cap for the engaged Bertram, whose fiancée puts Miss Rarick in her place. The huge, lovely wedding of Muriel and Berry is only a moment's pause in the romance of Jennifer and Berry, unfortunately. All the running around by the Rarick women (Mom Rarick has a sleazy lover named Ramon, who sports an equally sleazy mustache) takes a terrible toll, as the son of the family, Avery, the only one who has a drop of sense or compassion, IMO, kills himself in agony over watching his beloved family come apart at the seams, mainly b/c of their new and very vast wealth. This wouldn't have happened if the family had stayed in Kansas!!! It was sad when he died, but everyone seemed to perk up pretty quickly, and evidently, Berry decided he couldn't be without the Little Rich Girl, and they make their plans as Jenny's ship pulls away. Mom and Dad looked very content, however.... LOL!!!!

[–] MystMoonstruck 9 years ago

Interestingly, Kent Douglass aka Douglass Montgomery was tested for the role of Ashley Wilkes!

(W)hat are we without our dreams?
Making sure our fantasies
Do not overpower our realities. ~ RC

[–] mdonln 9 years ago

MystMoonstruck says > Interestingly, Kent Douglass aka Douglass Montgomery was tested for the role of Ashley Wilkes!

Clearly, the right actor got the Ashley Wilkes part. I can't imagine Kent Douglass in that role.

Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]

[–] mdonln 9 years ago

beetiesmom says > He's a toad, a worm, a real creep, and I hated him in this.

I liked the character Berry. He was all those things you mentioned but I got the impression that was due to the circle he was in. That doesn't make it okay but it explains why he's the way he is.

He's all about enjoying himself and, though he has a profession, he doesn't work. Jennifer is in some ways spoiled but she was a decent girl with Midwest values. Being excluded by the New York set was to her advantage though she didn't realize it right away. She was good for Berry. She got him a job and encouraged him to be responsible.

He was honest with Jennifer about his lifestyle and she still liked him. When he finally realized he liked her, he was respectful of her and didn't push the issue. Unfortunately he let himself be manipulated by Muriel who never really cared for him. He was just the 'right' kind of husband for her. She was willing to sell him out and was probably fooling around with the richer guy she ends up leaving him to marry.

The Rarick family seemed perfectly fine until they got to New York. Having a lot of money and not being accepted into the upper crust of the city may have played a part in the family falling apart but a lot of it was the culture differences.

As far as the son killing himself, that was just ridiculous. He and his sister were not children. They should have started making a life of their own apart from their family. I don't mean they needed to turn their backs on family but it would have been natural to have their own lives. If the snobby socialites would not accept them, they should have sought out other friends; perhaps with other nouveau-riche young people like themselves or just other people their age. The kid clearly had other serious issues.

Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]