After some retrospection, I realized that the lighthouse was in a way a character or perhaps a vehicle, here's why. Mr. Dodsworth is on his first trans-ocean voyage to new and mysterious places and he's as excited as a little boy to see that lighthouse. He wants to share his excitement with his wife, who instead of sharing with him or at least humoring him, shows disdain. That short scene was worth a thousand words on a script.
shareYes, I agree that scene conveyed a lot. Also, Mary Astor sitting in the background was the only one who acknowledged Sam and his excitement over seeing the light.
shareI agree. I might not consider the lighthouse a character, but it certainly was one of the earlier pivotal moments that I found so sad....Fran's belittling her husband to David Niven, and not understanding, or not even pretending to understand, his joy at seeing the lighthouse, and thinking of England, Dickens, and all things British. She was simply so insensitive to hin so many times.
share***BOOK SPOILER**** In the book, the Dodsworths do NOT omit England, as they do in the movie. I can't recall if Fran acted like a baby, as she did on the ship, which forced Sam to bypass England altogether, but she did have some trouble with Captain Lockert. As I recall from the book, they were in England quite awhile. I cannot imagine Sam allowing Fran to completely crush his dream of seeing "Mother England" as he called it. He had appointments to keep, factories to see, and of course, England itself to discover....all ruined b/c of his b-tch of a wife being "embarrassed". Like they would have even seen anyone in London who would have given a rat's behind about that stupid woman!
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