MovieChat Forums > Dodsworth (1936) Discussion > This smart, adult movie is such a joy - ...

This smart, adult movie is such a joy - what's like it?

posted 9 years ago by butaneggbert
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Two excellent leads, a script that steers around every unsubtle cliche to play to thinking people instead -- god, it's just a joy.

What I especially value is the precision of Huston's performance. Dodsworth has just the occasional touch of the bumpkin about him - an awkwardness here and there, a less-than-sophisticated moment. It's enough to alarm and aggravate his wife, who's hypersensitive to anything "small town". But he's no idiot, and Huston makes him comfortable with his own white-bread, Midwestern version of savvy and social comfort.

And Chatterton is utterly unafraid of Fran's shallow pettiness.

So: superb script, nuanced full-bodied performances - what other movies of this era and quality would you recommend to a fan of Dodsworth?

[–] beetiesmom 9 years ago

I'm delighted to find another Dodsworth enthusiast! I only discovered the movie myself about two years ago and it went immediately to #1 on my Favorite-Movie list. I just love everything about it, including one of my Hollywood faves, Mary Astor. This film usurped my previous #1, which was "Stella Dallas" featuring the lovely Barbara Stanwyk. Other than the fact that Stella shows a lot of the same snootiness, which comes out badly for her, as it does for Fran Dodsworth. I also cheered for "the other woman" in both films, who were kind, sweet and loving. I always wondered what it would be like to be one of these mega-rich people! The Dodsworths spend months floating around Europe; who wouldn't want to do that?? Anyway, glad you enjoyed the movie so much. I think I'll go watch it again!