The Divorcee (1930)

Writers:

Ursula Parrott (novel)
Nick Grinde (treatment) ...

Release Date:

19 April 1930 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Drama

Tagline:

A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer All Talking Picture!

Plot:

When a woman discovers that her husband has been unfaithful to her, she decides to respond to his infidelities in kind.

Plot Keywords:

Infidelity | Face | Party | Marriage | Divorce

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 3 nominations

Cast

Norma Shearer	...	Jerry Martin
Chester Morris	...	Theodore 'Ted' Martin
Conrad Nagel	...	Paul
Robert Montgomery	...	Don
Florence Eldridge	...	Helen Baldwin
Helene Millard	...	Mary, Dot's sister
Robert Elliott	...	Bill Baldwin
Mary Doran	...	Janice Meredith
Tyler Brooke	...	Hank
Zelda Sears	...	Hannah, Jerry's maid
George Irving	...	Dr. Bernard, Jerry's father
Judith Wood	...	Dorothy 'Dot' (as Helen Johnson)

Runtime:

84 min (copyright length) | USA:82 min (Turner library print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The listing for Robert Z. Leonard as "producer" is actually in lieu of a director's credit. At the time, instead of crediting its directors as such, MGM frequently listed their names as "A [blank] Production" on the same card as the main title. Leonard's actual function on this film was director, not producer.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The beginning of the movie is 1925 shortly before Jerry's marriage, yet, "Singing in the Rain" is playing on the radio. The song was composed for Hollywood Music Box Revue in 1927 and really popularized in MGM's Hollywood Revue of 1929.

Quotes:

Jerry Bernard Martin: Oh, how do you do, Mrs. Meredith?
Helen Baldwin: Just a floating grass widow.
Don: Floats them and gets them.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Irving Thalberg: Prince of Hollywood (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

You Were Meant For Me

Witty, heartbreaking, and surprising

The Divorcée has much more to offer than the melodramatic plot may insinuate. Sparkling performances aside (including Norma Shearer's Oscar-winning turn), the film is full of witty dialogue, risqué subject matter, and a serious, adult look at divorce, not seen again for decades. The film not only showcases the largely-forgotten Shearer beautifully, an actress who continually pushed subject matter and fought for strong roles, but proves itself as a pivotal 1930's Hollywood product. The Divorcée is appreciable as a pre-code, and worth seeing for its unusually bold themes alone, but its surprising and often heartbreaking plot makes it an unusual gem.