The Animal Kingdom (1932)

Director:

Edward H. Griffith

Writers:

Philip Barry (play)
Horace Jackson (screenplay)

Release Date:

28 December 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Tom Collier has had a great relationship with Daisy, but when he decides to marry, it is not Daisy whom he asks...

Plot Keywords:

Boxer | Butler | Connecticut | Idealism | Infidelity

Cast

Ann Harding	...	Daisy Sage
Leslie Howard	...	Tom Collier
Myrna Loy	...	Cecilia 'Cee' Henry Collier
William Gargan	...	'Red' Regan, Tom's Butler
Neil Hamilton	...	Owen
Ilka Chase	...	Grace
Henry Stephenson	...	Rufus Collier
Leni Stengel	...	Franc Schmidt
Don Dillaway	...	Joe Fiske
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Curtis Benton	...	Radio Announcer (voice)

Also Known As:

The Woman in His House (UK)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Certification:

Canada:G (Ontario) | USA:Approved

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

While the film did excellent business as the premiere attraction at RKO's Radio City Music Hall in December 1932 (RKO being nearly synonymous with RCA in those days), it flopped with the Depression-era audience as a whole. The movie ended up $110,000 in the red.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Complicated Women (2003) (TV)

Slow and unsteady

This is a plodding drama, devoid of the sparkle and cleverness that mark some of Philip Barry's work. In fact, Barry repeatedly utilizes not only the same social milieu, but an almost identical set of character types involved in familiar kinds of relationships. If you've seen one Barry play (or screen adaptation), you've pretty much seen them all. Try "The Philadelphia Story" or "Holiday" in place of "The Animal Kingdom." In those, you will not have to wonder why the characters are, or are, not drawn to one another. Leslie Howard does his level best with a less-than-fully-conceived character whose social and family obligations appear to be in conflict with his need to maintain his integrity, and his potential for achieving personal happiness. It is stolid Ann Harding who is all wrong, barely registering emotion as a supposedly free spirit who can rescue her lover from the dull existence that awaits him without her.

For a far more effective handling of a similar story and characters (not created by Philip Barry), watch "H.M. Pulham, Esq." with Robert Young and Hedy Lamarr.