Woman Against Woman (1938)

Cynthia is married to Steve and is a selfish hard woman. She decides where they will live, who they will see and even gets rid of Dora, the nanny who raised Steve and is now raising their ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert B. Sinclair

Writers:

Margaret Culkin Banning (from the story by: "Enemy Territory"), Edward Chodorov (screen play)

Stars:

Herbert Marshall, Virginia Bruce, Mary Astor

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Herbert Marshall	...	Stephen Holland
Virginia Bruce	...	Maris Kent
Mary Astor	...	Cynthia Holland
Janet Beecher	...	Mrs. Holland
Marjorie Rambeau	...	Mrs. Kingsley
Juanita Quigley	...	Ellen
Zeffie Tilbury	...	Grandma
Sarah Padden	...	Dora
Betty Ross Clarke	...	Alice
Dorothy Christy	...	Mrs. Morton
Morgan Wallace	...	Morton
Joseph Crehan	...	Senator Kingsley (as Joseph Creehan)

Storyline

Cynthia is married to Steve and is a selfish hard woman. She decides where they will live, who they will see and even gets rid of Dora, the nanny who raised Steve and is now raising their daughter Ellen. When Steve divorce's Cynthia, even his mother is on Cynthia's side. While pleading a case in Washington, Steve meets a woman named Maris and falls for her. Maris does not know if she is going to the altar or the chopping block, but they marry and come back to his hometown. Unfortunately, Maris is the outsider, and being a small town where Cynthia and Steve grew up, everyone is Cynthia's friend and not Maris. Cynthia will use every occasion, every trick, including Ellen, to try to ruin the life that Steve has with Maris.

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Plot Keywords:

nanny | small town | divorce | domineering wife | supreme court | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 June 1938 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Loew's

Technical Specs

Runtime:

61 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In June 1938, this film was shown on a double bill with Three Blind Mice.

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Soundtracks

"I've Got You Under My Skin"
(1936) (uncredited)
Written by Cole Porter
Sung a cappella by Virginia Bruce

User Reviews

Herbert Marshall between his wife and ex-wife

Herbert Marshall, Mary Astor, and Virginia Bruce star in "Woman Against Woman," a 1938 short film. Marshall and Astor play a Stephen and Cynthia, a married couple; she is manipulative and wears the pants in the family, and he just goes along with whatever she wants. When his daughter's nurse leaves, she warns him, after some prodding, that is wife isn't a very nice woman. That makes him more aware of her behavior, and they end up divorcing.

Eventually he remarries the lovely Maris (Bruce), and Maris runs into problems being shut out of social situations or experiencing awkwardness due to Cynthia's machinations. For instance, she and Stephen will enter a party where Cynthia is in attendance; Cynthia will suddenly announce she's leaving, even though she knew darn well they'd be there. She also uses her daughter with Stephen as a weapon.

Very good cast in a very ordinary movie. Well-directed by Robert Sinclair in his first film; he had a long career in both films and television.