I Take This Woman (1940)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

W.S. Van Dyke

Writers:

Charles MacArthur (story)
James Kevin McGuinness (screenplay)

Release Date:

2 February 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Georgi has attempted suicide in reaction to an earlier love affair. Now that Dr. Decker has married her he sets out to get her to love him...

Plot Keywords:

Suicide | Clinic | Marriage Proposal | New York City | Ship

Cast

Spencer Tracy	...	Dr. Karl Decker
Hedy Lamarr	...	Georgi Gragore Decker
Verree Teasdale	...	Madame 'Cesca' Marcesca
Kent Taylor	...	Phil Mayberry
Laraine Day	...	Linda Rodgers
Mona Barrie	...	Sandra Mayberry
Jack Carson	...	Joe, Man Yelling for Decker in Subway
Paul Cavanagh	...	Bill Rodgers
Louis Calhern	...	Dr. Martin Sumner Duveen
Frances Drake	...	Lola Estermont
Marjorie Main	...	Gertie
George E. Stone	...	Sid the Taxi Driver
Willie Best	...	Sambo, the Clinic Attendant
Don Castle	...	Dr. Ted Fenton
Dalies Frantz	...	Dr. Joe Barnes

Runtime:

USA:98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #6000)

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

Production of the film started in October 1938 and had a troubled history. Director Josef von Sternberg quit because of artistic differences. Director Frank Borzage took over, but the production was shelved in early January 1939 for more than 10 months, when W.S. Van Dyke took over and practically re-shot the whole film, with many different cast members. One contemporary reviewer quipped the film should have been called "I Re-Take This Woman".

Quotes:

Dr. Karl Decker: You know, it’s very hard to be useful and unhappy at the same time.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Electrical Power (1938)

Soundtrack:

Auld Lang Syne

Hedy has to choose between two men

Hedy Lamarr is married to Spencer Tracy, but does her heart really belong to another? This is the big question in "I Take This Woman" which boasts a great cast that includes Verree Teasdale, Laraine Day, Louis Calhern, Paul Cavanaugh, and Kent Taylor. Hedy is from the upper class and when her affair with a married man (Taylor) goes sour, she tries to commit suicide on board ship and Tracy, a doctor returning from research in the Yucatan, saves her. Not surprisingly, he also falls madly in love with her. Not too long afterward, they're married, though Tracy realizes that she's still in love with her married, uptown boyfriend. She works with him in his downtown clinic and they're very happy - until the "uptown" life beckons both of them.

What can be said about Hedy - she's exquisitely beautiful, charming, and a natural actress who is excellent in the film. Though one of the comments was that Tracy came off as overly naive and a fool, I thought he was wonderful as a warm and good man. If he acts exuberantly in love, the character is just that. He's an unmarried, lonely man devoted to his work as a doctor and researcher. He meets a dream woman whom he describes as "something you'd see in a jeweler's window on black velvet - you just look and walk by" - and she agrees to marry him. How should he have acted? I loved the remark by one of the patients: "Is that your wife? What did you do, dope her?" The two make a charming couple though it's hard to watch anyone but Hedy when she's on screen.

Laraine Day plays the troubled daughter of Paul Cavanaugh - it's a small role but pivotal to the plot. The best supporting role and performance comes from Verree Teasdale, who plays Lamarr's best friend - she's a delight, popping off Charles Macarthur's witticisms with no problem.

A very enjoyable and heartwarming film. Cynics need not apply.