Avoided this for years because of its underwhelming reputation, and was delighted by a recent TCM showing. It's a fine filming of a muckraking Wilde comedy, in which, typically of the author, observations about class and sex and money are often dropped in, not to further the plot, just to allow Wilde to epigrammatically vent as only he could. It's a ravishing production in eye-popping Technicolor, swamped by Cecil Beaton gowns and played by a most competent cast. If Diana Wynyard's moral righteousness becomes a little wearying, I suspect it's the character rather than her playing of it, and she's matched splendidly by Hugh Williams' tortured, blackmailed statesman. Michael Wilding was never better, Glynis Johns is young and comely, and Paulette Goddard not only maintains a convincing accent but absolutely catches the charm, opportunism, and wise verbal sparring the character needs. It's a fine companion piece to the matchless "Importance of Being Earnest" of five years later, and much more eye-catchingly cinematic.
21 Reviews
Fun, But Could Use More Bunberry
boblipton12 January 2021
Hugh Williams is a member of the Party in charge of reporting on "the Argentine Canal scheme." He is about to reject it on behalf of the government, but adventuress Paulette Goddard has an old letter of his that reveals he passed on Cabinet secrets to a stock broker years ago. Not only would this ruin him in politics, but would cause his wife, Diana Wynard, to lose her illusion of his Olympian probity - yes, I know how absurd that is - and cease to love him. Somehow, it is up to Michael Wilding, the wastrel son of Cabinet minister C. Aubrey Smith, to save the day.
There is too much serious plotting and too little lunacy to make this play top notch Oscar Wilde. Everyone tries, and it's very good, but the best scene occurs early on, when Smith confronts Wilding, and brushes aside his nonsense, leaving the younger man flustered. Miss Goddard's musings, mostly to herself, sound like stage soliloquies, and sound quite flat. Nonetheless, there are enough witticisms and the pleasure of Glynis Johns as Williams' sister who inexplicably loves the usually self-absorbed Wilding, to make this fun.
There is too much serious plotting and too little lunacy to make this play top notch Oscar Wilde. Everyone tries, and it's very good, but the best scene occurs early on, when Smith confronts Wilding, and brushes aside his nonsense, leaving the younger man flustered. Miss Goddard's musings, mostly to herself, sound like stage soliloquies, and sound quite flat. Nonetheless, there are enough witticisms and the pleasure of Glynis Johns as Williams' sister who inexplicably loves the usually self-absorbed Wilding, to make this fun.
The 41 Year Old Diana Wynyard
richardchatten16 September 2020
After plans to film 'Salome' as a vehicle for Paulette Goddard fell through, Alexander Korda instead turned to 'An Ideal Husband', with Hugh Williams in the title role. Wildean wit is generally idiot-proof, and Korda's extravagent final film as a director - despite decidedly dodgy special effects in the crowd scenes - survives his attempts to smother it.
Narrated by an uncredited Ralph Richardson, who played Diana Wynyard's hapless husband in 'On the Night of the Fire' (1939). As Gertrude Chiltern (the role played by Brigitte Helm in the German version of 1935), Ms Wynyard is photographed in Technicolor and dressed by Cecil Beaton in the first of only four post-war feature films she made before she died aged just 58 shortly after playing the most famous Gertrude in fiction to Peter O'Toole's Hamlet at the National in 1963.
Narrated by an uncredited Ralph Richardson, who played Diana Wynyard's hapless husband in 'On the Night of the Fire' (1939). As Gertrude Chiltern (the role played by Brigitte Helm in the German version of 1935), Ms Wynyard is photographed in Technicolor and dressed by Cecil Beaton in the first of only four post-war feature films she made before she died aged just 58 shortly after playing the most famous Gertrude in fiction to Peter O'Toole's Hamlet at the National in 1963.
stylish and witty
blanche-21 August 2011
"An Ideal Husband" from 1947 is not Oscar Wilde's most famous comedy, but it is funny nevertheless. This production is directed by Sir Alexander Korda with an English cast with the exception of Paulette Goddard. Goddard plays a "woman with a past," the overly-made up Lady Chevely, who attempts to blackmail Sir Robert Chiltern (Hugh Williams) so that he will encourage support for what is, in essence, a scam in which she has invested. Williams turns to a friend, Viscount Arthur Goring (Michael Wilding) for advice.
This is the type of material that can be hilarious or just charmingly witty, and Korda opted for the latter. As good as it is, the film is nearly upstaged by some of the most gorgeous costumes ever seen, designed by Cecil Beaton. They are truly eye-popping, as is the beautiful color process used in the film.
Everyone is good, including a young, pretty Glynis Johns as Chiltern's as yet unmarried sister, and Lady Diana Wynward as the very moral Lady Chiltern.
This film compares well with the 1999 version starring Rupert Everett, Cate Blanchett, and Julianne Moore. Moore perhaps exhibited a little more class than Goddard, but Goddard still does a good job. Well, you could certainly believe she was a "woman with a past" at any rate.
Very enjoyable.
This is the type of material that can be hilarious or just charmingly witty, and Korda opted for the latter. As good as it is, the film is nearly upstaged by some of the most gorgeous costumes ever seen, designed by Cecil Beaton. They are truly eye-popping, as is the beautiful color process used in the film.
Everyone is good, including a young, pretty Glynis Johns as Chiltern's as yet unmarried sister, and Lady Diana Wynward as the very moral Lady Chiltern.
This film compares well with the 1999 version starring Rupert Everett, Cate Blanchett, and Julianne Moore. Moore perhaps exhibited a little more class than Goddard, but Goddard still does a good job. Well, you could certainly believe she was a "woman with a past" at any rate.
Very enjoyable.
A gem of witty penetrating Wilde-isms
movieswithgreg20 October 2021
This is oscar wilde at one of his most witty, shrewd and cynically penetrating examples. The dialogue and one-liners evoke the later neil simon romantic films.
The color is lush, but good luck finding a print that's sharp. Even TCM's version is fuzzy. You'd have much better visual luck with The Red Shoes.
The color is lush, but good luck finding a print that's sharp. Even TCM's version is fuzzy. You'd have much better visual luck with The Red Shoes.
un-expected fun period piece
ksf-210 September 2007
Written by Oscar Wilde, the credits roll, and it starts out as a droll period piece. Within a few minutes, we are at the fancy gathering with Mrs. Chevely (Paulette Goddard), as she cleverly spars with her old schoolmate who happens to be the hostess, and other guests. We quickly find out what games she is up to, and things pick up a bit. One annoying thing was Miss Mabel's (Glynis Johns) screeching, high pitched voice, but fortunately she doesn't spend much time on screen. Strong performances by Goddard and C. Aubrey Smith as Earl of Caversham, who always played the grand old uncle, the grandfather, the captain, etc. Personally, I liked Goddard's earlier stuff (The Women, Dictator, and a bunch she made with Bob Hope.) "Husband" would be Alexander Korda's last film as director, although he DID write and produce several more films. Michael Wilding, (one of Liz Taylor's many husbands...) plays Viscount Goring. This was remade in 1998 with Sadie Frost and Jonathan Firth. Starts slowly, gets better as it goes along. Technicolor.
Oscar Wilde play
SnoopyStyle29 September 2023
It's 1895 London and Britannia ruled the world. Government minister Sir Roger Chiltern (Hugh Williams) is about to expose a financial scandal. His wife Lady Gertrude (Diana Wynyard) insists on morality and honesty. Mrs. Laura Cheveley (Paulette Goddard) had invested heavily in the corrupt scheme and needs to uncover any secret to prevent him from publicizing the corruption. There are also Roger's sister Mabel Chiltern (Glynis Johns) and unconventional bachelor Lord Arthur Goring (Michael Wilding).
This British film is based on the Oscar Wilde play. It's in color. It's a late-Victorian costume drama. I don't know if this is considered one of Oscar Wilde's better works. His name definitely looms large. For me, it's a bit too British. It's hard to get a feel for these characters. They feel like performers in a play rather than real people. Maybe that's the British.
This British film is based on the Oscar Wilde play. It's in color. It's a late-Victorian costume drama. I don't know if this is considered one of Oscar Wilde's better works. His name definitely looms large. For me, it's a bit too British. It's hard to get a feel for these characters. They feel like performers in a play rather than real people. Maybe that's the British.
Excellent Adaptation of a Great Play
JamesHitchcock21 February 2014
Oscar Wilde is often thought of as a primarily comic playwright, but of his seven completed plays only one, "The Importance of Being Earnest" is a pure comedy. Three other plays are sometimes bracketed with it as "drawing-room comedies", but all three are in many ways problem plays, combining plenty of witty dialogue with serious examination of social issues. In "Lady Windermere's Fan" and "A Woman of No Importance" these are questions of sexual morality, whereas "An Ideal Husband" revolves around political corruption, questions of honour, and the relationship between the sexes.
"An Ideal Husband" has been filmed four times. There were two separate adaptations in the late nineties, made only a year apart, but, oddly, the first version was made in Germany in 1935. Given the Nazi detestation of homosexuality, it seems strange that they should have chosen to film a work by a famously gay author. This 1947 version, however, is the only one I have seen. It is an early example of the British "heritage cinema" style, being made in colour, which was still the exception rather than the rule in the British cinema of the forties, and featuring the lavish period sets and costumes which were later to become the hallmark of films set in the Victorian era.
The action is set in London in 1895. Sir Robert Chiltern, a wealthy and successful politician, is approached at a party one evening by a mysterious woman named Mrs. Cheveley, who attempts to blackmail him to support a fraudulent scheme in which she has invested. She says that she knows, and can prove, that earlier in his career he was guilty of selling a state secret for money, and threatens him with exposure unless he makes a speech to the House of Commons recommending that the British Government support her scheme. The film then explores the complications which arise from this and Mrs Cheveley's other machinations.
Two key characters are Sir Robert's wife Gertrude and his closest friend Lord Arthur Goring. At first Goring seems to one of Wilde's witty but foppish young men, a gilded dandy whose main talent is for uttering bons mots like "Life is never fair, and perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not", but in the end he proves to be a loyal and resourceful friend to Sir Robert. Gertrude Chiltern is high-minded and idealistic, but can be inflexible and unforgiving; she finds it difficult to make allowances for those, even her husband, whose moral principles are not as rigid as her own. The need to atone for one's past misdeeds, and the need to allow others to atone for theirs, is one of the key themes of the play. "No one should be entirely judged by their past." Although "An Ideal Husband" does not directly address the question of sexual morality, it does have some relevance to Wilde's own situation. Like Sir Robert, he was hiding what late Victorian society would have considered a guilty secret.
There are good contributions from Hugh Williams as Sir Robert, Diana Wynyard as Gertrude and Paulette Goddard as Mrs Cheveley, who here becomes an American who has kept her accept despite her English education. (We learn that she was s schoolmate of Gertrude Chiltern). Doubtless the film-makers wanted to create a role for a major American star. There is a particularly good performance from Michael Wilding as Goring, which is not an easy role to play. On the one hand the actor's performance must be light and elegant enough to convey Goring's facade of the cynically witty boulevardier. On the other, it must also be substantial enough to suggest the decent man of principle and devoted friend who lurks beneath that facade, and Wilding is able to bring off this difficult double. Wilding may be best remembered today as one of Liz Taylor's many husbands, but in the forties and fifties he was an established star of the British cinema and of Hollywood. He was also a versatile actor; another role in which he was excellent was that of the Pharaoh Akhenaton in "The Egyptian", a character about as different from Goring as one could imagine.
The film closely follows the plot of Wilde's play and keeps the original setting. (One difference is that the scene in the House of Commons is actually shown; in the play we merely hear about it at second hand). I think that this was the right decision as the details of Wilde's plots are often specific to late Victorian times and attempts to update them can fall flat. An example is the recent "A Good Woman", an adaptation of "Lady Windermere's Fan", which makes the main characters American rather than British and transfers the action to 1930s Italy. In my view this film does not really succeed, and an important reason for this is that the film-makers never seem to have taken into account the fact that the world had changed in the four decades between the 1890s and the 1930s.
If one looks at the wider themes of Wilde's plays rather than the details, however, they can be seen to touch on many topics of timeless relevance to modern times. This was true of the 1940s and remains true today; the theme of political corruption, for example, seems particularly relevant today in the wake of the MPs' expenses scandal. Even more important is what he has to say about love: - "It is not the perfect, but the imperfect, who have need of love. It is when we are wounded by our own hands, or by the hands of others, that love should come to cure us – else what use is love at all"? The combination of wit with a serious discussion of important topics is what makes Wilde's "drawing-room" plays so compelling, and this version of "An Ideal Husband" is an excellent adaptation of a great play. 8/10
"An Ideal Husband" has been filmed four times. There were two separate adaptations in the late nineties, made only a year apart, but, oddly, the first version was made in Germany in 1935. Given the Nazi detestation of homosexuality, it seems strange that they should have chosen to film a work by a famously gay author. This 1947 version, however, is the only one I have seen. It is an early example of the British "heritage cinema" style, being made in colour, which was still the exception rather than the rule in the British cinema of the forties, and featuring the lavish period sets and costumes which were later to become the hallmark of films set in the Victorian era.
The action is set in London in 1895. Sir Robert Chiltern, a wealthy and successful politician, is approached at a party one evening by a mysterious woman named Mrs. Cheveley, who attempts to blackmail him to support a fraudulent scheme in which she has invested. She says that she knows, and can prove, that earlier in his career he was guilty of selling a state secret for money, and threatens him with exposure unless he makes a speech to the House of Commons recommending that the British Government support her scheme. The film then explores the complications which arise from this and Mrs Cheveley's other machinations.
Two key characters are Sir Robert's wife Gertrude and his closest friend Lord Arthur Goring. At first Goring seems to one of Wilde's witty but foppish young men, a gilded dandy whose main talent is for uttering bons mots like "Life is never fair, and perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not", but in the end he proves to be a loyal and resourceful friend to Sir Robert. Gertrude Chiltern is high-minded and idealistic, but can be inflexible and unforgiving; she finds it difficult to make allowances for those, even her husband, whose moral principles are not as rigid as her own. The need to atone for one's past misdeeds, and the need to allow others to atone for theirs, is one of the key themes of the play. "No one should be entirely judged by their past." Although "An Ideal Husband" does not directly address the question of sexual morality, it does have some relevance to Wilde's own situation. Like Sir Robert, he was hiding what late Victorian society would have considered a guilty secret.
There are good contributions from Hugh Williams as Sir Robert, Diana Wynyard as Gertrude and Paulette Goddard as Mrs Cheveley, who here becomes an American who has kept her accept despite her English education. (We learn that she was s schoolmate of Gertrude Chiltern). Doubtless the film-makers wanted to create a role for a major American star. There is a particularly good performance from Michael Wilding as Goring, which is not an easy role to play. On the one hand the actor's performance must be light and elegant enough to convey Goring's facade of the cynically witty boulevardier. On the other, it must also be substantial enough to suggest the decent man of principle and devoted friend who lurks beneath that facade, and Wilding is able to bring off this difficult double. Wilding may be best remembered today as one of Liz Taylor's many husbands, but in the forties and fifties he was an established star of the British cinema and of Hollywood. He was also a versatile actor; another role in which he was excellent was that of the Pharaoh Akhenaton in "The Egyptian", a character about as different from Goring as one could imagine.
The film closely follows the plot of Wilde's play and keeps the original setting. (One difference is that the scene in the House of Commons is actually shown; in the play we merely hear about it at second hand). I think that this was the right decision as the details of Wilde's plots are often specific to late Victorian times and attempts to update them can fall flat. An example is the recent "A Good Woman", an adaptation of "Lady Windermere's Fan", which makes the main characters American rather than British and transfers the action to 1930s Italy. In my view this film does not really succeed, and an important reason for this is that the film-makers never seem to have taken into account the fact that the world had changed in the four decades between the 1890s and the 1930s.
If one looks at the wider themes of Wilde's plays rather than the details, however, they can be seen to touch on many topics of timeless relevance to modern times. This was true of the 1940s and remains true today; the theme of political corruption, for example, seems particularly relevant today in the wake of the MPs' expenses scandal. Even more important is what he has to say about love: - "It is not the perfect, but the imperfect, who have need of love. It is when we are wounded by our own hands, or by the hands of others, that love should come to cure us – else what use is love at all"? The combination of wit with a serious discussion of important topics is what makes Wilde's "drawing-room" plays so compelling, and this version of "An Ideal Husband" is an excellent adaptation of a great play. 8/10
Gilding the lily.
brogmiller24 September 2020
Oscar Wilde's brilliant play of 1895 has not fared at all well at the hands of film makers. The German version of 1935 has had all the life drained out of it by Thea von Harbou's heavy-handed adaptation. Oliver Parker, who seems to have made it his mission to murder the works of Wilde, has planted the kiss of death on his film of 1999 and I cannot bring myself to watch a later version directed by someone named William P. Cartlidge. Has anyone seen the Russian version of 1980?!
Here we have Alexander Korda's opus of 1947. The tone of the film is set by a decidedly non-Wildean narration written by Hungarian Lajos Biro which accompanies an interminable scene in Hyde Park that resembles a dummy run for the 'Ascot opening day' of 'My Fair Lady'.
By taking the play out of the proscenium arch and giving it the 'Hollywood on Thames' treatment Korda has done Wilde no favours at all.
This whole enterprise is far too 'filmic' for its own good and although the sets
by Vincent Korda, costumes by Cecil Beaton and cinematography by Georges Perinal are stunning, the entire cast sinks under the sheer weight of the production values.
It is to be regretted that Vivien Leigh who was originally intended for the role of the scheming Mrs. Cheveley did not line up and Paulette Goddard has obviously been cast for the benefit of the American distributors. Her accent jars. Hugh Williams and Diana Wynyard are both immaculate but Michael Wilding is a disappointment. Lord Goring is one of Wilde's most interesting characters and Wilding's elegance cannot compensate for his awful delivery. Apparently Martita Hunt was drafted in to improve his diction but declared 'He's too common for the part'!
Glynis Johns is utterly enchanting as Mabel and C. Aubrey Smith as Lord Caversham is well, C. Aubrey Smith!
This film reminds us that 'big' is not necessarily better and one is hardly surprised that Korda suffered from perennial 'accounting' problems.
It is left to Anthony Asquith to achieve the perfect balance in the sublime 'Importance of being Earnest' of 1952.
A feast to the eyes and the intellect from beginning to end thanks to Oscar Wilde
clanciai8 July 2017
An ideal rendering of Oscar Wilde at his best, this is a feast for the eyes all the way through, with excellent acting by Michael Wilding, Diana Wynyard, Hugh Williams, Paulette Goddard, Glynis Johns and C. Aubrey Smith among many others, a little drowned perhaps in too much music, but never mind - the music is good as well, especially in the beginning at the grand opening scene of the soirée with all the top society of belle époque London all at their gaudiest dresses. It's difficult to say what's best in this film, who is the best actor (while I am leaning towards Diana Wynyard), if the prize goes to the colourful scenery and sets, but I think the main triumph of the film is Oscar Wilde's own dialogue, which must make every screening of this play into a success - it has been done so often. It's a joy to behold all the way, you can't tire of it, and you just want it to go on forever, even with Paulette Goddard busy at new ugly schemes of blackmail and destructive cultivation of greed - yes, this is actually Oscar Wilde's most and maybe only moral play.
Uneven performance by Paulette Goddard in a central role...
Doylenf8 September 2007
AN IDEAL HUSBAND starts off with cinematic flourish as it introduces its main characters, but soon settles down to become the drawing room Victorian comedy intended. PAULETTE GODDARD as Lady Cheveley, has a central role as a scheming aristocrat who blackmails HUGH WILLIAMS over a past indiscretion involving a stock exchange swindle that started his career.
Lavishly costumed, photographed in gorgeous Technicolor, it's directed at a stately pace by Anthony Asquith, who never manages to raise it above the level of an average drawing room comedy/romance. Miss Goddard is the American addition to a very British cast and gives a very uneven performance as the woman who sets out to destroy Williams' career unless she gets her way. At thirty-six, she's beautifully gowned and photographed, but seems to lack the refined quality one expects in such a role.
The delightful cast includes DIANA WYNYARD (as Williams' wife), GLYNIS JOHNS and SIR C. AUBREY SMITH, but the Oscar Wilde-based script is not one of his wittiest.
The strongest performance in the film is given by HUGH WILLIAMS as the troubled husband who considers resigning from public life and the one with the most comic flair is SIR C. AUBREY SMITH.
Not one of Wilde's most diverting comedies.
Lavishly costumed, photographed in gorgeous Technicolor, it's directed at a stately pace by Anthony Asquith, who never manages to raise it above the level of an average drawing room comedy/romance. Miss Goddard is the American addition to a very British cast and gives a very uneven performance as the woman who sets out to destroy Williams' career unless she gets her way. At thirty-six, she's beautifully gowned and photographed, but seems to lack the refined quality one expects in such a role.
The delightful cast includes DIANA WYNYARD (as Williams' wife), GLYNIS JOHNS and SIR C. AUBREY SMITH, but the Oscar Wilde-based script is not one of his wittiest.
The strongest performance in the film is given by HUGH WILLIAMS as the troubled husband who considers resigning from public life and the one with the most comic flair is SIR C. AUBREY SMITH.
Not one of Wilde's most diverting comedies.
Classy version of Wilde in glorious Technicolor
didi-56 March 2004
Directed by Alexander Korda, costumed by Cecil Beaton. This is a good start for any movie, but when it is based on one of Oscar Wilde's great comedies, this starts to look like a real goodie.
The cast puts Diana Wyngard as Lady Chiltern, Hugh Williams as Lord Robert, Michael Wilding as Lord Goring, Constance Collier as Lady Markby, Glynis Johns as Miss Chiltern, and C Aubrey Smith as Goring's father, Lord Caversham. With them is Paulette Goddard, mainly known for her work in the USA, as Mrs Cheveley, the woman who 'looks like she has a past'. Now, An Ideal Husband can be witty and clever, or it can be screamingly funny and farcical (I saw a wonderful stage production which was firmly the latter): the film chooses wit over low comedy, perhaps the right idea as it works very well. The ladies are sumptuously costumed as you would expect, while the script barely tampers with the original stage play.
In comparison to the slightly later movie of The Importance of Being Earnest, this film bears up well. The cast is almost ideal and work together extremely well, and the colour certainly helps (as it did in Earnest too). Well worth a look.
The cast puts Diana Wyngard as Lady Chiltern, Hugh Williams as Lord Robert, Michael Wilding as Lord Goring, Constance Collier as Lady Markby, Glynis Johns as Miss Chiltern, and C Aubrey Smith as Goring's father, Lord Caversham. With them is Paulette Goddard, mainly known for her work in the USA, as Mrs Cheveley, the woman who 'looks like she has a past'. Now, An Ideal Husband can be witty and clever, or it can be screamingly funny and farcical (I saw a wonderful stage production which was firmly the latter): the film chooses wit over low comedy, perhaps the right idea as it works very well. The ladies are sumptuously costumed as you would expect, while the script barely tampers with the original stage play.
In comparison to the slightly later movie of The Importance of Being Earnest, this film bears up well. The cast is almost ideal and work together extremely well, and the colour certainly helps (as it did in Earnest too). Well worth a look.
The blackmail game
bkoganbing20 March 2018
Hungarian immigrant Alexander Korda did more than anyone else to make the
cinematic image that the United Kingdom likes to show the world. In An Ideal
Husband, Korda paints a very pretty picture of Victorian London. The games
played by some of its upper crust inhabitants is not so pretty.
Hugh Williams is a rising politician and a man known for strong probity supported by his equally virtuous wife Diana Wynyard. But back in the day in a move that would now be called insider trading Williams is being blackmailed by adventuress Paulette Goddard who has an indiscreet letter from back in the day.
It's a story that never sees an end. A person in public life who makes such a show of personal virtue brought down or at least threatened with an indiscretion. It's similar to Broderick Crawford in All The King's Men when he blackmailed a former judge. The answer there was suicide.
The answer here is Williams goes to his friend Michael Wilding who is a bit of an upper class rogue himself to help with Goddard. Unbeknownst to him, Wilding and Goddard have some history which does kick back against Goddard.
I can truly see Vivien Leigh in the part who was the first choice. Still Goddard who makes no attempt at an English accent comes off well. She's one sly little minx and in the end she's most definitely got a plan B ready to roll.
Of course the Oscar Wilde quotes are just rolling from the mouths of the characters. Listen close or you'll miss one. Wilde always was a sophisticated observer of the human race and sad how some of his statements came all too true in his own life.
Add C. Aubrey Smith as Wilding's father who wants him to straighten out and be like that pillar of the Empire, Williams. Also add Glynis Johns as Williams's sister who much prefers a rogue to a model of probity.
You've got a fine adaption of a great Oscar Wilde play which is a bit more serious than most of his work.
Hugh Williams is a rising politician and a man known for strong probity supported by his equally virtuous wife Diana Wynyard. But back in the day in a move that would now be called insider trading Williams is being blackmailed by adventuress Paulette Goddard who has an indiscreet letter from back in the day.
It's a story that never sees an end. A person in public life who makes such a show of personal virtue brought down or at least threatened with an indiscretion. It's similar to Broderick Crawford in All The King's Men when he blackmailed a former judge. The answer there was suicide.
The answer here is Williams goes to his friend Michael Wilding who is a bit of an upper class rogue himself to help with Goddard. Unbeknownst to him, Wilding and Goddard have some history which does kick back against Goddard.
I can truly see Vivien Leigh in the part who was the first choice. Still Goddard who makes no attempt at an English accent comes off well. She's one sly little minx and in the end she's most definitely got a plan B ready to roll.
Of course the Oscar Wilde quotes are just rolling from the mouths of the characters. Listen close or you'll miss one. Wilde always was a sophisticated observer of the human race and sad how some of his statements came all too true in his own life.
Add C. Aubrey Smith as Wilding's father who wants him to straighten out and be like that pillar of the Empire, Williams. Also add Glynis Johns as Williams's sister who much prefers a rogue to a model of probity.
You've got a fine adaption of a great Oscar Wilde play which is a bit more serious than most of his work.
Talk on The Wilde Side
writers_reign7 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
To paraphrase a saying in football circles; there are only two teams in the world, Man U and all the others; there are only two plays by Oscar Wilde - The Importance of Being Earnest and all the rest. An Ideal Husband, Lady Windermere's Fan and A Woman of No Importance comprise the best of the rest and here Alexander Korda offers an ambitious production in which we have to make do with sumptuousness and forfeit quality. The four plays cited have the good fortune to be set both in the 1890s and High society, a gift for both set designers and costumiers in the theatre magnified tenfold when theatre is adapted for cinema. The opening scene clearly influenced Vincente Minnelli when he came to shoot Gigi whilst Cecil Beaton merely replicated his designs in both Gigi and My Fair Lady. This leaves the plot - and only Earnest is pure comedy, all the other Wilde plays contrived to offer, albeit concealed, moral messages - a bad nowhere and tending to be hampered by the actors, Michael Wilding in particular, rushing through the epigrams as if ridding the mouth of the taste of Castor Oil.
Classy Costumes With Fine Acting of Oscar Wilde
guil1224 October 1999
This is visually a beatiful costume film by Cecil Beaton. Add Oscar Wilde's brittle dialogue, put Paulette Goddard in the leading role as Mrs. Chesney with England's top drawer supporting cast (Michael Wilding, Diana Wynyard, Glynis Johns and Hugh Williams) and you have excellent drawing room comedy.
Goddard holds her own opposite such a luminous cast as this. Upon her entrance in Beaton's exquisite gown with feathers in her hat, she dominates the screen with her glamour. There is an elegance in Goddard that wasn't seen too much in previous roles. She has matured into a fine actress from her early days of romantic comedy and DeMille epics. Nice change.
Goddard holds her own opposite such a luminous cast as this. Upon her entrance in Beaton's exquisite gown with feathers in her hat, she dominates the screen with her glamour. There is an elegance in Goddard that wasn't seen too much in previous roles. She has matured into a fine actress from her early days of romantic comedy and DeMille epics. Nice change.
an ideal husband
mossgrymk30 January 2021
More Style Than Substance, But Works Pretty Well
Snow Leopard4 March 2002
This adaptation of the Oscar Wilde story "An Ideal Husband" works pretty well as light entertainment despite some shortcomings. It focuses on the dilemma of a prominent British politician, who wants to expose a financial fraud but who has been threatened with personal ruin if he does. The plot that follows does not really fulfill all of the potential of the situation, but that is probably a deliberate decision, as the story focuses more on the sights, atmosphere, and ways of upper-class society.
It often moves slowly in order to call attention to the sometimes extravagant habits of the characters; sometimes this is effective, sometimes less so. Once it gets going, the pace picks up a little. There are some moments of good subtle humor and commentary, with some of the funniest scenes perhaps being those with Michael Wilding as a wastrel son being confronted by father C. Aubrey Smith. Paulette Goddard is pretty good in an underplayed role as the villainness.
Overall, it scores higher on style than on substance, but perhaps that is exactly as intended, and it is entertaining enough to be worth seeing.
It often moves slowly in order to call attention to the sometimes extravagant habits of the characters; sometimes this is effective, sometimes less so. Once it gets going, the pace picks up a little. There are some moments of good subtle humor and commentary, with some of the funniest scenes perhaps being those with Michael Wilding as a wastrel son being confronted by father C. Aubrey Smith. Paulette Goddard is pretty good in an underplayed role as the villainness.
Overall, it scores higher on style than on substance, but perhaps that is exactly as intended, and it is entertaining enough to be worth seeing.
Woefully underrated gem
jacksflicks21 April 2015
There's nothing to fault with this film adaptation of Oscar Wilde and much to delight. Someone else says it's long on style but short on substance. I disagree: it's long on both.
Like The Importance of Being Earnest, released five years later, An Ideal Husband involves a sticky situation that somehow must be resolved. In some Wilde works, such as Picture of Dorian Gray, the resolution is tragic, but not in Earnest or Husband; both epigrammatize delightfully to the end. But while Earnest's situation is the stuff of farce, Husband's is serious indeed. However, surrounding the afflicted Sir Robert and Lady Chiltern, there is a bevy of comic characters and their priceless Wildian witticisms to maintain a humorous tone even through a serious plot line.
The cast is perfect, with Michael Wilding providing the key Wildian insouciance. Even Paulette Goddard's snake-in-the-garden isn't oppressive but determinedly cheerful. And we have C. Aubrey Smith playing C. Aubrey: "Quite right! Quite right!" Finally, the lovely Diana Wynyard's Lady Chiltern learns that we love each other for our imperfection rather than some impossible perfection. Glynis Johns' part is only needed at the end, but it's a delight to see her popping up in the meantime.
The look of this color production is lush, in the Korda way. The exteriors are wonderful London prospects. The costumes, as they would be in Earnest, are wonders of polychrome and texture.
This movie deserves a far higher average score than it's given. I give it a 10 to raise the average but also because I think An Ideal Husband deserves a 10.
Like The Importance of Being Earnest, released five years later, An Ideal Husband involves a sticky situation that somehow must be resolved. In some Wilde works, such as Picture of Dorian Gray, the resolution is tragic, but not in Earnest or Husband; both epigrammatize delightfully to the end. But while Earnest's situation is the stuff of farce, Husband's is serious indeed. However, surrounding the afflicted Sir Robert and Lady Chiltern, there is a bevy of comic characters and their priceless Wildian witticisms to maintain a humorous tone even through a serious plot line.
The cast is perfect, with Michael Wilding providing the key Wildian insouciance. Even Paulette Goddard's snake-in-the-garden isn't oppressive but determinedly cheerful. And we have C. Aubrey Smith playing C. Aubrey: "Quite right! Quite right!" Finally, the lovely Diana Wynyard's Lady Chiltern learns that we love each other for our imperfection rather than some impossible perfection. Glynis Johns' part is only needed at the end, but it's a delight to see her popping up in the meantime.
The look of this color production is lush, in the Korda way. The exteriors are wonderful London prospects. The costumes, as they would be in Earnest, are wonders of polychrome and texture.
This movie deserves a far higher average score than it's given. I give it a 10 to raise the average but also because I think An Ideal Husband deserves a 10.
The 10 is for the set and costumes
lucyrf8 June 2020
This is one of the most successfully sumptuous productions I've ever seen. Lie back and enjoy those huge skirts, vast sleeves and tent-sized negligees, in mint, lilac and sulphur. Cecil Beaton was a genius, but surely he's using twice as much fabric as the original styles? The hairstyles are not quiiiiite right, but who cares? There are some wonderful scenes with carriages, and riders in Rotten Row.
The plot and dialogue are harder to follow. Speech is often dubbed onto actors in the distance. There is a constant background of Viennese waltzes. Subtitles would have helped.
As for the story - wasn't there a twist? Didn't Lord Chiltern refuse his consent, having found Mrs Chevely in Arthur's rooms? I can't remember how this is resolved.
The plot and dialogue are harder to follow. Speech is often dubbed onto actors in the distance. There is a constant background of Viennese waltzes. Subtitles would have helped.
As for the story - wasn't there a twist? Didn't Lord Chiltern refuse his consent, having found Mrs Chevely in Arthur's rooms? I can't remember how this is resolved.
Enjoyable, not really great
bensonj4 June 2009
This film doesn't have a very good reputation, e.g., "slow moving" (Maltin) and "a slight, stiff play is swamped by the cast" (Halliwell). IMDb comments are mixed. Well, it does have the limitations one would expect from Korda filming a period play in lavish Technicolor. It is pictorially static, with overly bright colors. For the most part, the actors' voices are animated but their bodies are strangely inert. But in general I thought this wasn't that bad an adaptation, somewhat better than the trendy 1999 version, if only because Korda understood the period he was filming. It seems to me that Wilde's plot complications have been smoothed out a bit here (his name is not even on the credits!) so that the solution follows the problem too quickly and the whole thing can be over in 96 minutes and still have a spectacular recreation of crowds in period costume at the Ascot races. (Perhaps this is an unfair comment since IMDb notes that an original version was a half-hour longer.) With the casting and the spirited performance of Goddard, Mrs. Cheveley becomes the most animated and virile character in the film. Lady Chiltern's conception of morality should stem from a vigorous, naive idealistic vision. She should be a dynamic, slightly-otherworldly treasure with a fairytale view of the world and be the core of the film, for the plot hinges on her vision of purity. The casting and somewhat stodgy performance of Wynyard in the role weakens the story. The character becomes merely an upright, slightly stuffy moralist. Hmmm. Perhaps the criticisms directed at the film are justified. In spite of this, I quite enjoyed this, my third go-around with the play. The Importance of Being Earnest is perhaps more witty and amusing, but this story has a much more provocative drama at its core, with interesting things to say about ethics, morality and idealism. I find it odd that it is universally described as a comedy. Certainly there's a lot of pithy, epigrammatic dialogue, and some light moments, but the basic story is a clear-cut moral drama. The anguish of Sir Chiltern and his wife is real, the stakes are high and virtually life-threatening, and the moral decisions are agonizing.
Uneven effort marred by intrusive score
msyordlax8 August 2011
Not everything Wilde wrote was a comedy through and through. This is more accurately a satire, and though the Wildean wit is definitely present, there are moments of drama and tension. Unfortunately, these moments are marred in this film by an underscoring which is inexplicably bright and merry, almost frenetic, and which undercuts the mood that the text and actors are trying to create. I'm not sure what Korda was attempting to do with such an intrusive score--perhaps he wanted to convey the frivolity of the "gay 90s" referred to in the opening voice-over?--but I'd love to see it without the annoying soundtrack. I imagine it would be quite a different movie.
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