101: The Divorcée (1930) - released 4/19/1930, viewed 6/20/08.
DOUG: Only a film of the Pre-Code era could tackle a divorce in such detail, and have the wife be the protagonist in the story. It's hard to appreciate the edginess of this film today, but back then, a movie about an ex-wife getting back at her former cheating husband by matching his every infidelity was quite the coup. Even today, showing a woman taking matters into her own hands is a tricky business. Norma Shearer (a fine actress mostly forgotten today) took her career in a different direction with this movie; after several years of playing clean-cut women, she wanted something a little more provocative, and went to great lengths to prove to her producer/husband Irving Thalberg that this was the role for her. Shearer plays Jerry as strong-willed and independent, a woman who conforms to the system until it betrays her, then fights against it. Chester Morris plays her fiancée-turned-husband-turned-ex Ted, and Robert Montgomery (who would star opposite Shearer in many more films after this) plays Jerry's old friend Don who catches her on the rebound. Overall, this is a nice little look at Pre-Code and early sound, and a nice showcase for Oscar-winner Shearer.
KEVIN: I was surprised by The Divorceé, not just because it's one of the tamer and less cynical pre-Code movies, but also because it holds up as a compelling drama. At no point was I able to guess which man Jerry (Norma Shearer) would be with at the end. Paul (Conrad Nagel) probably had the worst chances since he was already married (although in a fine twist, he thinks he has the best chance). The scene where Jerry convinces him otherwise was my favorite scene and really showed Jerry to be not just the protagonist but the hero of the story. I liked that the story didn't seem to take sides with Jerry or Ted (Chester Morris), and treated their plights very fairly, even though the focus was primarily on Jerry. I was a little annoyed that we don't really see what leads Ted to his affair (sure Janice is smokin', but so is Jerry), but we see every heartbreaking step in Jerry's path to infidelity (except the actual getting naked, of course). Although it is in all ways Jerry's story, I think more could've been done with Ted. Still, Chester Morris' performance does an excellent job of making Ted sympathetic, even when he's done wrong. Norma Shearer's Oscar-winning performance has aged well. Most of the awards in those days went to performances that today would be considered hammy, but Shearer brings just the right amount of weight to the character and shows her disillusionment from love found to lost to found to lost to found again.
Last film viewed: The Love Parade (1929). Last film chronologically: The Blue Angel (1930). Next film viewed: Monte Carlo (1930). Next film chronologically: All Quiet on the Western Front (1930).
DOUG: Only a film of the Pre-Code era could tackle a divorce in such detail, and have the wife be the protagonist in the story. It's hard to appreciate the edginess of this film today, but back then, a movie about an ex-wife getting back at her former cheating husband by matching his every infidelity was quite the coup. Even today, showing a woman taking matters into her own hands is a tricky business. Norma Shearer (a fine actress mostly forgotten today) took her career in a different direction with this movie; after several years of playing clean-cut women, she wanted something a little more provocative, and went to great lengths to prove to her producer/husband Irving Thalberg that this was the role for her. Shearer plays Jerry as strong-willed and independent, a woman who conforms to the system until it betrays her, then fights against it. Chester Morris plays her fiancée-turned-husband-turned-ex Ted, and Robert Montgomery (who would star opposite Shearer in many more films after this) plays Jerry's old friend Don who catches her on the rebound. Overall, this is a nice little look at Pre-Code and early sound, and a nice showcase for Oscar-winner Shearer.
KEVIN: I was surprised by The Divorceé, not just because it's one of the tamer and less cynical pre-Code movies, but also because it holds up as a compelling drama. At no point was I able to guess which man Jerry (Norma Shearer) would be with at the end. Paul (Conrad Nagel) probably had the worst chances since he was already married (although in a fine twist, he thinks he has the best chance). The scene where Jerry convinces him otherwise was my favorite scene and really showed Jerry to be not just the protagonist but the hero of the story. I liked that the story didn't seem to take sides with Jerry or Ted (Chester Morris), and treated their plights very fairly, even though the focus was primarily on Jerry. I was a little annoyed that we don't really see what leads Ted to his affair (sure Janice is smokin', but so is Jerry), but we see every heartbreaking step in Jerry's path to infidelity (except the actual getting naked, of course). Although it is in all ways Jerry's story, I think more could've been done with Ted. Still, Chester Morris' performance does an excellent job of making Ted sympathetic, even when he's done wrong. Norma Shearer's Oscar-winning performance has aged well. Most of the awards in those days went to performances that today would be considered hammy, but Shearer brings just the right amount of weight to the character and shows her disillusionment from love found to lost to found to lost to found again.
Last film viewed: The Love Parade (1929). Last film chronologically: The Blue Angel (1930). Next film viewed: Monte Carlo (1930). Next film chronologically: All Quiet on the Western Front (1930).