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Dodsworth

  • 19361936
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 41m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
9.6K
YOUR RATING
Ruth Chatterton and Walter Huston in Dodsworth (1936)
DramaRomance
A retired auto manufacturer and his wife take a long-planned European vacation only to find that they want very different things from life.A retired auto manufacturer and his wife take a long-planned European vacation only to find that they want very different things from life.A retired auto manufacturer and his wife take a long-planned European vacation only to find that they want very different things from life.
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
9.6K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • William Wyler
  • Writers
    • Sinclair Lewis(based upon the novel by)
    • Sidney Howard(dramatized by)
    • Robert Wyler(uncredited)
  • Stars
    • Walter Huston
    • Ruth Chatterton
    • Paul Lukas
  • Director
    • William Wyler
  • Writers
    • Sinclair Lewis(based upon the novel by)
    • Sidney Howard(dramatized by)
    • Robert Wyler(uncredited)
  • Stars
    • Walter Huston
    • Ruth Chatterton
    • Paul Lukas
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 106User reviews
    • 37Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 3 wins & 9 nominations total

    Photos88

    Mary Astor and Walter Huston in Dodsworth (1936)
    Mary Astor and Walter Huston in Dodsworth (1936)
    Ruth Chatterton, DODSWORTH, United Artists, 1936, **I.V.
    Ruth Chatterton and Walter Huston in Dodsworth (1936)
    Ruth Chatterton and Walter Huston in Dodsworth (1936)
    Ruth Chatterton and Walter Huston in Dodsworth (1936)
    Ruth Chatterton and Walter Huston in Dodsworth (1936)
    Maria Ouspenskaya in Dodsworth (1936)
    Mary Astor in Dodsworth (1936)
    Mary Astor in Dodsworth (1936)
    Mary Astor in Dodsworth (1936)
    Walter Huston in Dodsworth (1936)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Walter Huston
    Walter Huston
    • Sam Dodsworth
    Ruth Chatterton
    Ruth Chatterton
    • Fran Dodsworth
    Paul Lukas
    Paul Lukas
    • Arnold Iselin
    Mary Astor
    Mary Astor
    • Edith Cortright
    David Niven
    David Niven
    • Captain Lockert
    Gregory Gaye
    Gregory Gaye
    • Kurt Von Obersdorf
    Maria Ouspenskaya
    Maria Ouspenskaya
    • Baroness Von Obersdorf
    • (as Mme. Maria Ouspenskaya)
    Odette Myrtil
    Odette Myrtil
    • Renée de Penable
    Spring Byington
    Spring Byington
    • Matey Pearson
    Harlan Briggs
    Harlan Briggs
    • Tubby Pearson
    Kathryn Marlowe
    • Emily
    John Payne
    John Payne
    • Harry
    • (as John Howard Payne)
    Bobby Barber
    Bobby Barber
    • Italian Taxi Driver
    • (uncredited)
    John Barclay
    John Barclay
    • Ship Passenger
    • (uncredited)
    Wilson Benge
    Wilson Benge
    • Steward on Queen Mary
    • (uncredited)
    Ted Billings
    • Man on Railroad Platform
    • (uncredited)
    Eugene Borden
    • Baggage Carrier at Train Station
    • (uncredited)
    Horace B. Carpenter
    Horace B. Carpenter
    • Motor Company Employee
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • William Wyler
    • Writers
      • Sinclair Lewis(based upon the novel by)
      • Sidney Howard(dramatized by) (screen play by)
      • Robert Wyler(uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      William Wyler spent a whole afternoon shooting the sequence where Fran (Ruth Chatterton) burns a letter from her husband; he wanted the letter to specifically blow gently along the terrace, stop for a moment, and then continue to flutter as the scene faded to black as a metaphor for Fran and Sam's failing marriage.
    • Goofs
      Tubby's glass is fuller when he puts it down when he and Matey leave than when he almost takes a drink.
    • Quotes

      Sam Dodsworth: You'll have to stop getting younger someday.

    • Alternate versions
      The 1946 re-release, shown on the Turner Classic Movies channel, lists the end credits with a different order: Kathryn Marlowe is listed after Harlan Briggs, and John Payne is listed last, after Marlowe.
    • Connections
      Featured in AFI Life Achievement Award: AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to William Wyler (1976)
    • Soundtracks
      Auld Lang Syne
      (1788) (uncredited)

      Traditional Scottish 17th century music

      Arranged by Alfred Newman

      Played during the opening scene

    User reviews106

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    A Minor Classic
    "Dodsworth" is a disarmingly honest and frank depiction of a failed marriage, based on the Sinclair Lewis novel. Its naturalistic acting and its refusal to make its characters anything less than full-bodied human beings make it feel way ahead of its time. It's never mentioned along with other classic films of the period--probably because it doesn't have an epic scope--but it should be.

    Walter Huston gives an absolutely flawless performance in the title role. His type is so recognizable, even today: the successful American business man who values the simplest and most traditional of American values, and who comes across as provincial and crass to the rest of the world. Ruth Chatterton meets Huston's performance every step of the way as Dodsworth's wife, glad of the material comfort her husband can provide, but embarrassed by him and aware that he will prevent her from joining the world of high culture to which she wants to belong. It is to the movie's distinct credit that neither of these characters is either hero or villain. Dodsworth is crass and unsophisticated; yet at the same time he's honest and never misleads his wife into thinking he's something that he's not. Mrs. Dodsworth has a right to be bored by the kind of life Dodsworth is content with, but she might have thought of that before so readily accepting his financial success.

    I don't really know for sure, but I have a feeling this movie might have made people very uncomfortable in 1936. I doubt married couples were encouraged to turn too critical an eye on their own marriages back then, and I suspect that more people than not decided to stick it out in unhappy marriages rather than violate a sense of social propriety. Before the days when people dated for a few years before getting married, many people probably learned about the kind of person they were marrying only after the wedding day. "Dodsworth" beautifully captures the sad, melancholy feeling of waking up one morning and realizing you're not married to the person you thought you were.

    Grade: A
    helpful•106
    10
    • evanston_dad
    • Nov 17, 2005

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 23, 1936 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • German
      • Italian
    • Also known as
      • Dodsvort
    • Filming locations
      • New York City, New York, USA(Exterior)
    • Production company
      • The Samuel Goldwyn Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 41 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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    Ruth Chatterton and Walter Huston in Dodsworth (1936)
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