Review of Dodsworth (1936) by Matt B — 21 Feb 2008

Possibly the finest American film of the 1930s, this touching character study about a retired industrialist and his unfaithful wife on a European vacation paints a moving portrait of pain, humiliation and ultimately triumph.

Walter Huston gives perhaps his finest performance as Samuel Dodsworth, a simple, down-to-earth self-made man. Ruth Chatterton is his wife, looking for validation among European society and refusing to come to terms with the realities of her aging. Mary Astor is the woman who helps Dodsworth find the strength to assert himself and live his life to its fullest.

This is really the first film by William Wyler in which we see his favorite themes of family dynamics, and attention to mise-en-scene and long takes to capture performances. It is also one of the finest Wyler films, second perhaps only to "Carrie" as his true masterpiece.