It’s Melvyn Douglas day today and I am, frankly, exhausted. I am currently going through some major changes in my life, and it’s already been five days of Summer Under the Stars madness, and the weather has been confusing… But. I still managed to watch four films. I’ll try to be brief today.
Theodora Goes Wild (1936)
The first film of the day was a delight. We begin in a little Connecticut town where a group of ladies is scandalized by a thrilling story published in the local newspaper. Among the protesters is Irene Dunne. Soon we find out, though, that she is really the author of the story! When she goes to her publisher to tell him off for allowing her work to be read in her hometown, she meets Melvyn Douglas who immediately takes interest in her.
Douglas and Dunne have great chemistry and Melvyn has some genuinely funny moments.The film does not (sadly?) take the obvious route of a romantic comedy about an odd couple and throws in an additional obstacle in the way of their happiness that made me roll my eyes a bit but it is still a very fun screwball and a great start to my day.
Angel (1937)
Oh dear. What a film.
I love Marlene Dietrich. I know, there is nothing unusual about that. But I’ve loved her for years and I thought I knew her pretty well. But even I have never seen her look as beautiful as she does in this film.
The film was directed by Ernst Lubitsch and as I was watching it I thought that I can really feel that Lubitsch touch. Too bad I could not quite explain what I meant by that. The story is that of a beautiful woman who is married to a diplomat who clearly puts his career first. She feels neglected and alone and begins an affair with… who else – Melvyn Douglas.
What is interesting about Angel is that it does not fall into the trap of a love triangle where the „original” partner is portrayed as an awful villain and we are left to wonder what exactly our protagonist ever seen in them. Marlene’s husband seems like a nice and good man and you can tell they really love each other. She’s just lonely.
Melvyn Douglas is not a very strong presence in the film but I didn’t care. The music, the costumes, the production design, and most of all Marlene charmed me completely.
Captains Courageous (1937)
Speaking of films where Melvyn Douglas is not a strong presence – let’s take a quick look at Captains Courageous. Melvyn plays a „business tycoon” who is also a father of a young boy. The boy, being the troublemaker that he is, gets suspended from school so the father has to take him to Europe with him. Too bad the child falls overboard and they get separated. He is rescued, though, by none other than Spencer Tracy and his crew who decide to let the boy sail with them.
Melvyn Douglas shows up again for the last ten minutes of the film. Maybe it is a spoiler in itself.
I love the sea, I love marine themes so I did enjoy the film – it is an adventure, something I would watch with my parents as a kid, but I don’t think it’s going to stay with me too long.
They All Kissed the Bride (1942)
We end today with a film that does feature Melvyn Douglas significantly. It is more in vain of Theodora Goes Wild rather than Angel and this time he is paired with Joan Crawford herself! You can’t have Summer Under the Stars without Joan Crawford.
I was excited for them together even before their first shared scene. Joan plays a boss of a trucking company who is very cold and strict with her employees. And Melvyn seems to often be cast in roles of sarcastic, mean men (with hearts of gold, of course) – maybe he could meet his match.
He doesn’t. The film is pretty much an exploration of the horrible emptiness career gives a woman. She is miserable and bitter because she does not have a man. And she is not like Marlene Dietrich’s husband from Angel, who is loving just clueless and thoughtless – she isn’t even actual person because of her choices. In fact, towards the end, when Joan [SPOILER] is heartbroken over losing Melvyn (for a moment) her mother is overjoyed and says „I waited so long for you to become a woman”.
I did not like They All Kissed the Bride but I enjoyed parts of it – it started out pretty strong, okay? Sadly, I enjoyed Joan Crawford much more than Melvyn Douglas (maybe because he was kind of a jerk…).
One more Melvyn Douglas thought before we go – on my way to work I was listening to the podcast I Blame Dennis Hopper. By Ileana Douglas! Melvyn’s granddaughter! Seemed fitting.
Swingin' at the Seance 