Customer Reviews

Divorcee [VHS]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

THE DIVORCEE was created in the first wave of "all talking pictures," an era in which directors, writers, and actors often struggled to find styles appropriate to the new technology. At the time, it was hailed as a masterpiece of realism; today, however, it is a film more often discussed than actually seen, for there is no escaping the fact that the film is stylistically dated. Even so, it remains a landmark of its era--and given its historical importance it should be seen by any one with a serious interest in the history of American cinema.

The film is "pre-code," which is to say that it was made during a handful of years in the early 1930s when Hollywood's self-censorship was more the subject of jokes than of reality, and THE DIVORCEE was among the first Hollywood talkies to openly address both female sexuality and the sexual double standard. The story finds Jerry (Norma Shearer) and Ted (Chester Morris) happily married--but on their third anniversary Jerry discovers that Ted has been unfaithful, something that Ted dismisses with the words "it doesn't mean a thing." Angry and hurt, Jerry responds by having a one night stand of her own--and then is astonished by Ted's hypocrisy when he declares that her infidelity "isn't the same thing."

The same story has been told so often that today we take it for granted, but in 1930 it was extremely controversial, and the cast plays it out with considerable intensity. Most notable is star Norma Shearer; although changing styles have left her sadly neglected, in her own era she was considered among the finest actresses on the screen and noted for her unusual beauty, memorable speaking voice, and tremendous star quality. In THE DIVORCEE she gives it everything she has, and her power is such that most viewers will find she quickly transcends the stylistically dated aspects of both the film and her own performance.

Over the years I've seen the film several times--most impressively on the big screen, where the larger than life performances seem considerably less affected--and I've enjoyed it quite a bit every time. If you are interested in exploring early 1930s Hollywood films, you could do considerably worse than to begin with THE DIVORCEE, which was my own introduction to that film era. If you are already interested in early 1930s film and have never seen it... this one belongs on your shelf, and no excuses.

--GFT (Amazon reviewer)--

I first saw this movie about 4 weeks ago. Even though I am young, it was still a fantastic movie. Norma Shearer portrays Jerry, a woman who thinks like a man and acts ilke one too. When the husband cheats on her, she turned around and does the same thing, with the husband's best friend. The old "two can play that game". Trust me when her husband finds out, he doesn't take it too well. I'm not saying that what she did was right either but it's amazing how the old double standard was played against Jerry. It's no wonder that this fim was made in the Pre-Code era (because of it's theme of open adultery and sexual behavior). However, I liked it very much and I would see it again.

Chester Morris plays a roving husband who has a brief affair with another woman--and tells his wife it doesn't mean a thing! Norma Shearer struggles to accept this, and when she can't she sets out to "settle the account" by having an affair with his best friend. When confronted with his wife's infidelity, the husband is unable to accept her explaination that "it doesn't mean a thing." This is definately pre-code Hollywood at it's finest and this movie doesn't disappoint. Norma's real life husband, Irving Thalberg, wasn't at all keen for Norma to play a part like this, but it's a good thing he relented. This movie is definately worth your time to see it, especially if you're a fan of the early talkies or Miss Shearer.

If you are a Norma Shearer fan, prepare yourself for an exciting ride. While certainly not news today, a philandering husband and a wife that paid him back in kind was big news in 1930. This movie was considered scandalous in its day and Miss Shearer was rewarded for her lovely, genuine performance with an Oscar, the only one of her too-short career. Chester Morris plays the cheating husband to perfection, with the usual chauvinistic excuses of the other woman meaning nothing and then expresses outrage when his wife decides to play along, to see if a casual encounter really means nothing. All in all, a fantastic movie that hasn't dated badly and one that perfectly demonstrates why Miss Shearer was considered Queen of MGM at the start of the 30s. Also catch Robert Montgomery in one of his first roles, as the husband's friend. Don't pass this one up!

"The Divorcee" is a movie that risks a lot and rewards us with much more. The movie tackles some big issues in a most frank way, at least for 1930. Had the movie been made a few years later, we would have seen a vastly different picture.

Most people have only heard of this movie, few have seen it. Film buffs have only know the movie as "that one Norma Shearer won the Oscar for". But it is a little more than that.

The movie looks at double-standards in society. Jerry (Shearer) and Ted (Chester Morris) are young and in love. They surprise everyone at a pasrty when they announce they are going to be married. This news especially upsets Paul (Conrad Nagel) whom had planned to marry Jerry himself.

Three years later, while celebrating their anniversary Jerry discovers that Ted had an affair, he assures her it was only once, but once is too many. He tries to talk her into understanding that it didn't mean anything, it's just the way men are. Ted then goes out of town on business.

Jerry can't get her mind around Ted's confession, and so with the help of a mutual friend, Don (Robert Montgomery) the two paint the town red. But we then find out Jerry and Don had spent the night together. This is all revealed to Ted when he arrives home.

Now the movie is about how these two people are going to cope with this information. Ted is outraged. How could his wife, whom he thought was respectable, committ such as act? After all, as Ted explained, he's a man, it's okay for him, but for a woman to act as a man does, unthinkable.

This theme was pretty bold for a 1930's movie and as I said surprisingly tackles the issues as frank as possible. Their are however a few faults with the movie. First of all near the end of the movie it starts to lose its nerve. The issue is never really resolved between the two. This can lead one to then interpret the movie as saying absence makes the heart grow fonder. But the underlying dilemma confronting the two is never fully addressed head on. Given that a majority of the movie doesn't take this approach I found the ending disappointing.

Shearer though was no stranger to acting in movie that dealt with controversial issues. "Their Own Desire", made a year ealier, also with Montgomery, had done it, and Shearer's "The Women" would also.

The movie was directed by Robert Z Leonard, a studio director, who received an Academy Award nomination for this picture, had also directed Shearer in a Noel Coward adaptation called "We Were Dancing", with Melvyn Douglas. Leonard also directed "Pride and Prejudice" with Olivier and Greer Garson and a Myrna Loy comedy "Third Finger, Left Hand". So his name has been associated with entertaining films that took interesting views of society and in mild attempts challenged the norm.

"The Divorcee" will probably have the most entertainment value if watch by filmbuffs, though it doesn't have to be that way. The movie is boldly acted, and has some very convinving performances,. It is well-written and manages to get its point across by not being vulgar. It merely makes subtle hints. All of this lead the movie to earn four Oscar nominations for "directing", "picture", "writing" and "actress (the only award it won)". I don't mean to lessen the movie's worth, but it shold been seen as an example of what Hollywood could have been had there been no production code in effect. Try and think how different the entire history of movie might have been. That, if anything, should intrigue you to watch this. *** 1\2 out of *****.

p.s. If you're interested in seeing amovie that deals with the issue of women's role in society played for comedy, track down the Kay Francis comedy "Man Wanted" which deals with women's place in the work force and what would happen if a man had a woman as a boss.

Bottom-line: Well acted, well written early Hollywood melodrama that is way ahead of its time. Shearer and Montogery are quite good. Bold example of what the movies were once capable of.

The Divorcee was made in the 1930s but well before the Hayes censorship code. The movie pushes double entendres and seuxal situations to the limit but does it with astonishing taste and wit. You know what's going on but since the movie assumes you're an adult it doesn't spell it out for you.

The beautiful Norma Shearer plays Jeri, a bold, tough girl who most of the audience immediately identifies with. She falls in love with Ted. Their relationship is wild, passionate and exciting. Jeri continues with her career after the marriage and that's swell with Ted. Then Ted messes up and has a drunken fling with a woman who's not even on Jeri's level. He excuses himself by saying that the fling "doesn't mean a thing." Jeri, is NOT mollified and in a cleverly shot scene she pays Ted back in kind. You see Jeri and Ted's best friend. We see a close up of Jeri's face. She looks burnt out, furious and totally unlike herself. She smiles at her husband's best friend and then a window shade is drawn and the lights go out. Next scene is Jeri looking very pale and tired walking into her front door. You know immediately where she's been and what's she's done. When she tells Ted that she's settled their account it takes Ted a minute to figure out what she means but when he does the expression of horror and disallusionment on his face is done so well.

Jeri and Ted divorce and both fling themselves into affairs in order to forget each other. A montage follows where all you see is Jerri's hand with the hands of various other men with snippets of voiced over racy dialouge. One memorable line is Jeri's response to a French lover, "I dont speak French but I know that's not high blood pressure!"

Finally, Jeri faces facts. She still loves Ted and he still loves her and she decides to get him back. Norma looks gorgeous in this movie and the sets are a love song to old Manhattan.If you've seen Norma in The Women or love 1930s movies do check this one out.

Having always loved films from the 30's, I've recently re-discovered the delightful Norma Shearer. I find her to be quite a good actress, and found this film to be very entertaining. Allowing for the 70+ years since it was made, it's amazing to see how single women were treated in those days as opposed to now. Some of it is comical where it wasn't meant to be for just that reason, but Norma shines through. And Robert Montgomery, her perpetual co-star, is quite good, even though he's played this same personality in so many of her films. Norma Shearer was called the "Queen of MGM" because she was married to Irving Thalberg, but I think she'd have been the success she was without him.

One of those movies that makes me wish I was alive to see pre-code films in the theater. The dialoge, the innuendo, is great! Racy language from ladies & men, without being dirty or profane. Norma Shearer is a great actress. Her transition from silent film to talkies was superb, and this film shows it. Nice & refreshsing look at the relationships between men & women, double standards, and love. While Shearer's husband may have been wrong, she wasn't exactly right either. A gem I am glad to have added to my collection.

(4.5 stars)

The Divorcée is an excellent early "talkie" from MGM that stars the incredible Norma Shearer with Chester Morris and a young Robert Montgomery. The acting is very well done although in a two or three brief spots it was a tad overdone; but this is relatively minor. The cinematography is quite good for its time; and the choreography works best in crowd scenes. The plot moves along at a very good pace--I was never once bored. The quality of the print is good, too.

When the action starts, we quickly meet several principle members of the cast all gathered at a country home for a party before they return to their homes in New York City. Jerry (Norma Shearer) and Ted (Chester Morris) are madly in love and they want to be married soon--Ted can hardly wait as they spend time alone together by a brook. There's also Paul (Conrad Nagel) who loves Jerry although he knows she doesn't love him in return; and Judith Wood plays Dorothy (or, "Dot"), the girl who loves Paul although, of course, Paul doesn't love her. Look also for Zelda Sears to give a fine performance as Hannah, Jerry's maid.

When Jerry and Ted announce to the group their intentions of becoming married soon, Paul finally realizes in full that he will never have Jerry for himself--and he proceeds to get rather drunk. Dorothy's sister Mary (Helene Millard) suggests to Dorothy and Paul that he's too drunk to drive; but he drives with them all in the car anyway--and a horrible accident occurs that leaves Dorothy's face badly scarred. Paul marries Dorothy in her hospital bed because he feels guilty and he pities her; and Jerry and Ted are married in bliss.

On their wedding anniversary, Jerry and Ted have a few people over; and one of them is Janice (Mary Doran), a woman Ted was alone with without telling Jerry! When Jerry finds out she is very upset despite the fact that Ted insists that "it doesn't mean a thing." However, when she "squares their accounts" by spending romantic time alone with Ted's friend Don (Robert Montgomery), Ted is crushed and he leaves Jerry. It seems that there IS a double standard after all! Their divorce soon becomes final; and Ted and Jerry each try to find new happiness with other partners.

Will Ted and Jerry find happiness with new people in their lives? Dorothy says she's willing to give Don a divorce so that he could marry Jerry--but what unexpected problems could actually come out of that? Will Ted find a new woman--he certainly makes the rounds about town; and Jerry does the same, looking for rich men with the help of her friend Helen (Florence Eldridge). No plot spoilers here, folks--watch and find out!

The Divorcée is quite a strong film that will grab your attention and never let go. The topic is still timely today. There are one or two extremely embarrassing, crude stereotypes but these incidents are thankfully very brief; I suppose this dates the film to some extent and that's a shame because otherwise everything is so brilliantly done. In the final analysis, this film remains a good selection for fans of Norma Shearer and the other actors in this movie.

These early thirties films labelled as "Pre Code", are always most interesting to watch from a historical perspective as only a few years after this film was made such a topic would never have been able to be presented as it is here. The passage of time of course makes the subject matter of MGM's "The Divorcee", seem tame however back in 1930 this story was considered very adult and almost ahead of its time in its fairly honest examination of the "expected", roles for husbands and wives in the marital situation. Norma Shearer who today is sadly not well known really proved her acting chops in this vehicle and went home with the Best Actress Oscar that year for her troubles. Often labelled quite restrictively as the dignified first lady of MGM resulting from much of her later work in this decade in husband Irving Thalberg's prestige productions; here proves what she was capable of doing on screen when given meaty roles to tackle. Her other effort from this time "A Free Soul", makes a nice companion piece to "The Divorcee", in illustrating the range of roles Shearer was capable of handling when examining her overall career.