Customer Reviews

Theodora Goes Wild [VHS]

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of my favorite movies. Sheltered, sweet Theodora, a girl from a "nice" family in a small Eastern town, writes a torrid romance under a pseudonym. Unfortunately, her aunts and the Ladies Auxillary decide the book must be banned and send poor Theodora to battle the evil publisher. While in New York at her publisher's, Theodora meets up with Melvyn Douglas, her book's illustrator. He guesses that Theo is not the vamp her book portrays her to be. He follows her back to her small town and tosses world upside down.

This movie is sweet, witty and very funny without being maudlin in the best style of the thirties. It was up for an Oscar and lost against very steep competition. If you like "My Favorite Wife" or other screwball comedies buy this movie. And as good as Irene Dunne is, Melvyn Douglas is even funnier.

One of the great underrated comedies of the 1930's!! It's shocking to realize this movie was made two years after the Hays Office clamped down on the studios because this picture has got everything a pre-code film could want - gags about illegitmate babies, prematrial sex, adulterous husbands, prudish (yet titilated) old biddies, etc. and who should star in this picture but one of the screen's most famous "ladies" Miss Irene Dunne!!! Her wholesome presence undoubtably got many a gag on screen that would have never passed muster in a Mae West or Jean Harlow picture (Irene even gives the back of her hair a Mae West-like pat as she snaps out one quip!)

Irene plays a rather repressed youthful spinster who lives with her two maiden aunts in a ultra-conservative and self-righteous New England town who somehow writes the best selling "dirty novel" of the year under a psuedonymn (just how this innocent lamb concocted such a book is never quite explained). While in New York with her publisher she captures the interest of the book's illustrator Melvyn Douglas who is fascinated that such a modest girl could write such a tome. Douglas proceeds to follow Irene back to her hometown and turns her life upside down. And that's just the first part of the picture!!

Irene was nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award for this film (one of her five nominations) and this comedy is a true tour de force for her like MIDNIGHT is for Colbert or BOMBSHELL for Harlow. This is definately her finest comedy film.

Melvyn Douglas is so aggressive in the first half it comes perilously close to wrecking the picture's charm. The scenes where he deliberately annoys Dunne and her maiden aunts at their home seem close to harassment by today's standards. Fortunately, Melvie gets her come uppance by our little churchmouse and this atones for the earlier scenes. Of note in the supporting cast is Spring Byington, usually cast as the sweetest most devoted of mothers but here giving a superb performance as the self-righteous biddy of all time.

The print quality of the film used on the VHS video is good but could have been better and rather shockingly has a brief moment where the film has clearly broken and another where it seems stuck for a second. Still, what a rare treat to see this rare comedy!

I first saw "Theodora Goes Wild" about 25 years ago, on "The Late Late Show", and was hooked. Not only is this film very funny, but it also has a sweet intimacy to it that endeared it to my heart. Irene Dunne, an extremely talented lady, had moved from tearjerkers like "Back Street" and "Magnificent Obsession" to this, her first "screwball" comedy. Her co-star was the talented and underrated Melvyn Douglas. Add to this a wonderful supporting cast, which includes Thomas Mitchell and the ever-fey Spring Byington, and an adorable dog named "Jake". The film isn't as manic as other screwball comedies, such as "Bringing up Baby" or "The Awful Truth", but is very charming in its intimacy. Ms. Dunne, ever the lovely lady (who could also be a "dame"), was an extremely versatile actress, and possessed a beautiful singing voice (She was the star of James Whale's production of "Showboat", by the way). Where can we get DNA samples?

Irene Dunne gives a wonderful performance as Theodora Lynn in Theodora Goes Wild. Theodora is the author of a steamy novel written under her pen name. Living in a small, straight-laced New England town, she doesn't dare tell anyone that she is the writer of the "Hottest Novel of the Day!" Only her Uncle in New York knows her "wicked" secret. While paying a visit to her publisher under the guise of a visit to her Uncle, she meets the artist (Melvyn Douglas) who did the cover of her book. Romance blossoms when he arrives unexpectedly in her hometown posing as an out-of-work gardener. The town gossips have a field day! This is an excellently made movie. One I really enjoy as I am sure you will, too.

Another of the great screwball comedies of all time, this one will have you going wild for Irene Dunne and Melvyn Douglas. This is a great movie that doesn't move as quickly as other screwball comedies but is still hilarious and rewarding. Some people don't like comedies that move at a dizzying pace. If that sounds like you, then go out and buy this film today! Dunne plays a small town writer who writes a steamy novel. Douglas plays the book's illustrator who tries to get Theodora to cut loose and stop letting her stifling town control her. Well she does just that, with sidesplitting results. Be sure to see this one. You'll go wild!

This is what great movie-making is about. Sparkling dialogue, unexpected plot-twists and turnabout is fair-play for everyone. Talk about everybody getting exactly what they deserve! Irenne Dunne plays the perfect "good girl gone bad" and Melvyn Douglas plays a "not so bad cad" to perfection. The dialogue is a treat to the ears, and you'll miss more than words if you leave the room for even a minute. So stay glued to your seat and enjoy the lovely language and the sweet innocence of an incredible by-gone era. And then buy your own copy. I did!

Irene Dunn is at her best. In a comedy role, she was outstanding! She has a remarkable sense of timing and delivery. This carried over wonderfully to her performance in MY FAVORITE WIFE. As an actress known mostly for her dramatic roles, she projected the comedy aspect. The story line of the film was very interesting, and made this a very enjoyable performance.

"Theodora Goes Wild" basically has Irene Dunne spoofing her previous roles. When today's audiences think of Irene Dunne (which they rarely do) we often associate her name with some of the great screwball comedies of all time, "The Awful Truth" (my personal favorite), and "My Favorite Wife", but Dunne first made her career acting in what were known as "weepers" (today's equivalent of a "chick flick") in such pictures as "This Man Is Mine" and "No Other Woman". She usually played the extremely understanding wife (in both films I mentioned her husband cheats on her, but she still takes him back). I wouldn't go as far as to say she played moralist, but her characters usually understood what society expected of her and she tried to live up to that reputation.

It is exactly for this reason "Theodora Goes Wild" works so perfectly for Dunne. Here she plays Theodora Lynn, a small town girl who enjoys small town values. She sits at home with her two aunts, Elisabeth Risdon (Mary) and Margaret McWade (Elsie) goes to church every Sunday, as does the rest of the town, she fishes, and picks berries, and is part of local activies. In other words nothing about her stands out as special. She blends right into the community. But soon scandal strikes this small town as the local newspaper has started printing excerpts from a new book called "The Sinner", a sexy romance novel. The women of the town demand the paper stop printing such trash where children are able to read.

But everyone in the town and the country are curious to know who exactly wrote the novel. It was written by Caroline Adams, but no one knows who she is. Well as fate would have it, it turns out to be Theodora herself!

While in New York visiting her publisher Theodora meets Michael Grant (Melvyn Douglas) who is very interested to meet Ms. Adams. But soon he finds out her real identity and visits her small town causing nothing but trouble for her.

I suppose you could agrue "Theodora Goes Wild" is knocking small town values. The whole reason Michael goes to visit Theodora is so she'll change and leave the town. Claiming she can't be her own person. In this regard the movie reminds me of Frank Capra's "Mr. Deeds Goes To Town", which was also about small town values.

Now if Dunne is mocking her previous roles then Douglas is basically playing the same character he played in other films such as "Third Finger, Left Hand" and "Ninotchka". This is not to say he's bad in the film, he's not. In fact he seems well suited for the role, mostly because we've seen him play this character before.

The movie was directed by Richard Boleslawski, a director who's work I'm not familiar with. I have only seen "O'Shaughnessy's Boy" and "The Last of Mrs. Cheyney". He was probably a studio director but even so, he managed to direct Dunne to an Oscar nomination for "Best Actress". She lost that year to Louis Rainer in "The Great Ziegfeld".

"Theodora Goes Wild" is a movie I think fans of old-fashioned comedy will enjoy. And if your an Irene Dunne fan you will probably get a kick out of her performance. Despite having done so much drama early in her career she proved herself to be quite good at comedy.

Bottom-line: Very funny, fast moving film. Dunne is really the whole show here, her ability for comedy is shown in spades. Worthwhile if you enjoy old-fashioned comedy.

Irene Dunne's transformation (from mousey small-town writer to notorious author of a scandalous romance) is a highlight of the film. The plot twists are very daring for a 1930s comedy. Melvyn Douglas and Spring Byington seem to be enjoying their lines thoroughly, and the costumes are great fun. I've been waiting for years for this to come out on video!

At 37, Irene Dunne had established a solid career in the movies as a dramatic actress mostly in soap operas and occasional forays into musicals (i.e. SHOWBOAT & ROBERTA) , however when Columbia Pictures signed her to a new contract in 1935, Dunne was informed that her new forte would be comedy! Predating by 20 years the real-life story of Grace Metalious, the small-town New Englander who wrote PEYTON PLACE this is a sheer delight for fans of the screwball genre. The real pleasure of the film (which surprised the public and critics alike) is the enthusiastic abandon with which Dunne tackles her delightful role as one Theodora Lynn. Miss Theo lives in Lynnfield, Connecticut with her spinster aunts and secretly writes a red-hot number entitled "The Sinner" under the pseudonym of Caroline Adams! There are many amusing tidbits in the picture and Dunne is ably supported by the suave and witty Douglas. The director was Richard Boleslawski who would die suddenly of a heart attack at 47 the next year while directing Crawford in "The Last of Mrs. Cheyney"