Directed by:
Dorothy ArznerCinematography:
Lucien BallardCast:
Rosalind Russell, John Boles, Billie Burke, Jane Darwell, Dorothy Wilson, Alma Kruger, Thomas Mitchell, Raymond Walburn, Elisabeth Risdon, Robert Allen (more)Plots(1)
Russells first step to the bigtime. Obsessive Russell cares more about her spotless museum home than the love of her husband. Russell was only 28 when she undertook the role but her imperious manner, deep voice and matronly looks added a weightiness to the interpretation. George Kellys Pulitzer Prize-winning play had been made as a silent in 1928 with Warner Baxter as Craig and Irene Rich as the shrew. Harry Cohn wisely handed over the adaptation chores to Mary McCall who added an Oedipal touch (Kelly objected) to the husband-wife relationship. Dorothy Arzner was given direction chores; therefore the project has a feminist feel that is rare in old Hollywood. Russells big chance is enhanced by Boles, Burke, Darwell, and Nydia Westman, and the production team breathes life into what threatened to remain a stagebound work. In 1950, Joan Crawford would take the role she had been playing most of her life, in HARRIET CRAIG. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Rosalind Russell
USA
Best movies:
His Girl Friday (1940)
The Citadel (1938)
China Seas (1935)
John Boles
USA
Best movies:
Frankenstein (1931)
King of Jazz (1930)
Stella Dallas (1937)
Billie Burke
USA
Best movies:
The Barkleys of Broadway (1949)
The Young Philadelphians (1959)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Jane Darwell
USA
Best movies:
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Love Is News (1937)
Caged (1950)
Dorothy Wilson
USA
Best movies:
The Merry Widow (1934)
The Milky Way (1936)
Alma Kruger
USA
Best movies:
These Three (1936)
His Girl Friday (1940)
Marie Antoinette (1938)
Thomas Mitchell
USA
Best movies:
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
The Keys of the Kingdom (1944)
Raymond Walburn
USA
Best movies:
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
State of the Union (1948)
Elisabeth Risdon
UK
Best movies:
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
Reap the Wild Wind (1942)
Random Harvest (1942)
Robert Allen
USA
Best movies:
Producers' Showcase (1954) (series)
The Awful Truth (1937)
Animal Crackers (1930)
Kathleen Burke
USA
Best movies:
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935)
The Merry Widow (1934)
Island of Lost Souls (1932)
Bess Flowers
USA
Best movies:
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Rear Window (1954)
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
James P. Burtis
USA
Best movies:
Carefree (1938)
Show Boat (1936)
The Texans (1938)
Stanley Andrews
USA
Best movies:
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
John Hamilton
USA
Best movies:
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
It Started with Eve (1941)
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
Nydia Westman
USA
Best movies:
Producers' Showcase (1954) (series)
The Chase (1966)
The Cat and the Canary (1939)
Nell Craig
USA
Best movies:
Edison, the Man (1940)
A Stolen Life (1946)
Birth of the Blues (1941)
George Sorel
Russian Empire
Best movies:
Casablanca (1942)
Bernadette (1943)
Action in the North Atlantic (1943)
Frankie Van
USA
Best movies:
Rocky (1976)
Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
Francis in the Navy (1955)