Theodora Goes Wild

• Melvyn Douglas Michael Grant
• Thomas Mitchell: Jed Waterbury
• Thurston Hall: Arthur Stevenson
• Rosalind Keith: Adelaide Perry
• Elisabeth Risdon: Mary Lynn
• Margaret McWade: Elsie Lynn
• Spring Byington: Rebecca Perry
• Nana Bryant: Ethel Stevenson
• Henry Kolker Henry Grant
• Leona Maricle: Agnes Grant
• Robert Greig: John Lynn

Theodora Goes Wild is an American screwball comedy with Irene Dunne and directed by Richard Boleslawski from the year 1936. Irene Dunne received an Oscar nomination for her Darstellerung as best actress.

Action

The story begins with the publication of extracts from the provocative novel " The Sinner " the author Caroline Adams in " Lynnfield Bugl ", the local newspaper in the same small town in Connecticut. In the story, the double standards and hypocrisy is relentlessly uncovered in a small town in New England and not saved with scandalous revelations and love affairs. The chief editor Jed Waterbury is under massive criticism of the local women's organizations, led by the feisty sisters Mary and Elsie Lynn. The two spinsters living together with her niece Theodora, who is a teacher in the Sunday School and organist at the local church in the main profession. At the same Theodora, however, has a secret: she's actually Caroline Adams, and thus the author of the scandalous book. While the local Puritans very upset about the book is from "The Sinner ", a nationwide bestseller, leading the lists of best-selling books.

Theodora flying the New York to meet her publisher Arthur Stevenson. Stevenson is excited to finally meet the creator of this literary scandal personally. After the initial surprise, instead of vamps who talks out of school to meet a young woman from a good background, Stevenson Theodora wants to persuade her to reveal her true identity to the public. The refuses, however steadfast, because their good reputation in Lynnfield was otherwise gone forever.

Later in the evening accompanied Theodora Arthur to an elegant dinner, get drunk senseless and gets into a compromising situation with Michael Grant, who falls in love with her. Frightened by her own behavior versa Theodora headlong back to Lynnfield. Michael follows her and takes under a false name to a position as a gardener at the Lynns. Their romance becomes more complicated when Michael admits to being married, but only to file for divorce out of consideration for his family in a few years. Theodora is determined to give things a decisive turn, forcing her publisher to reveal the true identity of Caroline Adams. In Lynnfield everyone is shocked about the coup. The story takes more twists and turns, so that Michael's wife for divorce and Theodora posing with a baby in her arms as unwed mother. The child, however, belongs in reality to her secretly married girlfriend, but what nobody knows. Michael, who also thinks it's his child, decides to marry Theodora, which finally clears up the whole story.

Background

Irene Dunne was the mid-1930s, thanks to numerous appearances in tearful melodramas like No Other Woman and The Secret of Madame Blanche and opulent musicals a highly paid movie star. So you paid Universal 1936 a fee of $ 100,000 for participation in Show Boat. The actress had decided after the expiry of their contract with RKO, future complete only non-exclusive contracts with no fixed studio binding. This free - lancing mentioned method was also successfully pursued by other stars like Cary Grant, Barbara Stanwyck and Carole Lombard. Dunne therefore signed, among others, in June 1935 at Columbia Pictures, the studio boss Harry Cohn autocratic actress had for an uncharacteristic for him personal respect. That did not stop him, as the first commitment select a comedy for Dunne. The star was not fond of the idea. In a later interview, Dunne recalled:

"I had never previously played comedy. I was in serious films like " Back Street ", participated and then I should play this over-excited young thing from a small town. I liked the part at all. "

The actress embarked on a six-week stay in Europe, but the hope to be found another script offer after their return, came to nothing. To be faced with the choice of either suspended or accept the screenplay for Theodora Goes Wild, Dunne finally accepted. Their concerns also contributed to the election of the director. Richard Boleslawski has so far come forward with serious dramas such as Rasputin and the Empress in 1932, The Painted Veil with Greta Garbo of 1934 as well as the adaptation of Les Misérables. Cohn finally confessed the actress to the right to replace Boleslawski after a week when she was unhappy with his leadership. At the end of star and director were from each other, although Melvyn Douglas later stated Boleslawski was already seriously ill during the entire filming. Just over a year later the director died at the age of only 48 years in the middle during the work on The Last of Mrs. Cheyney with Joan Crawford.

For Irene Dunne was the success of Theodora Goes Wild, for which they had received a salary of $ 40,000 plus profit sharing, a turning point in her career. She not only received her second nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress, but established himself as a gifted comedienne. Among the partially failed costumes, wearing Dunne during the action, put a coat of monkey fur a trend that remained in vogue until the early 1940s.

The starting point of the film has a remarkable parallel to the events surrounding the genesis of the key novel The people of Peyton Place, twenty years later, he shocked America with his portrayal of small-town prejudice and its author Grace Metalious also lived as an innocent resident of a municipality in New England before she published her novel.

Criticism

Variety stated:

" [ Irene Dunne ] takes the hurdle for comedic specialist who have already overcome many dramatic actresses in recent years, with a flourish. "

Awards

The film went with two nominations in the Academy Awards ceremony in 1937, but did not win any of the prices:

• Oscar / Best Editing - Otto Meyer

Literature used

• James Robert Parish ( ed.): The RKO Girls. Arlington House Publishers, New Rochelle NY 1974.
• Jerry Vermilye: More films of the Thirties. Carol Publishing, New York, NY, among others, 1989, ISBN 0-8065-1148-6.
• Clive Hirschhorn: The Columbia Story. Hamlyn, London 2001, ISBN 0-600-59836-5.