''Jennie Gerhardt'' is a 1933 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

drama film directed by

Marion Gering Marion Gering (June 9, 1901 in Rostov-on-Don – April 19, 1977 in New York City) was a Russian-born American stage producer and director. He moved to the United States in 1923 as an artist. He became involved in the theatrical community in Chicag ...

for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. It stars Sylvia Sidney,

Mary Astor Mary Astor (born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke; May 3, 1906 – September 25, 1987) was an American actress. Although her career spanned several decades, she may be best remembered for her performance as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in '' The Maltese ...

, and Edward Arnold. The film is based on the 1911 novel ''

Jennie Gerhardt ''Jennie Gerhardt'' is a 1911 novel by Theodore Dreiser. Plot summary Jennie Gerhardt is a destitute young woman. While working in a hotel in Columbus, Ohio, Jennie meets George Brander, a United States Senator, who becomes infatuated with her. ...

'' by

Theodore Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (; August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm mora ...

Cast

* Sylvia Sidney as Jennie Gerhardt * Donald Cook as Lester Kane *

as Letty Pace * Edward Arnold as Sen. Brander * H.B. Warner as William Gerhardt

Reception

The film received a mixed critical reception upon release in June 1933. ''

Motion Picture Herald The ''Motion Picture Herald'' was an American film industry trade paper published from 1931 to December 1972.Anthony Slide, ed. (1985)''International Film, Radio, and Television Journals'' Greenwood Press. p. 242. It was replaced by the ''QP Heral ...

'' said that ''Jennie Gerhardt'' is "strictly an adult picture. Selling it successfully depends upon your ability to construct campaigns that will intrigue human interest and sympathy in the character of Jennie." He added that despite its large cast, much of the action was centred about Sylvia Sidney.

Mordaunt Hall Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' stated that "although the film is handicapped by a lack of suspense and some choppy and trite dialogue, it possesses a laudable sincerity, which may result in its being popular with those who are partial to this genre of story." He further said: "Actually the producers have succeeded in putting into the picture a wealth of detail and the pity is that it is done without the necessary suspense. It is like a story told in a monotone, with vacillating characters who are a little too much at the beck and call of the director. The incidents, while not implausible, do not possess sufficient spontaneity. Keith Newlin, author of ''A Theodore Dreiser Encyclopedia'', described it as an "episodic picture (broken into a number of short scenes)" and considered it to be more like the novel than most other Dreiser film adaptations. However, he believed that Gering had inexplicably "inserted several jarring scenes apparently in an attempt to provide the audience with some comic relief." Dreiser himself approved of the film, considering it to be "moving" and "beautifully interpreted".

References

External links

* {{Marion Gering American drama films 1933 drama films 1933 films Paramount Pictures films Films based on American novels Films produced by B. P. Schulberg American black-and-white films Films based on works by Theodore Dreiser 1930s American films 1930s English-language films