''Dodsworth'' is a 1936 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

William Wyler William Wyler (; born Willi Wyler (); July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a German-born American film director and producer. Known for his work in numerous genres over five decades, he received numerous awards and accolades, including three Aca ...

, and starring

Walter Huston Walter Thomas Huston ( ; April 6, 1883 or 1884 – April 7, 1950) was a Canadian actor and singer. Huston won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in '' The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'', directed by his son John Huston. He ...

Ruth Chatterton Ruth Chatterton (December 24, 1892 – November 24, 1961) was an American stage, film, and television actress, aviator and novelist. She was at her most popular in the early to mid-1930s, and in the same era gained prominence as an aviator, ...

Paul Lukas Paul Lukas (born Pál Lukács; 26 May 1894 – 15 August 1971) was a Hungarian actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor, and the first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, for his performance in the film ''Wat ...

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

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was an English actor, soldier, raconteur, memoirist and novelist. Niven was known as a handsome and debonair leading man in Classic Hollywood films. His accolades include an Academ ...

Sidney Howard Sidney Coe Howard (June 26, 1891 – August 23, 1939) was an American playwright, dramatist and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1925 and a posthumous Academy Award in 1940 for the screenplay for '' Gone with the Wind'' ...

based the screenplay on his 1934 stage adaptation of the 1929 novel of the same name by

Sinclair Lewis Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930 Nobel Prize in Literature, 1930, he became the first author from the United States (and the first from the America ...

. Huston reprised his stage role. The center of the film is a study of a marriage in crisis. Recently retired auto magnate Samuel Dodsworth and his

narcissistic Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive preoccupation with oneself and one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism, named after the Greek mythological figure ''Narcissus'', has evolv ...

wife Fran, while on a grand European tour, discover that they want very different things out of life, straining their marriage. The film was critically praised and nominated for seven

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Huston, and Best Director for Wyler (the first of his record twelve nominations in that category), and won for Best Art Direction. In 1990, ''Dodsworth'' was included in the annual selection of 25 motion pictures added to the

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...

of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

. being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and recommended for preservation. ''Dodsworth'' was nominated for '' AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies'' in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Plot

When president of Dodsworth Motors, Samuel "Sam" Dodsworth (

), a successful,

self-made man A self-made man is a person whose success is of their own making. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, has been described as the greatest exemplar of the self-made man. Inspired by Franklin's autobiography, Fr ...

sells the company he founded 20 years earlier in a small mid-western town, his banker and friend warns Sam that men like them are only happy when they are working. Sam talks of the extended trip to Europe he is taking with his wife Fran (

), who feels trapped by their dull social life. While travelling on the to England, the couple meet congenial companions. Sam talks frequently to Edith Cortright (

), an American divorcee who resides in Italy, who is sympathetic to his eagerness to expand his horizons and learn new things. Fran indulges in a light flirtation with a handsome Englishman (

) until he suggests they become more serious and then berates her rejection. Humiliated, Fran later persuades Sam to bypass England and go directly to Paris. Once in France, Fran imagines herself a sophisticated world traveler with a high-class social life and pretends she is much younger than her years. Sam notes that those who would socialize with "hicks" like them were not really high-class. Over time, Fran increasingly sees her husband as boring and unimaginative since he is only interested in the usual tourist sites. Before long Fran becomes infatuated with cultured playboy Arnold Iselin (

), who invites her to

Montreux Montreux (, ; ; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, Swiss municipality and List of towns in Switzerland, town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Swiss Alps, Alps. It belongs to the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut (district), Riviera-Pays ...

and later

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; also spelled ; ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. It is a luxu ...

. She convinces Sam to allow her to spend the summer alone in Europe. Wanting to go home, Sam consents. At home, Sam is warmly welcomed by friends, as well as his daughter ( Kathryn Marlowe) and new son-in-law ( John Payne), who have taken up residence in Fran's and his mansion. Soon, Sam complains that life at home has changed and he is tormented by thoughts that Fran might be changing also. When a Dodsworth manager in Europe confirms Sam's suspicions about Fran and Iselin, Sam immediately books passage to Europe on the . When confronted, Fran denies Sam's questions, but Iselin confirms everything. Fran breaks down and begs for forgiveness, initiating another reconciliation. Although Sam still loves Fran, it is evident that they have been growing apart as they travel. In

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, their relationship becomes more strained. Even news of the birth of their first grandchild can't persuade Fran to return home. Initially it generates excitement until Fran begins to consider becoming a grandmother. Fran persuades Sam not to tell their European friends. That night Fran goes dancing again with the charming, young Baron Kurt von Obersdorf (

Gregory Gaye Gregory Gaye (born Grigoriy Grigoryevich Ge; October 10, 1900 – August 23, 1993) was a Russian-American character actor. The son of an actor, he was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was the uncle of actor George Gaynes. He was a cad ...

) who tells her he would marry her if she were free. Later, after another quarrel, Fran informs Sam that she wants a divorce. Sam relents. While the divorce is being arranged, Sam wanders across Europe on various sightseeing activities. Finally, Sam re-encounters Edith in an American Express office in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, near her home. She invites him to stay at her Italian villa. Comfortable in each other's company, the two rapidly fall in love. Sam talks of starting a new business: an airline connecting Moscow and Seattle via Siberia. He asks Edith to marry him and fly with him to

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

and other exotic locales on his new venture. She accepts with enthusiasm. Meanwhile, in Vienna, Fran's plans shatter when she learns that Kurt's mother ( Maria Ouspenskaya) has denied his request to marry Fran because he will need children to carry on the family line and Fran would be an "old wife of a young husband". In addition, divorce is against their religion. Kurt asks Fran to postpone their wedding until he can get his mother's approval, but Fran knows it is hopeless. On a call, Sam agrees to sail home with Fran on the and leaves Edith and her cautions that Fran can't make him happy. On the ship, after only a short time in Fran's critical and demanding company, Sam says, "Love has to stop somewhere short of suicide." He quickly exits the ship to rejoin a smiling Edith at her villa.

Cast

as Sam Dodsworth *

as Fran Dodsworth *

as Arnold Iselin *

as Edith Cortright *

as Captain Lockert *

as Kurt Von Obersdorf * Maria Ouspenskaya as Baroness Von Obersdorf *

Odette Myrtil Odette Myrtil (born Odette Laure Clotilde Quignarde; June 28, 1898 – November 18, 1978) was a French-born American actress, singer, and violinist. She began her career as a violinist on the vaudeville stage in Paris at 14. She expanded in ...

as Renée De Penable *

Spring Byington Spring Dell Byington (October 17, 1886 – September 7, 1971) was an American actress. Her career included a seven-year run on radio and television as the star of '' December Bride''. She was an MGM contract player who appeared in films from the ...

as Matey Pearson *

Harlan Briggs Harlan Briggs (August 17, 1879 – January 26, 1952) was an American actor and Vaudeville performer who was active from the 1930s until his death in 1952. During the course of his career he appeared on Broadway, in over 100 films, as well a ...

as Tubby Pearson * Kathryn Marlowe as Emily * John Payne as Harry (billed as "John Howard Payne")

Production

appeared in the 1934 Broadway production, which co-starred Fay Bainter as Fran. Billed in the cast as "John Howard Payne", John Payne made his first film appearance, portraying Dodsworth's son-in-law Harry and launching a screen career that lasted more than four decades. The film was in production during Mary Astor's bitter divorce proceedings over her affair with dramatist George S. Kaufman. She kept a diary, and her husband threatened to have intimate details of the affair read into evidence at the divorce proceedings and in their child-custody battle. However, the diary entries were destroyed and could not be used. To avoid the press, Astor lived in her dressing room bungalow during part of the production, working on the film during the day and appearing in court in evening sessions. Ruth Chatterton accompanied her to court. The film's sets were designed by

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Richard Day.

Reception

Dodson promotional photo - Walter Huston and Ruth Chatterton

1936 - Colonial Theater Ad - 8 Oct MC - Allentown

Frank S. Nugent, writing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' in September 1936, described the film as "admirable", and added that director Wyler "has had the skill to execute it in cinematic terms, and a gifted cast has been able to bring the whole alive to our complete satisfaction ... The film version has done more than justice to Mr. Howard's play, converting a necessarily episodic tale ... into a smooth-flowing narrative of sustained interest, well-defined performance and good talk." ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine said it was "directed with a proper understanding of its values by William Wyler, splendidly cast, and brilliantly played". Among the film industry's leading critics in 1936, the entertainment trade publication '' Variety'' bestowed perhaps the highest praise on the production: Writing for ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'' in 1936,

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a re ...

gave the film a good review, describing it as "a very well-made and well-acted film". Greene criticized the director's overuse of music which he described as "almost incessant", however he praised the "naturalness" of the picture as a quality all too rare in film. The film was named one of the year's ten best by ''The New York Times'', and was one of the top twenty

box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicket. ...

films of the year. The film historian and

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

host

Robert Osborne Robert Jolin Osborne (; May 3, 1932 – March 6, 2017) was an American film historian, author, actor and the primary television host for the premium cable channel Turner Classic Movies (TCM) for over twenty years. Prior to hosting at TCM, Os ...

named ''Dodsworth'' his favorite film. In his 2007 book ''Bambi vs Godzilla: On the Nature, Purpose, and Practice of the Movie Business'' playwright and director

David Mamet David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, author, and filmmaker. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony Award, Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and ''Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first ...

cited ''Dodsworth'' as being one of four movies that he considers "perfect films" (the other three being ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American Epic film, epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling The Godfather (novel), 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast inc ...

'', '' A Place in the Sun'' and ''

Galaxy Quest ''Galaxy Quest'' is a 1999 American satirical science fiction comedy film directed by Dean Parisot and written by David Howard and Robert Gordon. It stars Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, and Daryl Mit ...

''). In 1990, ''Dodsworth'' was selected for preservation in the United States

. In 2005, ''Time'' magazine named it one of the 100 best movies of the past 80 years. The February 2020 issue of ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...

'' lists ''Dodsworth'' as among "The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars."

Awards and nominations

At the

, the film was nominated for seven awards, winning one. ;Wins * Best Art Direction: Richard Day ;Nominations * Outstanding Production: Samuel Goldwyn Productions * Best Director: William Wyler * Best Actor: Walter Huston * Actress in a Supporting Role: Maria Ouspenskaya * Best Sound Recording: Thomas T. Moulton * Best Writing (Screenplay):

Adaptations

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a old-time radio, classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of A ...

'' aired a one-hour adaptation on two occasions in 1937; first on April 12, 1937, then on October 4, 1937. Huston recreated his role for both broadcasts, and both times Fran was portrayed by his wife, Nan Sunderland.

References

External links

* * * *
''Dodsworth''
essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the

, A&C Black, 2010 , pages 251-253 {{Samuel Goldwyn 1936 films 1936 drama films Films about adultery American black-and-white films Films scored by Alfred Newman Films based on American novels Films based on multiple works American films based on plays Films based on works by Sinclair Lewis Films directed by William Wyler Films set in Naples Films set in Paris Films set on ships Films whose art director won the Best Art Direction Academy Award Samuel Goldwyn Productions films United Artists films United States National Film Registry films American drama films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films English-language drama films