Theodora Goes Wild (1936)

Despite having seen Irene Dunne in starring roles before, I could not have named any of her titles without looking (ironic considering I Remember Mama). This was my remedy. The DVD also included her in Together Again (1944), but I felt like watching only the more popular option.

In the fictitious small town of Lynnfield, CT, Theodora (Dunne) seems innocent except for secretly writing hit romance novels that scandalize her stodgy aunts (Elisabeth Risdon and Margaret McWade) and most neighbors. When she visits her publisher (Thurston Hall) in New York, she catches the eye of illustrator Michael (Melvyn Douglas), who follows her without invitation even to her hometown. Under threat of blackmail, she hires him as a gardener. As obnoxious as his approach is, she allows him to draw her out of her tiny comfort zone, which rapidly leads her to fall for him. Alas, he wasn't that serious in his courtship. Well, now it's her turn to be aggressive, in a more public fashion....

It's been pointed out to me that quite a few romantic comedies feature outrageous jerks, typically on both sides. The practice goes back at least to The Taming of the Shrew and has continued at least to the recent past. In this case, I accept the pairing as decent, because the two eventually do make things better for each other, however painful the process. Power-wise, they're about equal.

I mentioned before when Dunne didn't like playing a fool. Here it's less straightforward whether she merely uses poor judgment or has conflicting desires. Certainly when her goals are aligned, she gets a lot better at achieving them. Regardless, Dunne really wanted to avoid making this her first comedy, but it paid off with an Oscar nod. Graham Greene thought she'd improved a lot for the part. I can see it.

Funny? Moderately. I'm sure it got more laughs back when audiences were of a mindset closer to Lynnfield's. The themes are pretty defiant for early in the Hays Code era. The dialog even includes the word "sexy."

I think I was right to skip TA, but TGW is a decent way to spend a fairly brisk 94 minutes. And I'm sure I'll remember Dunne now.